Tired and Pregnant

I honestly do not have an answer for you, but I am having the same problem. I work and this is my 1st pregnancy. I am only 5 weeks along, but I cannot sleep at night and I am totally exhausted and crash at 9-9:30pm and then wake up from like 2-4am and cannot no matter what I do fall back asleep.

They told me to try eating saltines.

I am about 12 weeks pregnant and having the same issue! I have three children under 8 and I have never had this happen to me before. I usually wake up around 1-2 as well, to pee, then I can't get back to sleep. Its hard because I know I am sooo tired. Good luck!

Well well- at least i know i wasn't the only one! and to be brutally honest with you, it got worse and worse for me as my pregnancy progressed. although i did have a week here and there where i felt a little better but then it was right back to aches, pains, lack of sleep, nervousness, so on and so forth... i also have siatica which is terribly worse during pregnancy and i would wake up very often in the middle of the night with charlie horses in both legs and feet!!! just thank your lucky stars that your only exhausted sweetie!!! but just one suggestion- maybe you could take a nap right after the kids leave and hubby gets home from work- just to catch you up a little, then if you wake up a few times during the night maybe you wont be so restless... well good luck with everything and hope you have an easier time with the rest of your pregnancy...

Ugh! That's so hard, isn't it?
Have you tried increasing your exercise or doing some yoga or mediation? What about taking Cammomile? Those things helped me some. What about chiropractic treatments or massage?

Hope you get some rest soon! But remember, this is also mother nature's way of preparing you for another baby & his/her night schedule.
Hang in there!
A.

When you wake up at 2am, have you tried a yoga/strechting routine to relax you. It may help you fall asleep again. I had a really good pregnancy yoga dvd, it had different routines for different needs (sleep, energy, morning sickness, backache) and it was divided by trimester, so the exercises were appropriate for what your body is capable of now. I can't remember the name at the moment b/c I loaned it to a friend. If i recall it, I will write back to you. Good luck. (I purchased it at Borders 2 years ago).

when i was pregnant with my last one i was told i could try Unisom(sp).I'd use it every once in awhile and it helped out alot..........
Sorry now real help but good luck to you

My only advice to you would be coffee, One or two cups a day is not bad when you are pregnant. The warning is really for those people that drink a pot a day and tons of caffinated drinks and soda. I would say right after dinner have a cup of coffee - with any luck it will keep you up a little longer then you will be able to go to sleep later and wake up later. When I had my second baby my son was only a year old, I must admit to large cups of coffee to get through the day on occasion. All was fine. As long as you are not having problems with your blood pressure you should be ok.

I'm tired just reading your post and I'm not pregnant. And I love that you are seeking assistance and information. How much currently on your shoulders are you choosing to do yourself versus looking for resources to assist you? My experience when working with clients in my coaching practice is that when they awake in the middle of the night and can't readily return to sleep, it is most often due to stress and having so much on their shoulders. If this is the case, this is the area you need to address - benedryl won't help this. Do you have a friend who could stop over for 90 minutes 2-3 times a week to watch the children while you take a nap? If you've been medically approved for benedryl, you might do better taking it at 2am when you awake. This would at a minimum return you to sleep much sooner than 4am. However, you need to watch how your body responds to benedryl. For some people, 3-4 hours of drowsiness/sleep is all they get, for others they feel like they are in a fog unless they get 6-7 hours of sleep after a dose. This might be something to try on a Friday/Saturday night when you husband can be there to give you the space to safely see how that might work for you.

Hi Cia! I remember those days well! When I was pregnant with my third daughter I was exhusted all the time. I never did figure out when or how some women "felt great!" when they were pregnant. Forget trying to use the pm stuff. If it hasn't work yet it won't. I'm sure you have tried limiting your coffee and coke/pepsi as well. Have you tried journaling or reading before you go to sleep? Has anything been really worrying you that you need to figure out or talk about to someone? Sometimes it's thoughts and worries that bother sleep.

When I had our third one my pregnancy was a lot harder than my first two... because I was 5 yrs older, had a toddler and a kindergartener to take care of and was holding down a full-time (50+ hours a week)job, as well as trying to maintain a house. That was just too much. So I cut back on work, worried less about dust, depended on and got more help from my hubby (who really could do a lot when I let him!) and started learning some trick to relax more. It really did help. Give it a try...remember no one is perfact so don't try too hard! Congrats, good luck and best wishes!!

