Post # 1
Member
4416 posts
Honey bee
Ugh.
I am a back-sleeper. I will start the night on my side, but I have always then rolled onto my back at some point and usually will wake up on my back in the morning.
Well, of course, when you’re pregnant you’re not supposed to lie on your back because your heavy-ass uterus will compress your vena cava and you’ll die or something. I haven’t yet died, but I do keep unintentionally rolling onto my back in my sleep and then I wake up in pain. It’s my lower back that will hurt, and it actually hurts enough to wake me up from a deep sleep. Last night I woke up on my back at 2am, and decided to get up to pee even though I didn’t really have to. I stood up and my round ligaments (which haven’t given me an ounce of trouble at any point in this pregnancy) hurt so extremely that I basically had to hunch over and carry my belly to the bathroom. By the time I was done peeing the pain was gone, but for that minute or so holy lord.
Anyone have any tips for how to avoid rolling onto my back like that every night?? I sleep with a pillow on either side of me, usually tucked up really tight to my body, but that doesn’t seem to be slowing me down at all. I still always end up on my back and always end up waking up in pain. And it suckkkkks.
Post # 3
Member
193 posts
Blushing bee
my friends dr told her to get a super big men’s shirt with a pocket on each side, like a flannel. Put a tennis ball in each pocket and sew it Shut. When you roll onto your back it will bother you and you automatically roll back over!
Post # 4
Member
2609 posts
Sugar bee
How about putting a body pillow behind you?
Post # 5
Member
4416 posts
Honey bee
@sofialovesmikey: hmm, that’s an interesting idea! I’m sure I could affix SOMETHING to the back of a shirt so I stop rolling over …
@MissNoodles: I already have pillows on both sides of me but I just turn onto my back anyway :-/ If anything they make it even MORE comfortable because I like feeling a little claustrophobic when I sleep (claustro…philia?). Sharing a bed with DH, I’ve long since trained my body to rotate like a rotisserie so as long as I have a foot and a half of space available, I WILL roll onto my back. I feel like I better nip this in the bud before I get any bigger and start to really do myself harm!
Post # 6
Member
2541 posts
Sugar bee
I have this problem. My doctor said that your body will wake it self up (like your did) if it is painful. I sleep surrounded by pillows…nothing helps. I wake up at least 4 times a night due to the back issue!
Post # 7
Member
4416 posts
Honey bee
@MrsStrawberry24: ugh, sounds like you and I both need to start sewing tennis balls to our shirts!!! It especially sucks because this is the thing that wakes me up. Like, I’m not waking up because I have to pee or because there was a noise outside or because I’m too hot. No, I’m being woken up because my stupid body keeps rolling over when it’s not supposed to!!! 
Post # 8
Member
1309 posts
Bumble bee
Lying on you back doesn’t kill you but it can restrict bloodflow to the baby and that’s why it’s not reccomended. You will however always feel it/wake up before it does any harm. If you feel like you can’t breath then you should change positions.
I haven’t yet found a way to stop myself rolling onto my back even though I have extremely bad SPD and round ligament pains when I do. But I would try to prop yourself up so you’re halfway sitting while sleeping. That decreases the pressure on the vena cava.
Post # 9
Member
4416 posts
Honey bee
@angela85: well at least it’s good to know that I’m not actually doing baby any harm with this! Just harming myself and my rest 
I’ve got another doc appt this Friday so hopefully she will have a tip or two! And if not, I’ll see what I can duct tape to my shirt before bed, haha
Post # 10
Member
664 posts
Busy bee
@sofialovesmikey:
@iarebridezilla:
So, I experimented with this last night, but it needs modification. I took an old flannel of DH’s and put an empty thread spool in each pocket to be my annoying things. They were annoying when I rolled, but also all the time. I tried with the shirt on forward, but it wasn’t uncomfortable when I rolled on my back, and then I tried with the shirt backward, which was more than enough uncomfortable and I couldn’t stand it even when I was on my side. (And then DH told me that I’m a crazy person and that if I kept him awake any longer with my flannel shirt experiments that he was going to tie the sleeves like a straight jacket. :P)
Anyway, I took an old T-shirt of mine this morning and sewed just one of the emtpy thread spools to the center of the back, and it seems like it might work. I’ll keep you posted.
Post # 11
Member
413 posts
Helper bee
I’ve been using a Snoogle (c-shaped pregnancy pillow). It seems to prevent me from going on my back much better than just using regular pillows on either side. It gets in the way more.
Post # 12
Member
4416 posts
Honey bee
@bunnymama: Our own little scientist! Yes please let me know how it works out. I had decent luck last night by simply forcing myself to roll all the way to the other side every time I caught myself rolling onto my back. Even though it’s sooooo comfortable on my back, I just need to remember that that comfort will turn to PAIN very quickly!! I think I managed to wake myself up enough to completely roll over every time. Then again I feel very tired this morning … so maybe that was too much waking up :-/
Post # 13
Member
9693 posts
Buzzing Beekeeper
@iarebridezilla: I’m not pregnant, but I do have back issues. I wake up in intense pain if I sleep on my back too – it feels like my lower back is “stuck.” I sleep with my back to FI, so if I try to roll onto my back, I crash into the brick wall that is his body. He is a heavy sleeper, so he doesn’t mind that I do this, lol. It works for me because there is literally no room for me to roll over 😛
ETA: my puppy is on the other side and I would never squish him. We have a series of big and little spoons.
Post # 14
Member
1871 posts
Buzzing bee
I just use extra pillows to keep me in place lol seems to be working so far. I just started having to sleep on my side and I am definitely not a side sleeper by nature!
I didnt realize my back would hurt when I laid on it though I thought it was just precautionary to lay on your side. I have to lay on my left it hurts too bad to lay on my right side too. Pregnancy is super weird.
Post # 15
Member
343 posts
Helper bee
@canadablue: I also use the snoogle and find it’s helped me sleep on my side. Now that I’ve used it for the last 2 months I find it normal to sleep on my side. I think it was just breaking the old sleeping habits that was tough. Good luck!
Post # 16
Member
4416 posts
Honey bee
Haha clearly many of you have never mastered the art of the ROTISSERIE ROLL — I learned it in college when I would share twin beds with my boyfriends. I can roll over to a different position without actually moving an inch within the bed. You could build a wall on either side of me as I lay on my side and I’d still manage to get from side to back to side to front. It’s one of those superpowers that seems really great at first until you’re pregnant and need to stop sleeping on your back. 
