Sleeping while pregnant

kelliwill

Okay, I read and read about how you are supposed to sleep on your side while pregnant and honestly I do my best.  Sometimes it totally works and I am fine but I am finding myself more and more uncomfortable.  My bump is not huge yet by any means and I an still lay somewhat on my stomach with my arm under me so I am half way on my belly and half way on my side.  Is this okay?  I know it's silly but I don't want to squish my babies.  I worry that my uncomfortablness will only get worse.  Ever since being pregnant I feel like our bed is super small and I don't want to even touch my husband at night.  I want my space and there just doesn't seem to be enough of it.  Also, there are times when it feels really good to lay on my back, which is supposed to be a no-no.  Is it okay for a little bit like resting on the couch or no?  Part of me feels that if I am comfortable they will be too, but I also don't want to do something that will hurt them.  I need to talk to the Doc about this, but what do/did you guys do?  TIA

pea-kay

believe me, your body will tell you when to stop sleeping on your back. i don't think you need to worry about it just yet. just stay on your sides while you're awake, at least. do the best you can.

even towards the end of my pg, i'd sleep mostly on my back, but i'd put a pillow under one of my hips to keep myself from being completely on my back. and i'd be reclining, not flat on my back. (this was in a hospital bed.)

ncsubride

Your body will def. tell you when you need to move.

You should look into getting a pregnancy pillow it really helped me.  I got the Pregnancy Boppy and LOVED it.  I even used it while feeding them after they were born.  I got mine at BRU.

bearfootz

I agree with pp, you'll know when stomach sleeping is no longer ok.  I still ended up on my stomach a lot in the early days, but now I'll wake myself up if I end up on my belly, it's just not comfortable anymore. 

As for the back, I think that's more of an issue later on too.  Same deal where you wake yourself up when you're on your back too long.  I know I went for a facial a couple weeks ago and after laying on my back for almost an hour I was VERY uncomfortable. 

Sorry to say this, but sleeping just doesn't seem to be an easy thing anymore.  I've been using lots of pillows to try to make myself comfortable and wedge me into a position, but you can't really control how you move at night so it's best to just not worry about it.

jacobandcrystal

I wake up having rolled onto my back a lot of the time... and I also sleep the same way you were describing kind of on my side but rolled slightly toward my tummy!  I don't think about it too much : )

sfitz0711

pea-kay:

believe me, your body will tell you when to stop sleeping on your back. i don't think you need to worry about it just yet. just stay on your sides while you're awake, at least. do the best you can.

even towards the end of my pg, i'd sleep mostly on my back, but i'd put a pillow under one of my hips to keep myself from being completely on my back. and i'd be reclining, not flat on my back. (this was in a hospital bed.)

 

I agree with this post.

groovygrl

sounds like you're a stomach sleeper- you definitely won't feel good doing that after awhile so like pp's said, your body will tell you. I am 33 weeks & I lie on the couch on my back all the time still propped up on several pillows so at least at a 45 degree angle. I am totally comfortable doing that since the weight of the babies would not be on my aorta in that position but further down.

I'm a back sleeper & realllllly miss sleeping on my back, sleeping used to be wonderful for me & now I dread going to sleep b/c of the positioning (combined w/ the fact that I developed carpal tunnle & my hands fall asleep at night). The best position I've found (I also have a body pillow- a snoogle) is to have a regular pillow wedged behind my back to keep me on my side but all the pressure is not on my shoulder/hip since I"m leaning back a little, with a pillow b/w my knees and then the body pillow in front of me to rest my top knee &top arm on to try to align my back (think about the position of your arms & legs when trying to make sure your spine is aligned, it really makes a big difference). I do switch from left to right throughout the night even though they say left is best b/c my back just hurst too much lying on the same side all night .

Not sure if that description made sense, but when I was as early as you are, prob until 25 weeks (with twins) I was able to just use the snoogle to help lean on and wrap between my legs. 

GL! It is definitely no fun  

Sweets2005

I started using a body pillow at 15 weeks and I definitely think you should get one! I was also a tummy sleeper but now I cuddle up to the body pillow so it still sorta feels like I am on my tummy.

Also, I used to wake up on my back but now that I just super painful!! Plus, it started to make me really dizzy so yes your body will tell you when to stop. Oh and I know left is best but I would be a mess (haha I rhymed) if I didn't occassionally go to my right. I figure my body will wake me if I need to move.

Oh and sleeping does become a LOT more uncomfortable! I basically dread night time know because I just can't sleep between the heartburn/reflux, being so uncomfortable, waking up to pee, rib pain, and pain in general.

Hang in there tho!

Skatcat

pea-kay:

believe me, your body will tell you when to stop sleeping on your back. i don't think you need to worry about it just yet. just stay on your sides while you're awake, at least. do the best you can.

even towards the end of my pg, i'd sleep mostly on my back, but i'd put a pillow under one of my hips to keep myself from being completely on my back. and i'd be reclining, not flat on my back. (this was in a hospital bed.)

This!

atc282

Like others have posted, it might be a good idea to invest in a pregnancy pillow. I recently ordered the Leachco Grow-to-Sleep pillow and it allows you to sleep COMFORTABLY on either side--I'm upset with myself that I didn't have one earlier in this PG!! You can get this particular one at target.com or amazon.com. I also think they sell it at justmultiples.com (but it's a bit pricier there, IMO).

GL and hope you get some well-deserved comfy rest soon!!

Temp159135562506975

pea-kay:

believe me, your body will tell you when to stop sleeping on your back. i don't think you need to worry about it just yet. just stay on your sides while you're awake, at least. do the best you can.

even towards the end of my pg, i'd sleep mostly on my back, but i'd put a pillow under one of my hips to keep myself from being completely on my back. and i'd be reclining, not flat on my back. (this was in a hospital bed.)

ditto - minus the hospital bed for me... i had a ton of pillows propping me up all over so that i couldn't possibly lay flat even if I tried - not that i could have done it for long anyway b/c i felt suffocated when i was flat.