Late Pregnancy Anxiety?

mamaroar · February 2016

I am 33+5 and this is starting to creep in. Triggered by a bad dream I had a few days ago. I will spare everyone the details, but it was a nightmare - about delivery, and things not going well.

I am finding that when I wake in the middle of the night to pee I'm not satisfied to fall back asleep unless I feel the baby move. I've even resorted to putting a flashlight on my belly to force him to wake up and move (I know it's crazy, but try it in your dark bedroom. Your LO will wake RIGHT up.)

Is this happening to everyone and how are you dealing with it? Last night I took a bubble bath and baby squirmed around during the whole thing so that helped.

tJaffe · February 2016

I have been doing the same thing since he began moving. I have the ability to work myself up over nothing, but as long as I can feel him move I'm okay.

With that being said, his arrival (after the 37th week at least) can't come soon enough. I know bad things happen, even after they arrive, but to have him out makes me feel a lot more in control.

I have no advice on how to get through it, just wanted you to know you're not alone.

mamaroar · February 2016

Weekly OB appointments with u/s are right around the corner (I am 38 years old so considered "elderly" by OB standards even though pretty much everything has been fine so far.) My first u/s since 20 weeks is this Friday and it cannot come soon enough!

Nothing is driving the anxiety except that I think as the end of pregnancy nears, you get more attached to the idea of meeting your baby so you have more anxiety around anything jeopardizing that happening.

Maybe at exactly 37 weeks he'll be like "I am so tired of this broad shining this light in my eyes in the middle of the night - I've gotta get the hell out of here!"

tJaffe · February 2016

My OB does an ultrasound at every appointment, age doesn't matter... So I only look forward far enough to the next appointment. So for me that will be next Wednesday. I think I start every two weeks after that. He doesn't do weekly appointments until 37 weeks though.

Knottie1456889319 · February 2016

I always wait for the baby to move before I fall back asleep. I don't really think this means you have anxiety. I am pretty used to worrying about my baby and plan to do that for the remainder of my life.

diablesse · February 2016

tJaffe said:

My OB does an ultrasound at every appointment, age doesn't matter... So I only look forward far enough to the next appointment. So for me that will be next Wednesday. I think I start every two weeks after that. He doesn't do weekly appointments until 37 weeks though.

That's unusual for most people at most practices. Are you at a really small practice?

I also get an US at every visit because (they said) I'm "elderly". I have three other friends at the same practice and they don't get any extra USs.

OP- I think mom anxiety is normal. I think moms are supposed to be worry.

FutureMrsCaesar · February 2016

I've definitely been having more general anxiety. Especially at night, when I wake up it's very difficult to get back to sleep because my mind starts racing. It's usually about what's left 'to do' for the baby, or what's on the schedule for my other kids, or how I'm going to work out babysitting for all my appointments and stuff like that. Then it's a bad cycle of not getting enough sleep which makes my anxiety worse, which makes my sleep worse, etc etc. Also my back has been hurting at night so that adds to the difficulty sleeping.

ceds07 · February 2016

I don't know if there's a gentle way to say this but it is definitely normal and definitely does not get better once the baby is here! All of a sudden you're hot with the realization holy crap I am responsible for keeping this little person alive and I will NEVER have a worry free moment in life again! I mean yes it does get less intense as they get older but generally, welcome to mom life

mshukh · February 2016

Yup, I haven't tried shining a light at him, but I definitely try to feel him move before falling asleep and if he won't, I'll often try to nudge him a bit to get him moving.

AlissaLee17 · February 2016

I get worried and I try to make him move, but generally he refuses between midnight and about 7am. Then he goes back to sleep until about 11am. The rest of the day he usually moves enough to be reassuring, but I definitely have trouble turning off the anxiety every time I wake up in the middle of the night (which has been roughly every hour thanks to hip pain). I feel y'all.

bagel37 · February 2016

I'm so happy that I am not alone in this. I'm the same way when I'm up in the middle of the night, but I resort to massaging my tummy until I feel baby and make her move. I'm up to the weekly appointments as I'm 36 weeks and have 1 more ultrasound next week. As much as I want baby to be full term, the next couple of weeks could not come fast enough!

kitteh81 · February 2016

Just wait until they're born and you're exhausted at 3 AM but can't go to sleep because you have to stare at them while they sleep just to make sure they're still breathing.

maelic · February 2016

Yeah, I still get up in the middle of the night to make sure my sleeping two year old is breathing. The anxiety doesn't really go away once you have an outside baby.

elledriver88 · February 2016

My anxiety has been coming and going lately, for the silliest reasons. I was in a panic the other day while driving so bad that I felt like I needed to pull over. I was thinking about how scary it is going to be to drive with the baby. I don't know why this crossed my mind but once I started thinking about it, I couldn't stop. This is an irrational fear I hope, I have been driving for years and never had an accident or a ticket or anything. My nightmares have also been revolving around the baby getting hurt either accidentally by me, or the baby getting hurt and me being unable to help her.