Hi Cia

Other than Benadryl I don't have any great answers, I just wanted to tell you I have been the exact same way my entire pregnancy ( my third as well.) As soon as the first 2 are in bed, I crash onto my bed and go to sleep and if I get awake between 2 -4, I can't fall back to sleep either. Some nights I get so little sleep that I feel physically ill and get so emotional. It is horrible. I haven't been at work since the beginning of July, but honestly it was easier at work than at home with my 2 kids. Now there are days when I feel like an awful mother because I am calling on Mom-Mom to watch them for the afternoon because I am so tired and have to get a nap. I feel for you Cia. Try using the weekends to nap and sleep in while Daddy is around. That is what I have resorted to.

Hi Cia,

Congratulations on your pregnancy! I don't have good advice for you, but I've ALWAYS found that when I take Benadryl or Tylenol PM to help me sleep, the same exact thing happens (pregnant or not). I sleep hard for a few solid hours and then I'm wide awake in the middle of the night, without fail.

What about a more natural approach? There's sleepy-time tea (although I'm not sure if it's safe for pregnancy).

I know it's easier said than done, but it sounds like you're pysching yourself out for the day ahead, and that may be leading to anxiety, thus sleeplessness. Try not to worry so much about the day ahead. Like I said - easier said than done, but it might help. I had to do this myself with breast pumping. I would get myself all pysched out that I wouldn't be able to pump enough milk at work for my son, and lo and behold, I was so worried about it that my let-down reflex failed me. After about a week of stressing and no milk, I realized I needed to relax, take a few deep breaths, let my shoulders hang - the milk flowed. Different scenario, but maybe it would help you to think along those lines.

Best of luck!!!

I to about 24 weeks and have been waking up around the same time no matter how late that i go to bed. I have done the sleep time tea. I make sure that it is all natarule ingredinets. Just a cup and it helps, just to relax, i don;t always make it threw the night when i do it, but the middle of the night isn't always as bad. Also, i found with my third child, that the time that i would wake up at night is about the time that she ended up waking for a night feeding. Specially when we where still in the hospitle. Best of luck.

Have your thyroid levels checked - it's done with a simple blood test, and the symptoms you are describing are similar, and it is a very common problem that developes alot of times in pregnancy. Good Luck.

Hi cia,

Have you had your iron, and B12 checked?

Here are some web sites:

http://www.healthalternatives2000.com/tiredness-report.html

http://www.squidoo.com/pregnancy_insomnia

Hope this helps. D.

Two things: sometimes people wake up at night because they don't have the energy to sleep. sound wierd ? Try eating something with protein in it at bedtime and see . . . .protein because it'll keep your blood sugar at a constant level, versus carbs that will peak and die.

And, on the protein subject, how's your iron count ? I remember, when I was pregnant, that 1/2 way through eaah of 4 pregnancies, my doctor did a blood test to check iron. It was kind of interesting, because at least twice it was right after I was beginning to feel horribly tired, and sure enough -- low iron.

Proteins also help with iron. Because it takes protein to metabolize the iron.

Good luck ! and congrats to you. It's tough to have a job with absolutely NO downtime. But, how will you handle the babysitting AND the new infant during the first 6 weeks ? (You can tell I worked outside the home, right ?)

My hats off to you !!
barb

HI,

I was tired too with my first during my second trimester. I had trouble even getting up steps without stopping to rest. I found out my iron was low when they tested me for diabetes. I also had sleep problems with that pregnancy and they found out I had gestational diabetes. it seemed to help my sleep when my sugars got more under control. Don't know if that's your problem or not but do ask them to check your iron because it can change from when they check it at the beginning of your pregnancy. the second pregnancy I was able to stay on top of the iron before it got too low.
good luck

I didn't have this problem but it sounds like you need a GOOD vitamin that your body will absorb and be able to use the nutrients from it.I wouldn't want to be using benedryl and tylenol on a regular basis,regardless of whether or not they worked.No matter how well people eat,it is recommended we all take a multivitamin/mineral to supplement what food doesn't give us anymore due to the soil being depeleted and processing.
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S.