I experienced bouts of insomnia throughout my first trimester. There were nights where I would be tossing and turning the whole night, while other nights, I would fall asleep, only to wake up at 3 or 4am and not being able to sleep after that.

From what I read, it's actually quite common for one to experience insomnia during pregnancy, especially during the first and third trimester. During the first trimester, the body is going through hormonal changes, while the third trimester is due to sleep disturbances such as frequent urination, heartburn and backaches.

I've compiled several tips which I have found to help me sleep better (at times!):

Go to bed at night when you're tired, instead of following your usual sleeping time

If you wait till your sleeping time, the tiredness may have passed, and you may find it difficult to fall asleep.

Listen to relaxing music before sleeping

To calm down your mind and soul.

Avoid watching tv, computer or reading books before sleeping

Sometimes, the things you watch or read may trigger your mind to start racing again, thus making it harder to fall asleep. A rule of thumb is also to avoid having a tv in the room.

Jot down problems and thoughts instead of keeping them recycled in your mind

As I'm a born worrier, I find this very helpful. I'll imagine pulling out my problems or thoughts from my head (kinda like Dumbledore in Harry Potter movie), putting it in a balloon, and letting it slowly float away.

Exercise is a great way to relax

I haven't actually done this yet, but I'm itching to do it. I've always been exercising before my pregnancy - either swimming, walking or yoga. But I had to stop during my first trimester due to the morning sickness symptoms.

Hopefully these few tips will help you as well.

I love bread. I love the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven in the morning. I love walking past bakeries and am almost, always, tempted to walk in and buy the whole store. I will gladly choose bread over rice most of the time. Which is why not being able to eat bread during my first trimester had been difficult.

On good days (when I'm not experiencing indigestion or heartburn), I'll be hungry most of the time. And eating bread, no matter how much, just wasn't enough to keep me full. As a result, and I'm left feeling dizzy due to the hunger pangs.

I had to then turn to rice, brown rice specifically. That managed to keep the hunger at bay. I ate rice throughout the day, every meal, even breakfast. There were days when I got really tired of rice, but I had no choice, I had to eat it anyway.

The reason for this is quite simple. Rice, especially brown rice is complex carbs, whereas bread, is processed food, containing simple carbs. Complex carbs are processed by the body at a slower rate, thus providing a longer lasting energy. By contrast, simple carbs provide the body with a sudden surge or energy, but the blood sugar dips quickly, and I'm left hungry again.

So for now, rice it is. Oh double cheese burger, how I miss thee!

My sister recommended me to try Sea-band, which is basically an anti nausea wrist band, to help with my nausea. She herself uses it to help with her motion sickness, and it has helped her a great deal.

It's basically a wrist band, with a small ball on the inner side of the band. The ball needs to be positioned on a particular acupressure point called "pericardium 6" (p6), which is known in traditional Chinese medicine to relieve nausea.

A better explanation by Sea-band:


As my sister had a spare, she gave it to me to try. I later found a Malaysian blog shop selling it, and bought a pair for myself for RM35. Initially, it seemed to help. But after wearing it for several days, I realized that it didn't really help me that much. It has been reported to work on some people, but perhaps just not everyone.

I have a new found appreciation for lemons and grapefruits!

I have always been drinking hot lemon juice first thing in the morning before I was pregnant. I find that it's a very refreshing way to start my day, apart from the fact that it's beneficial for the digestive system. But somehow, I stopped when I found out I was pregnant. As for grapefruit, I've never really been a fan of it, due to the slight bitter-ish taste.

However, as I was experiencing frequent bouts for indigestion and heartburn throughout my first trimester, I was looking for natural ways to elevate the discomfort without having to resort to drug-based remedies.

I started taking lemon juice whenever I have indigestion. I read somewhere that drinking or eating something citrusy helps, so I tried. It does help, but then it made me hungry even faster. And I didn't like that, as being hungry means I need to eat, and since I had very lousy appetite during my first trimester, the act of eating was a torture.

Then my dad chanced upon the use of grapefruit skin to help elevate nausea. My sweet dad was going through some of his old food related books, to see what kind of food is suitable for pregnant women. One of his books talks about food that can cure/help relieve ailments based on Chinese belief, and it mentioned that boiling grapefruit skin in water and drinking it as 'tea' throughout the day helps with nausea.

Unfortunately, the grapefruit skin tea drink didn't quite help me with nausea. However, I soon discovered eating the grapefruit itself whenever I had indigestion and heartburn helped me a whole lot! And it doesn't make me hungry even faster after that, unlike lemon juice.

And so, grapefruit is now, always, readily available in my fridge, for days when my digestive system is acting up.

My first trimester hit me like a tornado. It was quite overwhelming considering this was my first pregnancy. I certainly had not expected it to be that difficult.

The symptoms started somewhere in mid week 5. I'm now almost towards the end of week 11, and it still has not fully gone yet. I am nauseated and dizzy throughout the whole day. My appetite went down the drain and being hungry all the time makes it worse. I get heartburn frequently, especially towards late afternoon and night. Sleeping is difficult due to the frequent heartburn, bloatedness and nasal congestion. I'm put off by the smell of certain food, including cooking oil, so cooking at home was a no-no. The only thing I want to do most of the time is sleep.

Working was difficult as well. Luckily, I was able to work from home until I was 'fit' enough to go back to office.

Hubs was pretty supportive throughout the whole period. He did all the cleaning and washing! The only unfortunate thing was he doesn't cook much. And that's where my parents came in. I stayed with them for a couple of weeks, just so that I could have home-cooked meals. Eating out was a no-no, as the food was mostly too greasy for me.

All in all, my first trimester had consisted of the longest weeks of my life. Hopefully things get better soon *cross fingers*