No Sleep Due to Pregnancy

My midwife let me take passion flower extract (not mixed with anything)-- that was about it. She was against most things. It did help though. I know how unfair it feels to not sleep just before you are going to have several months of not sleeping!

My doctor said I could use benedryl. Also, it is the same stuff they put in Tylenol PM so I used that too.

I really do not like taking medication, but I have to agree with the Tyelnol PM. I am 39 weeks pregnant and for about the last month, it is the only thing that allows me to sleep longer than 1 hour at a time. I don't take it every night but I do when I really need a good night's sleep, it is a lifesaver. Doctor said it was fine because it is Tylenol and Benadryl both safe for babies. I also notice that for some reason, I can sleep more comfortably during the day sometimes, so maybe you can try getting caught up at other times of the day as well. I have a 3 and 4 year old and for almost this whole pregnancy, I have at least laid down while they take their naps. I really think it has made a huge difference in how I have felt.

Hyland's Calms Forte!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My home birth midwife recommended it when I was having uber-trouble sleeping. When I was that far along, I had an almost 3yo who was still waking in the night, so I needed something that wouldn't knock me completely out. Hyland's Calms Forte was the ticket to my sanity! It helps calm your mind, and it worked VERY well for me. I found it at Whole Foods. I googled it for Fresno, and the website says you can find it at B Alive Vitamins on Cedar or just about any CVS. Hope you get some sleep!

Call your doctor, she will just tell you again, its not safe to ask strangers what is safe while pregnant. There are many things you could take and many things that might be dangerous for you, we aren't doctors and we are surely not your doctor. I'm not sure why you wouldn't just call your doctor toask. I would bring a pad and pencil each visit because it's important to keep track.

The first easy thing to try is Benadryl (which is what makes a lot of the over-the-counter medications "PM"). The anti-histamine is very good at making people sleepy, and is safe in pregnancy. It is usually the first "sleeping pill" given to people in the hospital who can't sleep. If you are sensitive to medications, try taking just one pill first (25 mg). If that doesn't work after about an hour or so, you can take another one (don't take any more for at least 4 hours after that). You can also try calling your doctor's office. The nurses usually know what the doctors recommend and can tell you over the phone. (From a Mom MD)

OTC sleep aids were always deemed safe during my pregnancies, as well as Benadryl (not that I found any of them to be of any real help. Restless leg syndrome during pregnancy sucks).

I took Tylenol PM all throughout my pregnancy for insomnia. It's a combination of acetaminophen and diphenhydramine (Tylenol and Benadryl), both of which are safe during pregnancy and while nursing.

There is a great herbal tonic that my midwife recommended called Relaxing Sleep Tonic by Herb Pharm. I would brew a three bag chamomile tea at night and sip that and take the Relaxing Sleep Tonic which really helped me get to sleep.

Good luck! Nothing worse than no sleep and being pregnant!

I hear ya. I'm in the same boat. Not sleeping very well either and I'm only 28 weeks. :) What I have been told is safe is Unisom or some generic of that. Good luck!

you can try "calms forte", I get it at Elliots, it is holistic, but ask your Dr. first...

Benedryl (same active ingredient as in Tylenol Pm, Unisom and some other over the counter sleep aids) was okayed by my midwife. I had very bad insomnia during my second pregnancy. I was given a prescription for Lunesta (ob said it was studied in pregnant women) and it didn't even work.

Well i had a challenging pregnancy and barely slept my 3rd tri. I was in serious danger of a complete break due to it, so my doc put me on ambien. Very low dose and i only ever took half a pill. With that i started getting 5-6 hours of sleep a night. 1 night i got 7 straight, but that was not worht it because my bladder was all messed up for a few hours the next morning.

Call your doctor and ask about the medicine. I always ended up sleeping on the couch in my late pregnancies. I kind of wedged myself in there with a couple of pillows. The firmness of the couch coupled with no snoring husband seemed to help.

For my extream nausea I took half a unison and b16. I'm guessing you could take the unisom just for sleep and nor nausea. It helped me sleep and about a thousand pillows.

I was so sleep deprived at the end of my pregnancy (my son kicked from
1am -6am every stinking night!!), that my Dr. told me to take Tylenol PM. I only took a half dose, but it really helped. Check with your Dr. before you take any, of course. Good luck!!

My OB's office has Unisom on the list of approved medications for sleeping trouble. Are you waking frequently or just not able to sleep? Try having ten or fifteen minutes after putting the kids to bed to unwind and get your brain ready for sleep. By that point in pregnancy I often slept much better curled around a body pillow so my belly was supported and sometimes I had pillows propped so my torso was higher than normal and I could breath more easily.

Oh, and I agree that this is a question for your doctor, but one thing my doctor's office has that I love is a list of over-the-counter pregnancy-safe medications, the dose, and what to take it for. I keep that in my medicine cabinet so I don't have to call the answering service in the middle of the night or on a weekend. See if your doctor has something like that you could take home.