Can't sleep with kicking baby!

[Cillapops]

Help, I haven't slept for 5 nights now. I am 26 weeks and the baby decides to kick very hard from the minute I lie down until morning.

To make matters worse I have a toddler who won't let me close my eyes during the day and a husband that worries me sick by working stupid hours and then driving to work - last night he came home and then worked until it was time to go back to work this morning with no sleep at all. Even though I have said that he is a danger to others as well as himself, he continues to do it. I'll now be waiting for a call all day to say he's had an accident until he gets home.

Hi Cillapops,

I'm afraid that I'm only at 15 weeks with my first so am totally unqualified to give any help or suggestions but I would have thought that someone should have some useful advice???

Ok I'm going to try making some lousy and probably totally stupid suggestions. Does the baby kick during the day/evening? If not are there any stimuli that get the baby kicking - e.g. music or certain movement - that you could try to get him/her active earlier and tire them out for bedtime? Is there anything that seems to quiten your baby (eg walking or certain foods, I dunno what on earth would I know?) that you could do just before bedtime to try to quieten baby down?

Sorry hope someone with more sensible ideas comes along soon.

Also your husband is obviously very stressed out and that is making you stressed too. I think you both need to sit down and talk to each other. Why is he working so much - is he working to a particular deadline so that at least this will only be temporary, or is he worried about finances when the new baby comes along and is that why he's working so hard? I would suggest that he needs to think about his life and his priorities - there is no point working so hard to make a better future, if as a result you have no life to enjoy in the present!