While pregnant, it can be very difficult to be uninterrupted by sleeping disturbances. During pregnancy, a woman is plagued with stress, hormonal changes, anxiety, and physical discomfort. Throughout the term of pregnancy many women find that they have to awake multiple times during the night to urinate.
Fortunately, there are plenty of tips that can be used to make your pregnancy an easier one for sleeping.
Stay Hydrated
Be sure to drink plenty of water during the day. Just be sure to drink less directly before bedtime in order to minimize the amount of times you wake up to urinate.
Move Move Move
It is important to keep up with exercise. This will improve your circulation as well as promote optimum health. In result you will have less cramping in the legs. Do not exercise too close to your bed time as exercising releases adrenaline which will keep you awake during the night.
No More Stress
Anxiety and stress can play a large role in preventing you from getting a great night’s rest. Simply worrying and keeping those worries to yourself is not going to help you. Be sure to have a person to confide in about your stresses and worries. Either a friend or a professional can help you and listen to you if you are experiencing issues in life that are leading to stress and anxiety.
Nightly Routine
Get into a night-time routine. Be sore that it is a comforting routine that allows you to drift off into slumber easily. Try drinking a cup of tea with no caffeine, or a cup of hot milk with a dab of honey for flavoring. Read a chapter of your favorite book. Take a bath or warm shower using a scented soap. Ask somebody to give you a shoulder massage or to brush your hair.
Proper Positioning
Sleep on your left side during the third trimester in order to bring the best blood flow to the fetus, uterus, and kidneys. Try not to lie flat on your back for any long period of time.
Heartburn Prevention
Do not recline until about 2 hours after you have had a meal. Sleep with your head elevated on pillows if you are having trouble with heartburn. Be sure to avoid acidic, spicy, and fried foods. All of these foods will worsen your symptoms of heartburn.
Naps
If you are sure you are not getting enough rest during the night. Take naps during the day. Just find a quiet spot in the house and relax even if only for a short period of time. This can help to decrease the amount of fatigue you feel throughout the day.
Support
A Pregnancy Pillow can greatly increase the comfort you feel during sleep. Attempt sleeping on your side with one part of the pillow under your knee and another part of it under your belly.
Diet
If possible, eliminate caffeine from your diet. If you are having trouble with nausea, eat plenty of plain snacks like crackers and even bread. Avoid an empty stomach to keep the nausea down. Be sure to eat healthy for you and your baby. Absorbing all of the necessary nutrients is vital to your baby’s health. This will also prevent you from awaking at night feeling the urge to munch on snacks.
Advice
Contact your doctor if your insomnia does not taper off.
If you are a later in your pregnancy, the latter second trimester or the third trimester, then you very well may be undergoing rib pain during pregnancy. In many cases this is quite normal as women that feel such pain often express a tenderness or bruising in that area of the rib cage. Most people that experience this complain of the ribs hurting more on the right side than on the left.
There was a time when having a baby before getting married was a little taboo! Not any more however, and the number of brides that walk up the aisle while pregnant has grown to 1 in 5. That’s 20% of brides today carrying a little one up to the altar.