Sleep Deprivation In Pregnancy

As I’ve thudded into the third trimester, I’ve all but given up on a proper night’s sleep. I’m now on my third brand of maternity pillow (finally settling on the Theraline - review HERE) and am up around fives times a night to empty my bladder. We’ve also now upgraded our double bed to a super king - this wasn’t even up for discussion, I just went ahead and ordered it at 4am after a particularly bad night a few weeks back. Craig’s face was an absolute picture when he came home and discovered I’d taken a sledgehammer to the bedside cabinets and bought smaller ones in their place. I simply couldn’t cope with another elbow in my face and now need at least the width of a double bed to myself to toss and turn in my sleep.

When I spotted that Snoozle were looking for pregnant women to road test their maternity slide sheet, I thought I’d give it a go. The website is full of claims it’s helped women with painful night-time maneuvers. It’s said to help with a zillion different pregnancy ailments including SPD and Sciatica (two things I’ve regularly whinged about during both of my pregnancies), and also non-pregnancy related arthritic pain or easing the discomfort of those recovering from back surgery.

So what is it?

It’s a 75×75″ ‘tube’ made from kind-to-skin cotton on the outer layer, and a satin inner fabric that is designed to slide comfortably with your every move. It’s incredibly simple, but often these are the very products that work the best. It’s a concept that’s worked a treat for Icelandic midwives for years and has now been recreated by Snoozle for all to benefit from.

The theory is that it makes your movements smoother and faster so you don’t need to put in as much effort when you toss and turn. This means you won’t use as many sore muscles and move as many painful joints. It’s ideal if you’re bed-sharing as it only goes on your side of the bed and is designed to be completely noiseless so as not to disturb your other half. Reportedly, it also makes rolling out of bed in the mornings that little bit easier.

086 Introducing the Snoozle Maternity Slide Sheet!

It’s highly recommended during child birth when you’re struggling to change position (don’t worry, it’s washable at up to 60 °c), and equally useful if you’ve had a c-section and are struggling to sit up in bed to breastfeed.

So what did I think?

First up - I love the simple packaging. It came in a really pretty box which is handy to tuck away in your hospital bag if you’ve bought two.

I was sent a pink Snoozle (but it is also available in blue or grey) - the design is as simple as I’ve suggested above but I’m really impressed with the quality. The logo is embroidered so it doesn’t irritate you when in contact with your skin, and the outer layer (that you sleep on) is soft to touch.

snoozle bed Introducing the Snoozle Maternity Slide Sheet!

You simply pop the sheet on the bed (on top of your regular bed sheet) with the satin trims beneath your shoulder and thighs. It’s very generously proportioned so you have plenty of room either side.

There’s no denying my movements were MUCH faster and smoother with the Snoozle. I’m also making far less noise when I toss and turn. I used to moan and whimper a bit as it was so painful. It’s also completely noiseless and hasn’t disturbed Craigy in the slightest. Having used it for the past 5 nights, I’m happy to report I feel much more rested in the mornings and my symptoms are better throughout the day as a result. If I have a bad day and Mini Madam pushes down on my sciatic nerve one too many times, I simply have a nap on my Snoozle and gain a few hours respite.

My only niggle (not a criticism of the product at all as this is completely unavoidable) is that after several turns from side to side, the Snoozle inevitably gets twisted underneath you. This shouldn’t wake you up at night, but does mean you’ll constantly have to straighten it out when you get back from every one of your many trips to the loo!

060 Introducing the Snoozle Maternity Slide Sheet!

But that’s it! I can’t think of anything that would prevent me recommending the Snoozle maternity slide sheet to anyone who is struggling with sleep in pregnancy. It’s had a huge impact for many mums-to-be and is only a tiny £24.00. In fact, so convinced is Snoozle’s founder Lilja that it’ll help you, she offers a full money-back guarantee if it doesn’t!

DISCLAIMER: I was provided with a Snoozle for the purposes of his review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Linking to Tried & Tested by the lovely Kate at Family Fever and Colette at We’re going on an adventure.

download1 zps1b46984f Introducing the Snoozle Maternity Slide Sheet!

I’m not sure I’ve ever been this tired. Although Craig recalls me being really exhausted in my first trimester with Dexter, this beats it hands down for me. I feel constantly jet-lagged.

