Prenatal Sleep Routine

I'm 35 weeks pregnant with our third, and have finally started listening to my body and doing some much needed self care. The past few weeks I have gotten better sleep than in any of my other pregnancies. As a Doula I spend a lot of time answering pregnancy, labor and delivery questions and one that always pops up is how do I get more sleep in the last trimester... I have my standard answers, but realized I hardly do these, or I only do a couple of them when it's "really bad." So the past few weeks I decided I didn't have to tough it out, flop into bed in my exhausted state only to wake up a few hours later for the day, or be restless all night long! So get ready to get some great sleep with me--- well not with me, but you get the idea!

Tip #1: Start your bedtime wind down 30-60 minutes prior to actually hitting the hay! 

I'll admit this one is tricky for me, with two littles night time is kind of my alone time. It's my time to unwind, research, read, or hang with my man. Too many nights I spend trying to stay awake scrolling pinterest or watching netflix. The biggest way that I'm working on this is to be intentional with my time. Intentionally spending quality time with the hubs, or reading helps me to be in a more present and relaxed space. Putting a boundary on my time helps me to be intentional with my down time  so that it can really fill my cup and not just my time.

Tip #2: Set the scene
This seriously only takes 5 minutes but it goes a long way for me. This usually means lighting some candles, taking some meditative breaths, reading an encouraging verse. Whatever it is for you, it's not elaborate, but it helps shift your mind so that your brain knows its time to wind down. This is often when I make my red raspberry leaf tea in a pretty mug and just take a few minutes to let go of the day.

Tip #3: Epsom Salt Baths
You may not have time every night to do this, but it's a great way to detox and de-stress your body. Epsom salt is full of magnesium, and most of us are magnesium deficient. Magnesium helps us to manage stress better, relax, take away muscle tension, aches, pains, reduce swelling and a ton of other benefits. Just 20 minutes and your body is on it's way to healing itself! I love adding baking soda and essential oils for an added detox boost.

Tip #5: Yoga/Stretching
I do this every night without fail- and if I don't I'm really bummed because I'm up at 2am doing my yoga so that I can go back to sleep. In pregnancy our hips can get really tight carrying around amniotic fluid, placenta, baby and if you have other littles picking them up all day. This makes sleep really hard at the end of the day. A few hip openers, meditative breaths and some stillness can go a long way to connecting with your body, your baby and helping you get a good night sleep. I really like this one, it's only 10 minutes but always brings relief when I have hip and back pain.

Tip #6: Aromatherapy
As I continue my training in pregnancy aromatherapy one of my favorite ways to unwind is to diffuse a high quality oil to help my body unwind. Some of my favorites are lavender, balance, juniper berry, blue tansy, geranium just to name a few. Check out my essential oils page if you're interested in learning more, and always feel free to leave a comment or message me with any questions you have.

If you're doing these things and still struggling to sleep at night. Here are some other things you can try, and I'll be doing a follow up blog post on them so stay tuned...

1. Weekly chiropractic adjustments. 

Pregnancy is so hard on our hips and back, especially if we're lifting other little kiddos. Getting weekly adjustments (especially in the third trimester) will completely take away sciatica, and other hip pain that you may be having making your nights and legs restless. It is also a great way to get your baby in optimum position for birth. Weekly adjustments help you to avoid breech baby, posterior or transverse presentations.

2. Stay hydrated
Drinking about a gallon of water/herbal tea in the third trimester will help keep fluids in balance, reduce swelling, and help circulation, constipation and any other issues you may be having! Water, water, water and you'll notice a change!

3. Exercise
I know you're getting huge and it's hard to move around, but even a 20 minute walk can release some of the tension your body is holing. Walking helps clear your mind, brings focus and my favorite is that it reduces labor time--- a lot!!! So if you want a fast easy birth, get walking ladies!

I hope these help and bring some insight into some of the issues you may be experiencing. The home stretch can be a tough time even for those of us that are doing all of these self care steps, remember to be gentle with your expectations of yourself and let some things slide--- it's all going to be ok. So take some time to take care of you today and get the rest you need. Sweet dreams!

My Tiger Stripes

Pregnancy is a journey that not only changes your life forever, but your body as well. Like most women I was not looking forward to that part with Bree. I saw the models on TV with their perfect figures back in only a few weeks, no stretch marks and looking very put together. I also had women tell me that image was unrealistic, that you have large stretch marks, saggy boobs, and you never look put together until your children leave for college! Both are exaggerations and not entirely true- some of these things on both sides may happen, but either way have grace for yourself.

 Housing a human being for almost a year is hard work, and your body will change! My theory is that God allows this so that we can get our focus off of ourselves, and look to him more. The world doesn't revolve around my hair, my stretch marks, or my abs. While I firmly believe that we need to treat our bodies with great respect--- it is humbling to be imprinted with imperfections. So, I embrace my stretch marks, or as Nate and I lovingly call them my Tiger stripes. They are a badge of honor of the hard work that my body went through, a sign that I gave in a way that I have never done before.

However, there are lots of things that one can do to ease pregnancy complaints, and start enjoying this new chapter. Here are some of the things that I did and helped a great deal!

1. Exercise, Exercise, Exercise

6 months pregnant on the top of cathedral rock in Sedona!

I hated getting going, but I always loved the way I felt afterwards. I loved walking, lifting light weights, and yoga! These were my life savers! Any time I started to feel that achy uncomfortable pregnancy feeling, I would get up and get stretching. A little yoga, a walk or some weights, and before long I felt great! There are too many wonderful benefits to mention here, I will definitely be doing a post on this in the future!



2. Hydrate
It is suggested that a woman in her first trimester drink 2 liters of water a day, in her second 3 liters a day and in her third trimester 4 liters a day! I did well drinking the first and second trimesters, but 4 liters a day... was a lot! The point, isn't necessarily to keep a rigid count, but any time that you feel tired, sluggish, hungry or anything really--- start with 16oz of water!!! It makes all the difference, and helps with the pregnancy weight gain as well. Water has proven to reduce pregnancy swelling, a common problem in the third trimester. So, if you have some swelling, drink up!!

3. Eat for Two
Food is so critical when you are pregnant! I often joked before pregnancy that I couldn't wait to wear maternity jeans and eat for two, but I quickly learned the importance of smart eating. Pregnancy is a time to treasure yourself and take the best care of your body that you can. That means, eating good fats for you and all of those baby brains that you're making, eat all the protein that you can and lots of fruits and veggies. Meal plans helped me make smarter choices so that I wasn't always running to the freezer for ice cream. Oh and don't forget to have treats every now and then, just don't go overboard.

4. Vitamin B6
I had morning sickness all the way until my water broke, and it was not fun. This was an area that I could have done a lot more about, and would hate to see someone make the same mistakes that I did. So, start with vitamin B6 first thing in the morning with some crackers, this helped me some, but not entirely. But it may be just the ticket for you. Other solutions I have heard of are peppermint and eucalyptus essential oil blend, ginger, and fennel seed.

5. Bed Time Routine
The hardest time of the day for me, was always bed time. I either couldn't fall asleep, or stay asleep. I would try and find the most comfortable position, but in a few minutes time I would be uncomfortable again. My bedtime routine helped save me on this one. I began using my birthing ball every night for about 15 minutes doing different yoga stretches. I would have my essential oils diffusing, soft music, and light stretches... always did the trick.  I would put on my homemade stretch mark oil and set up my pillows and sleep a lot better! Read about my experience with stretch marks and the natural oil that I used. Natural Stretch Mark Oil





Well, good luck to you mamas, and if you have any questions, or want to share your own natural pregnancy tricks leave a comment!