Sleep help please!

juliannat

I was expecting to have trouble sleeping, but not this early...I just cannot get comfortable - or if I do, I wake up a couple hours later and my lower back, right side ("love handle" area) goes into spasm.

I am normally a side sleeper (maybe 70% left, 30% right) so it's not like side sleeping is new...I've also always slept with a pillow between my legs...but now I just can't seem to get in a good position. 

I've tried the snoogle in various positions...a wedge pillow under my belly or wedged into my low back. I've also tried jamming blankets tightly around me in different places but I just can't seem to find the right formula.

Any ideas? I love my sleep (for now, I know, I know!) and have always been a great sleeper - so getting to the point of actually dreading going to bed is so hard right now...and what will it be like when I have another 10 or 20 lbs on my belly?

smilee

I have no advice as I struggled with sleep, too.  Just hugs!

And I will say this, of course you won't get much sleep when the babies are here, but at least you won't be uncomfortable and pissed.  For me, that was way worse than getting up to feed a cute baby! 

yodasmistress

NO advice here.  My hips KILL ME.  My regular "get up" time these days is 3:30 am.  And THAT is after only being in bed for 5 1/2 hours, during which time I get up at least 3 times to pee. 

(OK I do have one tiny suggestion that is helping me a tiny bit - I prop the top half of my body up with a bedrest, a pillow and a neck roll, then I put two pillows underneath my knees and two pillows underneath my feet.  It's kind of mimics the way your body would be in a recliner chair.)

juliannat

Thanks smilee, that gives me something to look forward to

Yoda - good idea; I'll try it. I told DH today that we might need to get a lazy boy or other type of recliner soon as I'd be willing to try that too!

iluvadam

Yeah, the whole sleeping with a twin belly thing just seems like a constant battle that I am losing.  I started to have the pain issues you are describing around 20 weeks and now, I'm sorry to say, it is so much worse.  Worse because of the hip pain added on to all the back pain I was having before. 

Here is what I do (this is for side-lying and requires an absurd number of pillows):  I wrap the snoogle around me so that the long part is behind my back and wedge a king-size pillow between the snoogle and my back.  The top part of the snoogle is under my head underneath two more king-size pillows so that I cannot feel the snoogle because I don't like how it feels under my neck.  Then I pull the bottom part of the snoogle through my legs so that it is between my knees.  Then (yes there is more) I take a wedge pillow and put it under my belly so that it is supported because I think the weight of my belly pulls on my back muscles causing the spasms.  I know this all sounds ridiculous but it has been the only thing that has worked for me.  The worst part about all this is that I do all that work to get it perfect and then I wake up an hour later because I have to pee. 

I think you just have to play around with everything until you find the combo that works best for you.  My biggest tip is that when pregnant, you can NEVER have too many pillows!  They are your best friends!

EMTTessie

Have you tried stretching? I was having horrible leg/hip/back pain and it kept waking me up, plus I would be in so much pain I could hardly walk in the mornings. What I started doing was stretching before bed at my OB's suggestion. I stretch my quads and calves by leaning on the bed, knees slightly bent and pushing my butt up, it sounds kinda strange but it's the same as sitting on the floor legs out in front of you and reaching forward trying to touch your toes. Also you can try sitting on the edge of a chair, cross your ankle onto the other knee and lightly press down on the knee of the leg that's up. Another stretch is to stand straight and reach one arm over your head, then lean the direction your hand in pointing, this helps stretch the muscles in my sides.

It's amazing how connected everything is. I hope you find some relieve somehow!