How to sleep when baby is kicking during the night keeping u awake!

Becki90

30/12/2008 at 13:04

Hi im Becki and im a mum to be to my first child which is due May 2009. Me and my soon to be husband found out that we r having a baby boy on the 22nd December. However I struggle to get to sleep as our baby is always kicking me though out the night which is keeping both me and my fiance a wake. Has anyone got any tips?

Lucy

30/12/2008 at 13:21

Congratulations and welcome to pp! I'm Lucy, mum to Ben, 2 and currently 30 weeks pregnant with number 2..

not much you can do about baby kicking i don't think! and it's only going to get worse as the baby gets bigger and stronger.. maybe some of the other mummies have some suggestions, i just try and ignore my bump wriggling about.. they usually decide to wake up and start kicking just as i'm going off to sleep! (at least while they're still inside you don't have to listen to the crying!).

hope someone else comes up with some better advice!

Lucy x

ginger_wookey

30/12/2008 at 14:04

Hello I'm Cat and mum-to-be to our first too due in July. Congratulations!

I don't have any experience of this yet, but one of my colleagues who had a baby 2 years ago used to get so frustrated with her baby waking up and apparently dancing at night, she started poking the bump every time it went still in the day time to make sure it was tired when she was!

Don't know how recommended that course of action is though....

Caroline

30/12/2008 at 18:40

Sorry but apart from making yourself as comfy as possible there is not a lot you can do!

I slept with a 5 foot body cushion, 4 normal cushions, a wedge and a V cushion!! I have a 6ft bed so i had room for all those cushions!! I wrapped my legs around the body cushion and cuddled it, the wedge went under my bump, 2 normal cushions under my head and shoulders and i added the others if i needed them!!!!

The wedge cushion really supports your bump and should take the egde off any strong kicks!

I hope this helps!!

sarahb

30/12/2008 at 18:45

Hi Becki -

Welcome to PP - I'm Sarah and pregnant with no.1 I have no advice as havent got that far yet but hopefully some of the girls on here can help!!

Caroline - I just read on Cats thread about the V pillow I think I may buy myself one of those - wheres yours from hun?

ginger_wookey

30/12/2008 at 18:57

Sarah - the one I found was on Argos and less than £7, so worth giving a try for that amount of cash.

I will also be investing in one of the padded mattress protectors after Jo's warnings!

theoldwomanwholivesinashoe

30/12/2008 at 22:31

WATERPROOF Cat.Mind you I never actually needed it.Just peace of mind.
Hi,Becki,I'm Jo.I'm Mum of 6,and baby Seven is also due May.I just started getting woken at night by the little one.Like the other ladies say,there's nothing you can do.Apparently when we rest Baby wakes up more cos they have more oxygen to themself.Don't know if it's true."They" say lots of things.Actually Seven's having a go right now,think he's laughing at me!I never got round to cushions,by the time you fit a couple of Teletubby shaped adults in our bed there's no more room for cushions too be honest.I did find when the others were bigger they had preferred positions for me to sleep in,and would kick more if I got it wrong.They're still very small and mobile yet though.Oh,Bridie used to get hiccups at bedtime,with her head on my bladder.Drove me up the wall.ATM I enjoy the little kicks at bedtime,cos it's the only time I get alone,just me and my baby.We live in a bit of a madhouse

rileysmum

30/12/2008 at 22:44

Hi Becki,welcome to pp and Congrats on your pregnancy.

Try sleeping on your left side,it helped me when preggers with riley,it didnt stop the strong kicks but it defo help me sleep through them.

Best of luck

theoldwomanwholivesinashoe

30/12/2008 at 22:55

Yeh,it was left side for me too.It also helped with baby's position so she laid across,instead of with her back to mine,which gives you really bad backache.Also makes labour more difficult/painful with their back to you.Don't be stressing over that yet though

x.Laura.x

30/12/2008 at 23:12

all i can recomend, as has already been mentioned, is pillows and sleeping on left side! My little madam kept me awake at night kicking for what seemed like forever but i tried horlicks and lavender pillow sleep mist (boots) seemed to help, shes still keeping me up now, the kicks are nicer than the screaming lol!

http://img34.glitterfy.com/10328/glitterfy0061644869D32.gif

http://img34.glitterfy.com/10328/glitterfy0062407952D30.gif

http://img34.glitterfy.com/10328/glitterfy0062755630D31.gif

http://img34.glitterfy.com/10328/glitterfy0063117707D31.gif

Becki90

31/12/2008 at 11:28

hi ladies thanks for all you advice. but i lay on all sides and pillows and partner and we still keep getting kicked but i will definatly try the horlicks and lavendar pillow mist and see if that helps! hope you all have a great start to the new year! if any more ideas pop up please let me know!

Caroline

31/12/2008 at 15:42

Sarah, my V pillow was from dunelm, only a cheapy one! The body cushion was from Lidl, one of their weekly specials! I might freecycle it once i am done with it as its taking up a bit of room next to the bed!! If anyone wants the body cushion and is willing to pay postage i will happily post it! Its just a 4-5ft long foam filled sausage shape!! The cover is removable and washable!

misshunt09

24/02/2009 at 10:50

Hi my name is sarah and i'm 18weeks pregnant and have trouble sleeping at night, it's not because of my baby kicking but because i get very restless, i've tried everything to havin a warm glass of milk to having a bath before i goto bed has anyone got any suggestions that i may have not tried that can help me to sleep better at night ?

Melissa Pappas

08/09/2010 at 22:38

Please Help!

I'm 27 weeks pregnant with my first child, and she kicks really hard all night. I feel so sick and run down. I already have fibromyalgia and adrenal exhaustion and the lack of sleep is giving me irregular heartbeat. i can't sleep through them is there anything that can either make me sleep or make her stop???

Brooke Genell

01/12/2011 at 20:10

Hello, ladies.

I'm sorry that this comment comes too late for those of you who have already posted, but maybe this will be of some help to future visitors to the forum:

I've noticed no one has yet mentioned yoga. I hear that the cat and cow position can help lull a restless baby. Mine hasn't given me problems falling or staying asleep yet (I'm at 25 weeks with baby number 1.), but if he does, I plan to give that a try.

*Yoga, and other pregnancy-safe exercise, is also good for helping mothers-to-be who are themselves restless come nighttime to fall asleep. Of course, you don't want to engage in a full workout too close to bedtime; that would just get your heart and adrenaline pumping and have the effect opposite the one you want.*

I also like Ginger's colleague's suggestion of poking at the baby during the day. The more active the baby is during daylight hours, the more likely he/she is to be tired when you are. And gentle prodding won't do any harm; babies are well protected in the womb. If you're not comfortable with that method, though, a co-worker once told me his wife got the recommendation from her doctor to try shining a flashlight on her belly to wake/keep the baby up.

Brooke Genell

01/12/2011 at 20:30

Ahem... Make that "...shining a torch on her belly...". Please excuse the American term.

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