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MarilynW
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| Posted: Feb 13 2009 at 9:16am | IP Logged
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I have never had this before. I am only in 2nd trimester - but am having trouble sleeping. Anyone else have this? Part of it is nasal congestion - but maybe I am just conscious of this because I am awake. I am finding it so hard to function during the day. Any hints on how to keep calm? And of course any prayers welcome 
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Booksnbabes
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Oh, Marilyn! I'm going to be watching this thread as I've been experiencing the same thing. And everything around here is suffering for it! Just when I need lots and lots of rest, I can't sleep! My usual wind-down tactics are ineffective and typically just lead to me staying up later. 
So no real advice, but lots of  and empathy!
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Martha in VA
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Marilyn,
What exactly is the trouble? Is it trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or being unable to get comfortable all night? Honestly, I've had all of those with various pregnancies. This time it's the latter.
Martha
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missionfamily
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I have terrible insomnia all through my pregnancies...mind racing, repititive thoughts, acid reflux discomfort, and then the discomfort of the later part of pregnancy. It's really hard.
I can't do caffeine or sugar at all and I try to avoid dairy in the evenings. I also just stay awake as late as I possibly can so that I'm totally exhausted when I fall asleep. On those nights, I generally get a four to five hour stretch in...and then maybe another hour or so of dozing in the morning. That's about the best that I can expect during a pregnancy....
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MarilynW
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| Posted: Feb 13 2009 at 11:18am | IP Logged
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missionfamily wrote:
.mind racing, repititive thoughts, acid reflux discomfort, and then the discomfort of the later part of pregnancy. It's really hard.
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Sounds like me. I stay up late - but still have trouble. Then wake up heart racing. Then get all obsessive compulsive about not being able to breathe through my nose.I end up going to the bathroom a hundred times!!! Sleep on three pillows and move around constantly. (thank goodness my husband sleeps soundly!) I try so hard to use the time to pray or plan things in my mind - but cannot calm myself down. My eczema has started flaring up, and I am so cranky in the day - I feel so bad as i want to be gentle and kind. I don't think I am getting 4 hours.
Thank you for understanding. I feel bad about complaining but I am feeling so down about it. I will definitely be praying for all of you.
I guess I just have to keep believing that it WILL pass.
Hugs to all of you.
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Bridget
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I think this is common in pregnancy. I have the usual discomforts that make it hard to sleep at the end. I'm sorry it's starting so early for you Marilyn.
This pregnancy I have been more active in prolife work than I ever have before. I am having such horrible nightmares that I think I'll have to stop reading and going to meetings, etc.
All our emotions and fears are heightened during pregnancy.
We can offer it up of course, but I think we need to slow down and stop doing so much too.
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Have you tried any aromatherapy type things? Lavender is the standard calming relaxing scent.. cinnamon helps with focus and calm (not necessarily sleep inducing though) eucalyptus can help keep your nasal passages open
a notebook to jot down things that you're fussing over can help you set them aside because then you don't worry that you'll forget them.
Are you too hot or too cold? would being warmer or cooler help you get comfy easier?
Are you getting the minerals you need for muscles to relax and not cramp? calcium, magnesium, potassium? I take a liquid calcium supplement at bedtime.. it has calcium, magnesium, potassium, vit. D, zinc, phospohorus.. and it calms heart burn too!
There are some homeopathic calming things.. hyland's makes one.. and there's the bach's rescue remedy as well that might help.
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I've had this in all my pregnancies. You've got some great ideas from everyone. I just wanted to empathise and say that I'll pray for you.
I'm the last person to be worthy of giving spiritual advice, but just a reminder to try to offer it up... I'm sure you already are.
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MarilynW
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missionfamily wrote:
II try to avoid dairy in the evenings. |
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Colleen - why do you avoid dairy?
I have just started having a big bowl of yogurt before bed thinking it would help with the reflux?
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Marilyn, can you take something to help? I used to take a benadryl to help me relax a little, as well as sleep better. If it will help one or two nights, I think that would be good to get your brain a rest. I hear you with the mind racing, planning, THINKING....augh. That was so hard for me.
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MarilynW
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JodieLyn wrote:
Are you getting the minerals you need for muscles to relax and not cramp? calcium, magnesium, potassium? I take a liquid calcium supplement at bedtime.. it has calcium, magnesium, potassium, vit. D, zinc, phospohorus.. and it calms heart burn too!
