Sleeping on your back....

[lisaf]

Ok, I know this has been discussed several times... I know that its not clear exactly when we have to start sleeping on our sides but that most midwives believe that you will feel the discomfort if you're in a bad position and move.

I am a VERY heavy sleeper so I was worried that I might not notice or move etc.

Well last night, I slept too long on my back. I remember briefly waking up and wanting to move, but I was kind of wedged in between my pregnancy pillow and my dog cuddling and before I could think of how to move, I fell back asleep.
I had 2 dreams in which my bump was hurting... one before that brief waking and one after.
My bump was acutally kind of hurting in real life while this was happening. It was a crampy sensation (kind of like a charlie horse) on the lower left side of my bump, kind of near my hip. My legs were fine, no loss of sensation or tingling etc. The cramping feeling kept going and got slightly worse in relation to the movement as I rolled onto my side. It went away after I spent a little time on my side. I don't know if it was my imagination though, but I felt like I was very aware of my pulse in that area until I fell back asleep.

I'm not totally freaked out about this, but I am wondering if that is something I should try to avoid and be cautious of in the future? As a very heavy sleeper, I don't know how to avoid it?

I think I end up going to my back because my hips hurt on my sides. I have pillows to put between my knees but I sleep heavy and they fall out as I shift and move.
I also get really hot in my sleep the past week or so and get a little sweaty which makes it harder to turn over, lol. (its gotten quite warm where I live so I'm tempted to switch from flannel sheets back to cotton, but if it gets cold again I'll regret it)

 

[mummytori]

im normally a belly sleeper, but that has started to be uncomfy now so automatically settling on either side. like you though, i sleep like the dead, so no idea if i would shift once asleep, or what i could do about it!
i guess your just best wherever is comfy, sure bubs will tell you if you gotta move!

 

[Brieanna]

I have been going to sleep on my side, but waking up on my back. Last night I woke up when my cat landed heavily on my bump after jumping off the top of the couch! I am worried too, and have tried all sorts of things, but STILL end up on my back! And what's really weird about it is that I have NEVER slept on my back, ever since I was a little kid, but now it seems like my body wants to sleep that way and I worry that I will sleep through any "warning" signs that I need to turn to my side...

 

[lisaf]

I see I'm not the only worrying about this as a heavy sleeper! Hopefully someone has some good tips for us!

In my 2nd dream though, I dreamt that I went to the doctor because I was worried about my bump hurting...so the doctor started poking and prodding my bump. I woke up to my cat standing on my belly kneading it, and burst out laughing as soon as I realized what was going on. So thats what finally woke me up enough to move to my side. I don't think I can rely on the cat-alarm every night though

 

[Green Lady]

I always end up on my back. I'm just a back sleeper, can't really rest any other way. I've been trying to lie on my left side but some nights I wake up and my right hand/arm has pins and needles in it--from lying on my left?? And if I lie on my right I tend to get a bump cramp too. It doesn't help that our bed is like the Grand Canyon in the middle. I'm going to try sleeping with a pillow behind me so if I do end up on my back, I'll lay on that. One of those special shaped maternity pillows might help, too.

 

[My_First]

There isnt a problem at all sleeping on your back. The only issue is that it may (later down the line) make you feel a bit queasy and sick. My midwife said there is no problem and better off getting comfortable rather than worrying about sleeping positions.

 

[alienbabe4321]

I haven't really got an answer to our problem but here's my experience with this.

I had those same cramps the other night from sleeping on my front. No matter how much a shifted myself after waking up because of the cramps, I ended up back on my belly! It ended with me getting up the next morning after having had a really bad night's sleep.

 

[Lety]

I'm a light sleeper but have the same problem...I can only seem to get comfortable on my back so I asked my midwife and she said you are fine to lie on your back as long as you are not completely flat, so maybe propped up with a few pillows.

 

[caydensmom]

I was thinking the same thing last night!! I can NOT stop sleeping on my back. Usually I am a side sleeper but now that I have bump it seems like my back is the only comfortable position I can sleep in. If I sleep on my left side my hand goes numb. If I sleep on my right side I get the crampy belly thing. Goodness knows what's going to happen to me when I get even bigger in third tri!!