Everyday I’ll be up at 5am to do a little work before Dexter wakes, then be propping up my eyelids by the time he stirs in his cot. By Dexter’s nap-time at midday, I’m usually prostrate on the sofa capable of no more than occasionally changing tv channels. It’s no better when Craig comes home from work as Dexter gets so excited to see his daddy that you can hear the squealing miles away - not exactly conducive to sneaking in a quick nap. It’s now almost nine o’clock at night and I give it ten minutes before my head hits the keyboard …

bbb76ac35689d3b29af346517f0fedaf Exhaustion, Sleepwalking and The Smoke Detector Incident Week 11

This looks no less frightening than me at 2am in the morning. Think Helena Bonham Carter in Sweeney Todd…

… And tomorrow I’ll do it all again.

I’ve been doing some really strange things in my exhaustion. I’ve always been a sleepwalker and it’s got me into some embarrassing situations over the years. At university I lived in a shared house with some other students - in my sleep, I once filled every single glass in the whole house with water and arranged them in a semi-circle around my bed - it looked like an occult symbol and I almost sliced my foot open in the morning when I swung my legs out of bed.

Just a few years ago, on a work trip to my employer’s sister office in Dublin, I left my hotel at 2am in my pyjamas and headed in the general direction of the nearby River Liffey. Luckily security staff spotted me on CCTV and guided me to back to my room. I only found out about the incident when reception cheerfully filled me in upon checking out.

Although I haven’t managed anything quite as extravagant in the past month, the signs are there that I might be due an episode. It usually happens in times of high stress and exhaustion, and particularly when I’m in an unfamiliar place. With a bit of luck, the fact I’m sleeping in my own home, will mean you won’t find me walking around my village naked in the dead of the night, but I’m still doing some strange old things.

This afternoon I spent hours searching for my purse and even went so far as to suspect my 16 month old of tossing it out of the pushchair when we went for a walk earlier in the day. I found it 15 minutes ago (4 hours later!) in the fridge. The fridge!

Unfortunately this isn’t an isolated incident either. Yesterday I flushed my favourite necklace down the toilet, and a few days ago Craig caught me re-homing a bottle of ketchup in the washing machine.

I’m also finding it difficult to differentiate between dreams and reality - I’m constantly having to double-check whether conversations I’ve had with Craig have actually taken place or I’ve dreamt them. These can be really mundane conversations about packing for holiday, dinner that evening, or additions to the weekly shop. I suppose this shows just how boring my dreams must be!

I’m still very emotional too.

You might remember that last week I had CloudbabiesTVgate with Dexter, well this week it was the Smoke Detector Incident. In fact, the remains of our smoke detector are now laying beside me as I type - a mass of shattered casing and mangled wiring.

You see, today I popped Dex down for a nap at around 1.30pm. I was so shattered I wasn’t sure if I should crank open the laptop or crawl in bed for a nap of my own. In any case, I thought I’d start with a nice bath as it takes around half an hour for Dexter to settle into a sleep anyway. So I crept around upstairs and tried to run the bath quietly so as not to disturb Dex. At this moment, our over-sensitive smoke detector decided to have a tantrum.

At first it was just a few intermittent beeps, no doubt in response to the fact I hadn’t opened the bathroom window. But then, just as I was beginning to relax into my bath, it got in a real paddy for reasons unknown. As the bloody thing is located over the top of our stairs and is too high for me to reach, I first tried the tea towel trick to fan the air beneath the sensor. Dexter (who still hadn’t succumbed to the land of nod) thought it was hilarious to see mummy and her pot belly prancing around naked under the noisy thing.

But it didn’t work.

Thinking back, a mop handle would have done it. Or perhaps I could have dragged the living room foot stool upstairs to help me reach the damn thing. But I was so tired. I just couldn’t think clearly.

When I spotted that a few neighbours and passersby were staring up at my open window and pointing, I lost my temper. I started to throw shampoo and conditioner bottles at it. Bits of plastic came splintering off and spatterings of Pantene coated the cobwebs in the corner of the stairwell, yet still the battery clung on for dear life. Deciding I needed something a little heavier, in my sleep deprived state, I somehow thought it would be a good idea to launch Craig’s trainer at it.

All I can say is RIP smoke detector.

The whole episode left me rocking back and forth on my bedroom floor, still as naked as Eve without the leaves (with the open windows continuing to let in the September chill). Any thoughts I might have had about Dexter getting his head down, and me getting in an hours power nap, flew out those windows at that very minute.

It’s been a very bad day.

NOTE: I’m definitely not advocating you should ever smash up your smoke detector. They can save the lives of your family and every home should have one. Getting medieval on said device won’t score you any brownie points with your other half either… Craig has been struggling to put up a new one for the last hour and is currently hauling a bunch of expletives at the ceiling… I guess each of these might as well be yelled at me for being so stupid.

Welcome to week 11!