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The average person needs eight hours of sleep a night. Most mums probably get far
less. And if you're in your third trimester of pregnancy you might well be battling
to get your full sleep quota too. We've provided some great tips on how to get
everyone sleeping soundly.
Things that go bump in the night
When you know that sleep is soon going to be a luxury, getting to sleep when you're
still pregnant seems all the more important. But with disturbed sleep a common problem
for pregnant mums, particularly in the last trimester, it's not as easy as it sounds.
Whether your bump's getting in the way, you're getting overheated or you're suffering
from leg cramps or backache, there are a few things you can do to make yourself more
comfortable.
- Sleep on your left side. It ensures unobstructed blood flow through the body. Lying
on your back can cause backache, inefficient digestion, hampered breathing and dizziness.
Lying on your stomach isn't possible in the late stages and tender breasts prevent it in
the early days. So start practicing sleeping on your side and alternate between left and
right.
- Use a maternity pillow to support your bump. Or simply lie
on your left side with your knees bent and put a regular pillow between your knees.
- Use a maternity belt or maternity sleep bra to give extra support to your belly, breasts and back.
- Prop up your upper body using pillows to help relieve breathlessness and heartburn.
- Wear loose, cotton nightclothes to prevent overheating.
- Gentle rhythmic breathing, or a warm (not hot) bath before bedtime are good ways to
help you relax.
- If you suffer from Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), speak to your doctor about whether you
should take iron supplements as it tends to occur when you're iron-deficient. Avoid caffeine
and antihistamines as they can make symptoms worse. And avoid lying in bed reading or
watching TV before you go to sleep as the longer you lie still, the worse it becomes. Try to
do some light exercise or just move about in the evenings and only lie down in bed when
you're ready to go to sleep.
- Listen to a relaxation CD as you're going to sleep. Several of the hypnobirthing CDs are
designed to relax and can send you off to sleep in minutes - and the relaxation
techniques will help you in labour.
Sleeping through
'When will my baby sleep through?' It's a question most mums want the answer to and they all
want the answer to be 'soon'. Some babies find their natural sleep rhythm very quickly, put up
little fuss in going down and stay asleep all night long. But for others, the process takes a
bit longer. And for some it can take what feels like an eternity. In truth, even babies who
sleep through early on will from time to time have disturbed sleep thanks to teething or colds
or change in routine. The important thing is to not compare your baby with others. Follow our
tips to help you get some much needed shut-eye:
- Some people are firm believers in getting their children onto a strict routine
so that they sleep through. Others adopt a more relaxed attitude and are happy to
follow their baby's cues. Regardless of which approach you take, the key is consistency.
Babies like to know what is coming next. So even if their actual bed time changes, the
routine before going to bed should always be the same.
- Adopt a bedtime routine such as feeding and bathing followed by some quiet time
before bedtime. Use lavender baby soap or oil to help make them relaxed and sleepy.
- Swaddle your baby. Either buy a specially made swaddle wrap or simply use a regular blanket folded into a swaddle. Swaddling makes babies feel
snug, safe and secure. Once your baby has outgrown a swaddle, use a baby sleeping bag to avoid them kicking the covers off and waking up cold at night.
- Put your baby to bed awake but drowsy. This will help associate bed with the process
of falling asleep. If you let your baby fall asleep on you or you rock them to sleep,
they will learn that this is how you go to sleep and will battle to drop off without it.
- Consider using a mobile or soft music to help lull your baby to sleep.
- Distinguish night time from day time. If you use a soft, quiet voice when you talk to
your baby in the middle of the night, it will let them know it's night time and not time
to play. Keep talking to a minimum at night.
- If your baby wakes during the night and cries, don't immediately rush in. Give them
a couple of minutes - they might well settle back down quickly. If they don't, go in and
comfort them, but try to avoid picking them up. Do a quick nappy change if necessary and
then settle your child back down and leave the room. If they don't settle, repeat the
process of going back into the room every few minutes or so, until they fall asleep on
their own.
- If your baby has got into the habit of being held or rocked to sleep, use daytime naps
to practice eliminating the problem. There are a number of different techniques that can be
used to overcome sleep problems, depending on the cause. See our extra resources for more
information.
- Use a short version of the same routine for daytime naps as you do at bedtime. If you
are going to be out and about during the day, try to make sure that your baby has at least
one nap in its cot otherwise it can start to associate going to sleep with being in the car
or buggy.
- Use thick curtains or blackout blinds, particularly once the
clocks are put forward in Spring, to avoid early wake ups.
- Keep an eye on how much sleep your baby is getting. A newborn will need between 16 and
19 hours of sleep in every 24 - but bear in mind they need regular feeding so this sleep
comes in little chunks. At three months your baby needs between 13 and 15 hours sleep a day
and by one year of age, they'll sleep between 12 and 14 hours a day. If your baby is
sleeping for 8 hours during the day, you can't really expect it to sleep for another 8 hours
at night. So keep an eye on how long their naps are. Also, don't think you can cut out naps
and just cram all the sleep into the evenings. Babies who are overtired are less likely to
settle easily.
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