Has Anyone Experienced Insomnia While Being Pregnant?

Updated on July 14, 2009
L.T. asks from Allen, TX
11 answers

Hi mom's,

I'm 31 wks pregnant with my third child and I'm experiencing things that are new to me and was wondering if there's anyone out there that has gone through this before. Every night around 9pm I begin to get extremely restless however, I'm very tired...to the point to where I could crash on the sofa. My muscles get tense in my upper back (between shoulder blades), in my legs, feet, and I get short of breathe (it goes back to normal when I lay down)...like I just walked up a flight of stairs. To top everything else off I become very irritable, probably from my body being so tense. I go upstairs and get in bed and I begin to experience restless leg syndrome pretty bad and then my eyes pop open and I'm suddenly wide awake...
Last night I would sleep for 45min and then wake up every hour and when I would wake up it was as if I was wide awake and never went to sleep. It's driving me nuts and was wondering if anyone has dealt with this or if I'm just crazy. Is there anything I can do??? I dread the 9pm hour. This has been going on for probably a week now.

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L.D.

answers from Dallas on

Yes, I have been experiencing this. The good news is that in the last week I have been sleeping much better. I am 36 weeks now with my second boy. Hang in there! Hopefully it will pass. Try taking a warm bath with some of the sleep bubble bath from Bath and Body before bed. It helps relax me.

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L.P.

answers from Dallas on

YES! I totally had insomnia and would actually cry sometimes because I was so tired and just wanted to sleep but couldn't. It does go away or did for me. I slept with a body pillow, tried to take a warm bath before bed, drank hot choc., and read an enjoyable magazine or book. The only other thing that helped me was strangely enough, having my husband just massage my arms. I don't know but it worked to help me get to sleep until I awoke every hour on the hour for the rest of the night. Good Luck and I hope things get better.

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K.P.

answers from Dallas on

I feel your pain. I am 36 weeks and have had the same problems for about a month and a half now. I talked to my OB and asked about taking something and was told basically it is jsut something that I have to deal with and it should go away after the baby is born. I have found that if I take a long fairily warm bath before getting into bed every night it helps my muscles relax so I can sleep better so try that. I have however not found anything to do about the restless leg thing and mine starts about 8 so I hope someone can help both of us out with that. Good Luck

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A.M.

answers from Dallas on

I had insomnia throughout both of my pregnancies (which is very odd for me, I normally sleep very well). It would either prevent me from falling asleep even though I was exhausted, or it would wake me up in the middle of the night and keep me awake. I remember getting out of bed at 3 in the morning several times and just starting my day. It stunk. But the upside is you are almost done, and as soon as you have the baby, it will get better!
Good luck!
A.

R.B.

answers from Dallas on

Yes, yes, and yes. And it made me so mad because everyone told me to get a lot of sleep while I could. Agh.
I found that sleeping in the recliner chair and watching tv (which makes me sleepy) helped.
Hormones, hormones, hormones.
R.

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M.R.

answers from Lubbock on

I remember this when I was pregnant. My son is now 15 months. I think that it is normal. The last month I remember being real h*** o* the sleeping. I was so tired but My body and mind would not shut down for me to sleep. Its funny looking back now because other moms would tell me that it is mother natures and Gods way of preparing you for the baby. You wont sleep once they come so it is a good adjustment tool for the process. I could totally see that after he came. Whether or not that is completly true or not and if you belive it is up to you. I also think that hormones play a huge part in it. Your body is going through a lot of changes and it only makes sense that you wouldnt be as relaxed and restful as you once were. I hope you get some rest before the baby comes.

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D.O.

answers from Dallas on

I had insomnia the last couple of months during my pregnancy. Woke up wide awake at 3 or 4am and couldn't fall back asleep. I finally had to watch TV for a while and would sometimes get sleepy after about 1-2 hours. If I had trouble falling asleep at the beginning of my sleep, I usually listened to a relaxation cd and it put me right to snoozing! You're definately not alone, and I kept telling myself it was my body's way of conditioning itself for night-waking after the baby was born. Still frustrating when all you want is rest!! Best wishes!

V.C.

answers from Dallas on

Unfortunately, yes, I had it for months. Nothing helped. My doctor also gave me a strong sleeping pill to take just before delivery and I only slept one hour! My baby sleep alot after birth, so I would not do that again.
But this will pass and you will survive although it is so hard right now.
Be very careful about Tylenol pm. Your baby gets it, too. new warnings have come out about it.
You might try Shaklee's chewable cal mag. I didn't know about it when I needed it. It could help with sleep and the muscle tension. You can check it out at http://shaklee.net/healthforlife
One friend of mine also said it helped relieve the pain of contractions.
Good luck to you. I hope you find something to help.
Victoria

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E.K.

answers from Dallas on

I'm 24 weeks with my fourth and at least one night a week (if not more) I have a night like yours. I think to a certain extent, sometimes you're just going to have bad nights because of being pregnant, but, I do think that there are a few things that you might try. At least with me, I think they make a some difference.

I have to watch my caffeine intake--both how much and when. I usually only have one cup of coffee in the morning but on really bad days will have a second cup or a Coke around lunch time. I think if I drink caffeine any later than lunch/early afternoon and then try to go to bed at a regular time, it can cause problems.

I have to pay attention to what I watch/read and eat in the hour before I go to bed. I had to really crack down on myself watching cop shows (or anything violent/gory/upsetting in any way) and eating candy. Trying to go to sleep isn't so easy after I've upset myself watching a show about a kid getting kidnapped while I was pumping myself full of chocolate!

I think getting some exercise during the day helps too, although I doesn't happen a lot more often that it does!

And, last, but not least, with one of my pregnancies I couldn't sleep without my body pillow but with this pregnancy I don't want it at all. I found that a regular size down pillow that I just kind of hug when I lay on my side is just right. And I switched one of the pillows for my head to a firmer one. Maybe try out some different pillows and/or sleeping positions. I also would need to lay on my back with legs bent to even start to relax. My OB said laying on your back is really only a problem if you have high blood pressure or some other issue.

Oh, and, I've also used my MP3 player although not very many times at all. And make sure you have a great stack of magazines or books by your bed. Good luck to you!

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A.C.

answers from Dallas on

I'm usually a good sleeper (or at least, sound) but I had sleep issues while pregnant with our son (2 now) and I've got it much worse now that I'm pregnant with our second. I have no idea about any remedies because I haven't found one. I've been waking up BURNING up hot, or slightly chilly, back and forth. I also have the tension b/w my shoulder blades and dream of getting a massage someday when I have some time to myself. My eyes sometimes just pop open ON THE HOUR though my hour of dread is 11pm and onward, or 3am and onward. And if I do sleep, I have stupid dreams at least 2 times a week. Yuck. It DID go away when my first was born, so I'm hoping it'll go away again after this pregnancy....only to be replaced by night feedings, lol.

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K.H.

answers from Dallas on

You can take Tylenol PM....I am 25 weeks and have a had a hard time sleeping occassionally....my doctor said tylenol pm was fine....IF it continues talk to your doctor. I have a friend who had severe insomnia during pregancy and her doctor told her sometimes it happens due to hormones and they prescribed her ambien. It was the only way she could sleep. As soon as she delivered her insomnia resolved! Good Luck

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