According to all the reading I’ve done, my doctor, and all the women who I’ve talked to that have been pregnant, it’s not all that uncommon to not be able to sleep when you have a bun in the oven. The thing is, even though it’s not uncommon, it’s still something that is completely annoying and hard to deal with given that when I need to get up in the morning to function, I’m generally tired and drained. It’s not fun, not fun at all. So to all you women out there who weren’t able to sleep while pregnant, kudos to you for getting through it. And to their husbands and significant others, thanks for sticking by them because I’m pretty sure I’m keeping my husband up at night just like all of you probably did. All I can say is sorry love and thanks for putting up with it. I know there are some mornings when you wake up and wonder why you even tried to sleep just like me!
Now, one of the reasons why I’m having trouble sleeping is that I just can’t get comfortable, which again is a common complaint you hear from most pregnant women. I try lying on my side, then my other side, then kind of on my back and my side, and then I toss and turn, repeating this cycle numerous times throughout the night. To help combat my uncomfortable state, I’ve enlisted the help of a full body pillow.
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| Ohhh so soft. |
There are other reasons why I can’t sleep and like with not being able to get comfortable, they’re something that most pregnant women end up dealing with at some point. A few of them include:
- Heartburn.
- Not being tired at the right times.
- Having to go to the bathroom a bunch.
- Worrying about this, that and the other thing.
- And vivid dreams or nightmares.
The last three are the ones I have had the most problems with because I’ve always had to pee a bunch at night, I’ve always been a person who can’t shut off my thoughts, and I’ve always had vivid dreams. Each has increased for me ten-fold over the last few weeks, especially the dreaming part. Now, they’re more vivid than ever and are so real that sometimes I just get up so I don’t have to deal with them. For instance, last night I had a dream that I was in the fifth grade again taking a standardized test and wasn’t able to finish due to the fact that I was having trouble with the reading portion of the test. I was right in my fifth grade classroom sitting in my desk with my teacher Mr. Herman telling us what we needed to do. I didn’t care all that much at first about the test, yet when the time started crunching down I was freaking out trying to finish. When I woke up, I was thinking to myself how much taking those tests sucked and that I would rather not sleep to have to go through all that hassle again. I did manage to get over the whole thing and fall back to sleep, however, being back in fifth grade was just super weird.
Anyway, as with the body pillow I purchased to get more comfy at night, I’m learning different ways to remedy the other causes why I can’t sleep:
- To avoid heartburn, I eat slower and drink some milk before bed.
- To be sleepy when it matters, I try to stick to a regular sleep schedule and workout regularly.
- To avoid going to the bathroom at night, I don’t drink a lot of liquids, aside from the milk, later in the day and at night.
- To stop worrying all the time, I use simple relaxation techniques like breathing in and out slowly along with clearing my mind.
- And as for the vivid dreams, I try to let them go and think about something else if the dreams weren't pleasant.
When it comes down to it, I just want to get a good night’s rest and when I do, it’s great and when I don’t, it’s just something to work through that will make me stronger. When little Billy Bubba shows up, I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of sleepless nights, so, I’m getting nice and prepared for his arrival! See, I just turned a positive into a negative and I’m learning that’s what life’s all about right now. Just live, learn, and keep on going. Until we meet again, it’s Carla the Pregnant Tomboy signing off.
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