There are some homeopathic calming things.. hyland's makes one.. and there's the bach's rescue remedy as well that might help. |
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Thanks Jodie for all the information - please send me the information for the liquid calcium. I take liquid Natural Calm with calcium - Natural Vitality by Peter Gillham - problem is that it is very acidic and can make me nauseous or give me heartburn
I shall look at some homeopathic remedies too.
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MarilynW
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Fuzzy wrote:
| Marilyn, can you take something to help? I used to take a benadryl to help me relax a little, as well as sleep better. If it will help one or two nights, I think that would be good to get your brain a rest. I hear you with the mind racing, planning, THINKING....augh. That was so hard for me. |
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Thanks Fuzzy - I just got to be careful - Benadryl actually hyper activates some of my children!! I may try a little kid dose soon.
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Just want to say to all of you ladies who are expecting and having sleep trouble - I will be praying especially tonight - I find the Night Prayer of the Divine Office so helpful - lots of mention of sleeping peacefully!
Hugs to all of you.
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Same problem here! I spoke to my doctor about it and he reccommended some benadryl.
Fortunately, the last couple of nights have been better, so I haven't tried it yet. I don't like to take medicine if I can avoid it during pregnancy, but I'm so close to delivery, I feel like being well-rested is pretty important right now.
I'm trying to slow down and take time to at least sit down and put my feet up more on the days when I wasn't able to sleep the night before. I feel better and more relaxed if I can just sit down and talk or read with my kids instead of running around doing chores and stuff.
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What I went through is very similar to what some of you ladies went through. I can barely remember it now as 4 months have passed since Peter James was born and my mind seems to forget in an attempt to heal me I guess...I had it for the last 4 pregnancies. The first time it was the worst. I felt like I was dying..no kidding. The other 2 after that one were slightly better but no picnic...I followed a gluten-free diet with them and the last one was the best out of the 4 but still I had to work VERY HARD. I had to rest whenever i could and watch my diet like a hawk not to mention get lots of sunshine and walk every day....
I went through some very strong symptoms of difficulty sleeping, inability to swallow well, problems with my throat in general, waking with my heart racing and very strong feelings, as well as living on 4 hours of sleep give or take and that terrible insomnia would wreck me. and I know it was not because I was "stressed" from my general day. I KNOW it was because of a physical reaction to whatever was not working well inside of me while pregnant. I often wondered if I felt panicked because it was like a survival instinct...because in a way I was choking.
We did figure out a few things. I had silent heartburn. You really don't know you have this. They valve at the top of my stomach was so relaxed that it was really killing my esophagus. It interfered with my voice too. I know that I had a digestive issue too and I think it was hard for my body to get the nutrients it needed out of my body so my brain could not rest enough. It was working on overdrive.
Some things that helped were:
walking a LOT! I slowly worked up to 5 miles a day and I would do it at the end of the day and I could FEEL so much better. I didn't miss a day because I hated the way I slept without it.
taking as natural vitamins that I could. I also took extra magnesium and calcium
I drank LOTS of water with lemon squeezed into it or RAW apple cider vinegar. I also drank a "green drink" 2 times a day. I ate lots of veggies especially fermented ones (aka Nourishing Traditions cookbook), and avoided ALL gluten and sugar (unless it was in my fruits and such) I took raw honey every day for my allergies. I took nettle and a few other herbs including acidophillus (I think the nettle helped a great deal) I also took a good flax seed oil and Carlsons cod liver oil (fish oil if I had lots of sunshine during the warmest months)
At first they had me take AcidEase from enzymatic therapy to control the stomach acid but as I grew they gave me a medicine to dry up (most) of my stomach acid. I lost weight during my whole pregnancy and ended up so much lighter...I still have some to lose though but I am well on my way into working on that accumulated pregnancy weight that never wanted to come off before.
If I ever got a cold or allergy flare up or even cried while pregnant, I could not sleep. I think that something swells too much when I am pregnant in my sinuses or something that when I get these other things happening I feel like I am going to panic. It is weird and an unsolved mystery for me. I ended up taking over the counter claritin for the allergies and it helped somewhat. I was pregnant from Jan-Oct last year so we had a lot of allergy season to get through.
I know i took some kind of ammino acid to help me sleep a bit and rescue remedy sleep helped take a bit of the edge off too...lemme kno if you want me to find out what it was for you...I have a sleeping baby in my lap ATM which is why I can type right now!
