Ok so I'm having a few problems sleeping. I dont know if it's because I'm preggo or if it's something else. But I just need some advice

1) I can't sleep for more than a couple hours at a time. I go to sleep at night and I wake up at least 2-3 times for a good half hour each time. Is this normal? Or is something wrong? :tired

2) I've been reading my baby books and mother-to-be books. They all say sleep on your left side. I've been trying really hard to do this but it is accutely uncomfortable. I mean, like it is really uncomfortable. I know its to keep the blood flow to the baby and to not squash arteries and what not, but when I lay on my left side (as I am doing right now) it feels like everything IS being squished. I dont have any problem laying on my right side though....so I dont know if that means something is up or if its normal to be uncomfortable sleeping on your left side? :dunno

So do any of you ladies know if everything that I'm going through is normal? Do you have any advice on what I can do to help me sleep better? Also, I have a heating pad that I used to use to help me sleep when I had cramps during my period. would that hurt the baby if I used it to help me sleep? TIA

my dr told me that as long as im not sleeping on my back then im ok...the left side is the best, but if you cant do it then opt for the right. and maybe while you have those awake periods switch over to the left until you ready to sleep again...

I wake up a lot during the night too...but a lot of my problem is i am reaching for Dh and it takes me a while to realize hes not here... i think waking up is normal though..

And as for the heating pad, i was told that was a No No. my Dr said i could use it for 15 min every hour and thats it, otherwise you can overheat the baby...

I've been having issues with sleeping this time too. I can fall asleep with no problem around 9pm and then around 1 or 2am I wake up and can't get back to sleep for at least 2 hours.
As for sleeping positions, its recommended to sleep on the left side but you can sleep on your right and even on your back (for short amounts of time). Its hard to get comfy so you do what you gotta do! I remember with DS towards the end I was sleeping sitting up in a recliner for the last 3wks.

When I was pregnant I used to wake up from pins and needles in my legs and the baby kicking.
I seemed to have pressure on the nerves whichever way I slept.
The only thing that helped was getting a new mattress (tempur) .
They are very expensive ,but there are alternative mattress toppers that do the same job. It also helped having a pillow between my knees and one thin one propping up my bump.
There is so much going on in your body so its no wonder you are getting broken sleep .
I hope you soon get a good night sleep:offtobed

Sleep issues are normal. If you're that uncomfortable sleeping on your left side, your right side is fine. As long as you're not on your back it's fine.

I've read No on the heating pad in several books and sites. I wake up once an hour to pee and I'm usually up for 15-20 minutes after that.

Sleep is elusive during pregnancy - it has been for me anyway. Sleep on whichever side you're more comfortable on - I switch from right to left and I have a great big body pillow that ROCKS. It's normal to wake up and not be able to sleep for awhile - just last week I woke up at 4am and never did get back to sleep. Maybe it's just our bodies preparing for the next however many months of irregular sleep patterns :)

well i sleep during the day and im awake at night, and as for sleeping on ur side i had trouble sleeping on my side but then i got used to it and thats the way i sleep now lol

When I was pregnant, I used to wake up 3-4 times a night. I asked my dr about it and he said it was perfectly normal. I couldn't sleep on my left side either. I talked to my dr about it and he said that as long as I was comfortable I'd be fine. I used a body pillow toward the end of my pregnancy and that helped me get comfortable and get some shut-eye. I was also told that taking a warm bath could also help (not too long in the tub though and make sure the water's not too hot). I've heard that one reason that you're advised against taking hot baths is that you can become overheated and pass out.

I did the same thing with the waking up a few times a night. It started with me getting up at like 5 or 6am and I was just wide awake! So I would go have some cereal and watch tv till I got sleepy again and went back to bed. But then I started getting up like every 4 hours for about 30mins to and hour each time. I never figured out how to stop it though, so just kinda went with it. But I'll tell ya, it definitely helped as far as not making me so tired when I had Elizabeth and really had to get up every couple of hours lol.