Its 6am and I don't have to work today! Why am I awake right now?? Well, why was I awake at 12, 2:30, 3:15, 5:30?
I love baby Dalton . . . but it's all his fault. :)
So since I can't sleep, I decided to do a little research. Apparently this is common. Someone should have shared that with me.
I said to Mom "I guess I might as well get used to the fact that I'm not gonna sleep much for the next few weeks!"
She replied "HA, try the next few years!!"
Sleep problem: Insomnia during pregnancy
Stumped by your sudden insomnia? Could it be that you can't get comfortable, need to pee constantly, have leg cramps, and are excited — and anxious — about your baby's arrival? With such a litany of physical and emotional sleep disturbances to cope with, it's no surprise that 78 percent of women have insomnia and other sleep problems during pregnancy. Although misery may love company, it won't provide much solace when you're watching the numbers on your clock radio change in the middle of the night.
Insomnia during Pregnancy
The Causes and the Cures of Insomnia
Later Insomnia
Dr. Powell says women usually don't exhibit many sleep problems in the second trimester, what she calls "the honeymoon trimester," but insomnia often occurs in the third trimester. "As the third trimester progresses there's more pressure on your lungs and you fatigue more asily but start sleeping more poorly," says Dr. Powell. "The cause for virtually all of the sleep disturbances at this phase can be traced to the increase in size of the abdomen." <---- AMEN!
In the case of the third trimester, it's not so much inability to sleep or being out of rhythm with sleep cycles as it is sleep disturbances. For example, the bladder once again starts feeling the pressure of the enlarging uterus and the mother-to-be may find herself up and down several times a night.
Sleep disturbances are common for other reasons. Rolling over is not as easy as it once was, and for women who prop themselves with several pillows, it may involve enough readjusting to cause them to wake up. Heartburn can also be severe enough to awaken you from sleep.
Another common problem is trouble getting comfortable. Some people only get their best sleep in certain positions, so back sleepers or stomach sleepers have to adjust to sleeping on their sides. However, as Dr. Powell points out, this may actually be a good thing, as it's not good for the baby to sleep on your back.
At this point in the pregnancy, there's not a lot that can be done about some of the things causing insomnia. For heartburn, your doctor can recommend a safe antacid or other medication. Exercise may also help with insomnia.
2 comments:
my doctor said it is safe to use ambien while pregnant! I would ask, but your mom is right! You may not be getting a lot of sleep now because you are uncomfortable and the day Dalton come out you will sleep well, but then that sleep will be disturbed by shrill little cries in the night causing you again to have to get up multiple times a night again... just for different reasons!
So the next few years is a horrid but accurate reality. I would invest in some good earplugs, face mask, extra pillows anything to enhance the few hours you will get!
You'll figure it out...but a few months of losing sleep is quite an achievable goal once he's here.
And, as for the insomnia during pregnancy thing...just find a comfy spot (mine was Earl's recliner) and get used to it. It's all worth it in the end!
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