07/08/2022
Working Pregnant moms, Sleep and Depression. TOP 5 Things you absolutely must know.
If you are considering getting pregnant in the future or carrying the bun in the oven, there are some annoying matters I feel honor bound to talk to you about that you may or may not know.
Let's be real, not all moments of pregnancy or motherhood is sweet. A lot of the times we are just hanging in there and I know I am not alone and nor are you. Worldwide 10% of pregnant women and 13% of women who just gave birth experience depression. You know what? I lacked the life skills to cope much less thrive. One of the main culprits for my depression was simply Sleep Deprivation.
Should you be a first-time mom reading this, please know that it’s not the delivery that is the hardest, it’s after taking home the baby the first few months. At least, this is my opinion anyway, each person’s experience can be different, but I believe this is mostly accurate.
Forgive me if I seem like a party pooper, but I have no intention of telling moms, especially first-time moms of only the nice fiery tale things about having a baby. Enjoy the shopping, the bay shower, the photoshoot…I sure did and no wonder we need it! I just want you to have what I wish I did, a dose of reality and that right early.
My hope is that you can learn from my mistakes and your own too, to ensure you have the best chance of enjoying your pregnancy fully and your baby when he or she is born.
When I realized, I had to get serious about getting better sleep, these are some of the things I ended up doing. It seems so common sense now, but I was totally clueless! I wished I had a ‘class’ I did or someone who just schooled me regarding sleep prior, in some ways I did get a little advice here and there, but it wasn’t adequate. I learned the hard way and spent almost three months struggling when pregnant and suffered from Insomnia for one year, even after my baby was sleep trained. But this need not be your story.
Here goes some of the things to be mindful of that could steal your sleep:
1. Peeing every five minutes!
Honestly, I think it is our bodies way of preparing us for interrupted sleep for when the baby is born. But if this seems a bit excessive then avoid drinking water close to bedtime but be sure you are having enough during the day. Good luck!
2. Might be best not to sleep with your Pet, particularly cats!
You might find your pet to be extra annoying at this time and a bit of a risk to pass on any toxoplasmosis (parasite) to you which you don’t want to harm the baby. Cats are a worry so tending to their litter is extremely discouraged for this reason. But you should also avoid undercooked meat which can also cause this parasitic disease. Just letting you know if it comes down to it, you either need to have your pet outside or outside of the bedroom with the door locked, especially when they bother your sleep! In extreme cases, you might even have to ask a friend or family member to keep your pet (s) until you have the baby, and all is settled.
3. Your senses are becoming extra sensitive and be mindful sharing a bed with a partner.
When pregnant it’s as if you can hear and certainly smell every and anything! For me, it was more so, noises. I had a snoring husband who also liked to listen to his podcast in bed before going to sleep and my German Shepperd who barked frequently at night driving me crazy! Seeing that I love them dearly but not to the sacrifice to my sleep every day, there were some sacrifices and drastic actions taken. My husband would wear his headphones which he hated but lovingly did so without complaint and we got a shock collar for our dog. Judge me all you want animal right activists, but when you do all you can and can’t sleep for days, you will do anything else it takes to finally sleep. Be kind to yourself and know it’s not the time to be all sacrificing, consistently thinking about the welfare of everyone else, forgetting your own needs. You need sleep, full stop, so ask persons to lovingly make some sacrifices for you too.
Assess your disturbance situation carefully and make the hard choices if needs be. Your health and mental well being and the well being of your child could depend on these steps.
Lastly.
4. Your choice of Pillow and Sleep position now matters more than ever, avoid pain and discomfort.
I know they are expensive if you haven’t already rolled out the doe. This is where my husband endeared himself. When I started to struggle. I didn’t even think of ‘pillows’ but one day he brought me this lovely gift! Ahhhhhhh, so nice. Make the most of it and practice sleeping various positions until you feel the most comfortable. For me I naturally slept on my right-side, but It is recommended pregnant women actually sleep on their left. If not, you risk putting too much pressure on your liver (I can testify about that my friend). It took me a few months but with liver pain, I had no choice but to persevere.
Funny, now I am so use to it, I still sleep on my left now, over a year since my little girls was born.
5. Juggling working, guilt and stress!
I talk about that in detail in my upcoming ‘Stress Less, Sleep More series’ as this is so big a topic.
Did you see anything you could relate to?
Hope this helps.
Cheers awesome lady!
All the best.
Moy
