Sleep question?

[Sign Of The Fish Burger]

Is anyone else suffering from poor quality of sleep because of lack of comfort?

I think my problem is that I subconsciously know I'm not supposed to sleep on my back or stomach now that I'm in my second trimester, so I wake up anytime I even start to roll over. I hate it.

The worse part is, the only way I can REALLY sleep comfortably and soundly is on my back, and no matter how hard I try I ALWAYS end up there. I have no idea how to fix this, or if I should just sleep however I lay. I always fall asleep on my side but I end up on my back.

Is sleeping on my back really that bad?

 

[~Mrs. A2J~]

I slept on my back up until the night I went into labor with J. I also slept on my belly until about 7 months pregnant and then after that a kind of side/belly position. I've done that with all 3 of my kids. At the end of J's pregnancy though I was having such pain in my hips that sleeping on my back was pretty much the only position I could get any sleep in at all.

Yes, sleeping on your left side is the "optimum" position but you're not gonna hurt your baby by sleeping on your back.

 

[Assisi]

You're coming up half way, right SOTFB? It becomes more of problem (sleeping on your back) as you get bigger. Even then, they say that well before you would do your baby any damage from sleeping on your back you would wake yourself up because you would have done yourself some damage. Also, opinions vary on how long it is deemed safe to sleep on your back. My current OB says up to 28 weeks, my previous OB said up to 20 weeks, What to Expect says 'end of the fourth month'. You would know if you had done any damage.

I sympathise about the sleeping. It is hard to sleep! I like to sleep on my tummy, and I could get away with that for ages. Even now (I'm at term) I occasionally sleep on my tummy (by accident) and when I wake up baby is gone! But it pops back out. I can't sleep on my back, or my sides, or my front - because they all hurt in different ways. One thing I love love LOVE is to pack up a whole lot of pillows (like six) and have a little rest reclining. I can't sleep for long like that, but it is like heaven for my hips. Pillows are your friend.

 

[sparassidae]

Yep I agree with Assissi- get pillows. As many as you need to get comfortable. I'm still sleeping on my back, but probably in a few more weeks I'll stop just because it gets uncomfortable for me at about that point. My preferred sleeping position is on my side anyway.

But to help with side sleeping if you want to (or feel you 'should') try propping a pillow or two behind your back to stop you from rolling over, or at the very least it will leave you in a semi side/back position.

By about the 8th month I end up with a pillow behind my back, one under my bump, and one between my knees- the only way I'll be comfortable.

 

[tiredwalker]

The hips are the killer part for me. I can only sleep on my sides with my belly resting on the mattress and a pillow between my knees. When my arms are good an numb, I usually have to use the bathroom anyway. So, it's time for a stretch, tinkle break, and back to bed for repositioning. If I'm lucky, I sleep in until 6 on the weekends.

 

[Sign Of The Fish Burger]

Thanks ladies. I was so tired last night that I said "screw it" and I let myself sleep on my back. It was heavenly!!

And Assisi according to my cycle I'm 16W 5D but I'm measuring at 17W 1D... so who knows LOL.

Wow time flies

 

[MyaShane]

Sleep as you used to know it is pretty much gone and won't return again until you child is in kindergarten or there about. Just try and find a comfortable spot and go with it! As you get bigger, you probably won't want to be on your back anyway (it's really uncomfortable). You'll just be glad to find any position that works. I know some people really find a body pillow useful, too.

 

[jgonz]

Sleep the way you're comfortable for now. There Will come a time that your favorite back-laying position will Not be comfortable, so go to your side then.

 

[Catholic Wife]

I'm nowhere near having this problem yet, but can I offer an idea from my work? The thing about sleeping on your back is that the uterus/baby can compress the vena cava (the big vein that returns to your heart) and can cause cause your blood pressure to drop. When we have to put a pregnant woman on a back board, we "tilt" her by putting a something under one side so the uterus/baby shifts over. I don't know how comfortable this would be for you, but maybe put a kinda flat pillow under one side of your body to "tilt" yourself and keep the uterus/baby off-center when you lay on your back? (a "king size" pillow goes from shoulders to hips on me)