Staying very well hydrated is very important.
so is lots of PRAYER!!
You can call St. Lucy's Church in Newark NJ and they will send you a 3rd class relic of St. Gerard. He is such a powerful intercessor...also St. Anne. She is absolutely wonderful to me. I felt like she was my spiritual midwife and grandmother during this whole pregnancy. I prayed the Little Office of the BVM, Divine Mercy, Rosary, and 9 memorare's(the emergency novena ) all of the time and went to daily mass on any morning I got enough sleep to walk there in a straight line. I often came home after and took a 2 hr nap while the brains of my children melted all over my living room rug while they watched pre-screened dvds and vhs tapes. They survived.  I had to tell them not to bother me for ANYTHING and my twins ran interference for me and I kept a fan on and an air cleaner in the room for white noise so I could tune the general ruckus out.
Can I help you any more? Let me know. I am trying to remember what I did and it is so hard to remember as i gaze at my beautiful gift from God, Peter James Joseph. He smiles a LOT and squeals with JOY. These precious souls are sooo hard fought-for!
I went through all of this and we also had some terrible times with finances. I didn't care about the finances most of the time...I kid you not. I had to let God worry about something, after all! Besides that..there was so much GRACE...I could write a book...but suffice to say, extra-ordinary things happened during a very very trying time. I will pray for all of you to be under Our Lady's mantle and under St. Gerard's and St. Anne's care, comfort and direction! Whenever I hear of anyone going through this, I feel like I have been hit in the gut. I really want to pray for you and I will keep your intentions always in my heart!
I hope this all makes sense...just ignore the spelling errors-k? I have to nurse this little man..he wants BOTH of my hands and eye contact...who can refuse him?!
God love you!
Donna Marie from NJ
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MarilynW
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Dear Donna Marie
Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a long post. You give me hope that I can make it - I sometimes feel guilty as I feel I am 'wishing the time by' - I feel so horrible I cannot wait until delivery instead of enjoying the blessed privilege of being pregnant. I so appreciate your prayers.
You wrote: "If I ever got a cold or allergy flare up or even cried while pregnant, I could not sleep. I think that something swells too much when I am pregnant in my sinuses or something that when I get these other things happening I feel like I am going to panic. It is weird and an unsolved mystery for me." ...sounds just like me. I feel like i am going a little crazy when everything swells up.
I have to be careful about eating - I am too thin and need to put on enough weight and watch that the baby gets enough nutrients - so I try not to cut anything out of my diet. I wonder about the silent indigestion though - the only other pregnancy I had indigestion was the twins and right at the end - so I am surprised at the reflux at 24 weeks.
I am going to look at some of the supplements - nettles may help.
Thanks again for writing and giving me hope!
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Maggie
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Hi Marilyn,
For any nasal congestion, I love using Breathe Right Nose Strips...I started using these during a horrid sinus infection with my second pregnancy. That helped immensely with sleep.
Also, I started having terrible insomnia around 30 weeks or so...at the time, I did not know that insomnia can be a symptom of low progesterone or a sudden drop in progesterone...and my water broke at 32 weeks. 
I was not charting Creighton back then (I do now), but the PPVI institute and my dr. are pretty certain that the insomnia was a symptom of low prog...which is probably why my water broke so early.
If this persists, you may want to do a blood draw...suppositories can be prescribed...or you can get natural prog. cream from a a health food store...but be careful...you want the bio-identical prog. cream...not the synthetic kind...as the synthetic kind has been linked to cancer, etc.
That's just my two cents.
On a happy note, my break in my bag of waters sealed up...I was in labor for 8 hours...I was discharged from the hospital 72 hours later...THANKS BE TO GOD!
And I delivered a healthy, 9 lb 9 oz baby boy at a free standing birthing center at 39.5 weeks. 
I will say a prayer for you!! Sleeplessness in pregnancy is soooo hard.
God Bless,
Maggie
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MarilynW
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Thank you Maggie for the advice. I will have to try the strips. The progesterone thing is very interesting - I will mention to my Ob at my 28 week work up. I have had 2 32 weekers and a 34 weeker - so I take the premature labor thing very seriously! I was admitted for preterm labor at 24 weeks with each of the last 2 pregnancies but ended up going to 37 weeks. This time I feel happy that despite the no sleeping and congestion I am having no contractions.
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Topic: Trouble sleeping in pregnancy?
