Sleeping in first Trimester - how much is normal?

[IVFJules45]

Hello,

I'm new here and likely to be relatively old at 45 years old. I have a daughter who is 16 and a half, and am now pregnant with my second child - this time via IVF - and am ten weeks pregnant.

I want to ask pregnant / recently pregnant parents: how much did you sleep in the first trimester? I can on some days have a 2 hour nap in the morning AND the afternoon and still feel tired! Is this normal?

My midwife hasn't been too worried, and I am lucky that I can take the time off work to do this, but getting a bit fed up of feeling such a recluse and starting to wonder if this is abnormal??

Please share your thoughts/experiences with me, thank you :)

I'm 13 weeks now but if I could, I would have slept for about 20 hours a day. Unfortunately I have a toddler and work FT so this was not an option! If you are tired, just sleep! Sleep is so underrated 🤣

I am 9.5 weeks and for the last 4 weeks I have been sleeping 10-12 hours at night plus at least one 2 hour nap in the day if not 2! I was already a big sleeper and have just been so so tired and I can’t see it doing any harm (save for my work!)

This is so reassuring thank you - we're lucky to be able to hey

Argh thank you - you're blooming amazing to balance all three (and more I bet) and a very good point, thank you, agree sleep is underrated!

Congratulations! Falling asleep on the sofa when I got home from work every day at 4pm was my first pregnancy symptom! I used to sneak off at work and have a nap at lunch time too, I was exhausted throughout the first trimester.

DH was remembering when I was pregnant with DS1 (10 years ago) recently and commented that he’d never seen me sleep so much as I did in the first trimester…naps at all opportunities!

Um I don't believe I napped at all or felt particularly tired (pregnant at 41 and 43). In fact I developed type 1 diabetes during my first pregnancy and didn't have any symptoms (thirst, tiredness).
But you know that's the thing - some people are tired, some feel full of energy! Some feel nauseous all the time, some just bloom.

I had IVF last year and had my DD this year so congrats!
Previously I’ve always struggled to sleep. As soon as I was pregnant I was absolutely shattered. I would happily fall asleep as soon as I got home from work. Weekends I would have 2 naps too 😁

When I was in my first trimester I was sleeping from. 9pm to 9am, and having naps at lunch and after work and was still exhausted. Baby is healthy

Oh all the time. It's a tiredness like no other.

It's a good sign too OP. It means the baby is taking what it needs from you. Best of luck with your pregnancy ❤️.

My daughter is under a year and on my days off I slept all day all the way through my pregnancy

2 nap days are the best!! I am now 34 weeks and I can count on one hand the amount of days I have NOT napped during this pregnancy, ever since week 8ish. I'm exhausted!

I remember falling asleep in my lunch break at work and almost falling asleep in the car driving home after work! Just felt so drained and shattered.

Hey, I'm about 7 weeks and could sleep the clock round!
Could you arrange to have your iron levels checked? I am anaemic which exhausts me, I also feel breathless walking up the stairs etc!

First trimester tiredness is REAL! I felt tired to my very bones. Just zero energy. I think it’s quite normal

So normal but also check anaemia!

Both pregnancies, extremely tired during the first trimester. Falling asleep at 7pm almost daily. Couldn’t keep my eyes open even if I tried, no energy even to watch TV.

first pregnancy, I was borderline anaemic with very low iron and was put on a supplement. Felt a big improvement after a month of taking it with vit C on an empty stomach.

second time, still very tired, but slightly less than the first, iron low but good, no supplements and well recovered by start of 2nd trimester. Both times I took pregnancare max.

worth checking your iron levels, but some tiredness is normal anyway.

Apparently it's normal, because your body is on full speed now, so you're exhausted.

All. The. Time. And with normal iron levels and a good diet etc. I was working full time as a non clinical midwife, sat down for the majority of the day, would go to bed at 8pm and wake at 6am. Wake up tired and have a nap when I got in 😂 it settled for me about 12 ish weeks I want to say if I remember right. Baby is 3 months old today so we're in a different world of tiredness now 😂

Oh my gosh the exhaustion was something else. I couldn’t fathom it because the baby is only minuscule in the first trimester until it dawned on me that it’s growing the placenta that takes it out of you.

Now when we watch dodgy science fiction shows where the medics are regrowing a body part or organ I turn to dh and smugly say, “yeah, I did that. Twice”

Take it easy if you can.

I could hardly drag myself out of bed, first scan showed I was carrying twins.

Hope you feel more energetic soon, and congratulations.

I remember at one point driving over to the rented house we'd just moved out of to take the final meter readings and being so tired that I ended up having a nap on the floor of the empty lounge before I could drive back 😂

I honestly found the third trimester a breeze compared to the nausea/exhaustion of the first.

DH once described me as basically dormant during the first trimester

I'd get home from work and lie like a slug on the sofa until I heaved myself off to bed.

I did perk up during the second trimester, but it came back midway through the third.