October 2014 Moms
hermanavelasquez
member
Help! How to sleep well
hermanavelasquez
member
Hello, girls. I am new here. I am 23 wks pregnant. I graduated from medical school about one and half year ago, and now that I am pregnant I realize how little I actually know about pregnancy and birth!
Now that my belly is a little bigger it's been so difficult for me to sleep well, I usually sleep turning to one side or facing down, obviously I can't sleep facing down anymore, but I can't either sleep tuning to one side! I feel terrible pain in my hip and shoulder, so I have to sleep facing upwards and there are times when I start coughing because my breathing is not optimal when sleeping that way, and moving is so difficult after being in that position for a certain amount of time.
Plus, my husband already had sleeping disorder and besides the amount of time that he can't sleep, he wakes up everytime he feels that I have trouble accomodating my body or when I am coughing, and we are both sleeping less than ever. We are planning an appointment with a psychologist for his condition, as he has this problem from his childhood and have never treated, but for now I would like to know if you are going through something similar and what techniques do you use for sleeping comfortable.
Thank you.
Sorry if I use some incorrect terms, English is a second language for me.
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Re: Help! How to sleep well
Can you try putting a thin pillow under one hip, and raising your shoulders a bit with an extra pillow or two, so that you can lay on your back but not flat, and be tilted to one side? That might help with breathing and feeling more comfortable.
I was having the same issues you were until my husband ordered me a pregnancy pillow. I kind of thought they were silly and unnecessary until I had one of my own. It holds me in the fetal position and prevents me from rolling back on my side. My only problem with it is that it is a pain if you need to switch positions (I usually make it 4-5 hours before needing to turn to my other side). I would try all of the other suggestions first since the pillows are about $40, but totally worth it if it helps you sleep! Good luck!
My husband also seems to suffer from disordered sleep. He thrashes around, snores, has nightmares all night, and cannot stand that he has to accommodate my pillows and sleep positions. He'd much rather be able to fold me up and use me as his body pillow! So I can kind of sympathize with your situation. But my husband is generally a heavier sleeper, so I can just elbow or nudge him until he rolls off of me.
Prepregnancy I slept either on my belly or my side with a king size pillow between my legs. What I do now is squeeze 2 king size pillows into one case to make it really firm (none of the pregnancy pillows seemed firm enough for me) It helps keep my hips level during the night. I also bought the boppy wedge for under my belly to keep it from dragging downward. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00DJP2T8E/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1404140242&sr=8-2&pi=SY200_QL40
It kinda sucks to have to rewedge it under my belly when I switch positions (a few times a night) but my back doesn't hurt in the morning and I think I slep more soundly.
I haven't had any shoulder pain so can't help with that, but it does sound like a head pillow issue. Hope all this helps. It helped me!
Last pregnancy I ended up at the chiro to help my hips and back. I'm about to head there again, at least I made it this far.
What helps for me is diphenhydramine or doxylamine. not idea but chronic sleep deprivation is just...killing me.
Next time you are bed shopping I have a sleep number bed and I love it.