 

[holly2234]

I just sleep however im comfortable. Often its on my back still and im 35+3 and had no problems with it. They say it makes you a little dizzy as the weight is blocking oxygen or something but ive been totally fine. Though i have found im insanely hot at night. Im throwing the covers off (my poor OH freezes!) in 10C and feeling just fine.

 

[amy_1234]

Can I ask how long you plan on letting your dog sleep in your bed?

The only reason I ask is that I have 2 dogs myself which I love to pieces but as soon as I fount out I was pregnant we stopped them doing things like going upstairs on the beds and on the sofas downstairs, I don't want the dogs to resent the baby because they are being told off for things that were ok to do before. It's also not good for babys health to have dog hairs flying round their sleeping area!

As for sleeping on your side I have been told to sleep on my left to ensure a healthy blood flow x

 

[lisaf]

My dog is only 13lbs... he's also a Bichon Frise. We are going to cut down on his time in the bed as my belly grows simply because of the space needed. BUT, we also are not going to have the baby in the bed... DH won't let me because I'm such a sound sleeper (and my mom who was a huge fan of co-sleeping herself also says that it wouldn't be safe for me).

So I don't think the dog's access would really change with the baby here.
And since he's a Bichon frise, he's hypoallergenic (has hair, not fur) and doesn't shed.

 

[amy_1234]

Oh yes I know what they are, what would worry me is the dog making it's way to the babys sleeping quarters, especially because the baby has to stay in your room with you for the first few months well that's what my midwife has told me anyway. X

 

[lisaf]

My dog is a horrrrrrrible jumper He can barely make it on the couch and will not even try to jump on the bed even when we get him all excited and worked up and invite him.
The baby will be in cradle in our room for the first few months and then in a crib... both things that he could not possibly get into on his own.

 

[Lucky777]

We never had pets when i was a baby. We got our fist dog when i was 13. And i was allergic to her! So it turns out, that dogs do not cause allergies in babies.

https://www.webmd.com/allergies/news/20031014/pets-may-prevent-allergies-in-kids

 

[windswept]

I was born into a family of 3 dogs and 1 cat, and have never had an allergy in my puff - and my baby will also be born into a family of 3 dogs and 1 cat!

Anyway, yes - the sleeping thing is driving me bonkers too. I read that you stop the blood supply to the placenta if you lie on your back, so have been waking up every 20 minutes or so and trying to put myself in a different position - but I put a post on here the other day and someone said as long as you are not flat. So now I have 3 big pillows and my maternity pillow at my head, plus 2 more under my back and 1 under my bum - so I am sleeping almost upright. It has made a huge difference - but doesn't help me to sleep unfortunately! I don't think I am going to get a good nights sleep anytime in the next few years

Incidentally, I never, ever slept on my back before either!

 

[Palestrina]

I'm not a heavy sleeper and I don't sleep on my back usually. However during this pregnancy I gravitate to sleeping on my back because sleeping on my side is tiresome. I wake up all the time if I'm on my back thinking that my belly is uncomfortable but I can't figure out if it's really uncomfortable of if I'm just panicking. I use one of those dream weaver maternity pillows that's really long and shaped like a candy cane. I sleep with it behind me and the bottom end tucked between my legs. It's the most comfortable I've gotten.

I'm so scared of sleeping on my back because I hear that it brings on hemarrhoids and i'm petrified of getting that. That's reason enough for me to stay off my back.

 

[lisaf]

lol, never heard the hemarrhoids thing! yet another reason to be afraid of it

 

[stucknthecity]

I am a natural born belly sleeper so this has been the most difficult adjustment yet. It seems like when I finally find a great sleeping position my belly grows three days later and it is no longer comfortable. When I lay on my back propped up with pillows my hips start to ache as well as my tailbone after about an hour. When I lay on my right side for to long say maybe over 2 to 3 hours I get bad gas and cramps and have to roll to the other side. So left side it is for the next few hours until my hand and arm go numb then I must move again. I find when I sleep on my left side I am more prone to wake up mostly on my belly which then feels funny when I left myself off of it. I have mountains of pillows on my bed stuffed and tucked every which way. 24 more weeks of this yay lol!!

 

[Vee_Bee]

I asked my midwife about this last Saturday and she said that as long as you are not lying completely flat on a rock-hard surface then it's fine to sleep on your back.

Yay!! Best news I'd heard in ages x