KM Pregnancy Diary – week 28 – Insomnia

I am 28 weeks pregnant today and to be honest am wishing away the weeks until the big day! I’ve really struggled to sleep well over the last two or three weeks and this has really drained my enthusiasm and energy levels. I also find that when I get tired I have a thirst that I just cannot quench. At my last obstetrician appointment I mentioned this to my doctor who took blood tests which confirmed no underlying health problems. Craig suggested that my insomnia was probably because of underlying fears and concerns, which I would tend to agree with as once I am awake in the middle of the night my mind does seem to go into overdrive. I have found that I go to sleep early because I am physically exhausted but that my mind does seem wide awake, so I have been trying to wear myself out mentally too so I can really switch off completely at bedtime. As I am very much a morning person I’ve tried to get all the important admin out of the way in the morning so I’m not doing emails and paperwork at 8/9pm when I should be winding down. I have to admit I had a couple of sips of a lovely red wine the other night which led to a blissful nights sleep, not the ideal way for a pregnant gal to unwind and it was just a one off but it does seem to have broken the cycle and after one great nights sleep followed a very productive day which seemed to have got me back into a better pattern.

I’ve been interviewing nannies to get some help in the daytime for the first 6 weeks or so. As I’ve never really had help before it’s a big task to find someone who I think will work with our family. I didn’t want a maternity nurse as I enjoyed (!)the nights with my first baby as I felt it was a huge part of the bonding process and as I was quite routine driven from the start I was lucky that sleep deprivation was not too much of a problem. I am more concerned this time about my toddler getting enough exercise and attention in those first early weeks and I would rather have third party help initially as I find family can be a little intense and would rather have someone who will just do as I ask!

I’ve seen Craig a couple of times since my last blog who has been amazing as ever in treating some neck and lower back pain and giving me some great general advice. The epsom salt baths have definitely helped in the evening if I haven’t collapsed into bed without managing to get into one and I am coming to terms with being so much bigger than in my last pregnancy which is apparently to do with being slightly more relaxed second time round. Still not sure about that one….