After a woman’s baby is born the advice you will probably most often hear her give is, “Sleep while you can!”, however this is really easier said than done. Most pregnant women are awakened at least once or twice during the night from the beginning of their pregnancies to a bladder that is calling and just can’t wait till morning. If they are lucky, this will slow down during the second trimester as their body adjusts to the pregnancy and the baby grows.

Unfortunately, the second trimester doesn’t last long enough! Once the third trimester comes, so does the yelling of the bladder, as well as other problems making a good nights sleep become something most pregnant women just dream of.

For the women who sleep on their stomachs or backs when not pregnant, they will find that by the third trimester they will have to find a way to get comfortable in a new position. With a big belly, there is now no way to sleep on your tummy and it gets painful to lie on your back, putting all the weight of your belly on your back. This leaves 2 choices for most women, the right side or the left side. Still getting comfortable isn’t as easy and some might think.

As the belly gets bigger, it also gets heavier. You might try to lay on your right or left side, only to discover that the baby is rolled up on that side of your belly and that he doesn’t like this position. The lack of support to your belly and heaviness of the belly might cause you to have to roll over. Then there is another problem you might encounter. While asleep, laying on one side or the other, the baby might decide to start poking and kicking you on that side waking you up, and making the comfort you finally found go away.

Some women have increased back and leg pain while pregnant which doesn’t help with the night time comfort. One solution that works for many women is easy and cheap. Pillows! You will often see pictures of pregnant women at the end of pregnancy surrounded by pillows as they lay in bed, taking up so much room that sometimes their husband looks very crowded. The most popular places for a pillow are between the knees and under the belly. The pillows help support and prop up the belly and legs so that MAYBE comfort can be found. Sometimes women will put on behind their back as well. Some pregnant women will make use of body pillows during the last weeks of their pregnancy to give their whole body extra support.

Tossing and turning is a sure sign that the end of pregnancy is near. Between the frequent bathroom trips, the comfort level (or lack thereof), and the constant thoughts, questions and worries running through a woman’s head, you might as well give up the idea of an uninterrupted, peaceful nights sleep for at least the next several months.

The diaper changing battles generally start not because your baby doesn’t want his butt cleaned or doesn’t want you to change his diaper, but because he is getting bigger and there are bigger and better things he can be doing. Your baby isn’t just lying there anymore, he can now roll, sit and possibly crawl which have all opened up a whole new world to him. He has toys and things to do that are much more exciting than a diaper change, so he figures there is no reason to take a time out!

Diaper changing battles however can become very frustrating for mom and dad. It adds a whole new factor to diapering as now you have to try to use one hand to hold your baby down, leaving you just one hand to do all the dirty work. At times you may have to use both hands to keep your baby from rolling and to lie still so that you can do what should be a 10 second job.

Since your baby is moving so much, it is very important that you stay right there with your baby and keep a hand on him at all times. Your baby could easily fall off the table at this point and it would happen faster than you could react. You may want to start changing your baby’s diapers on a pad on the floor so that you know your baby will be safe and won’t be able to get hurt.

To encourage your baby to lay still and let you change his diaper, offer him a special toy that he can play with during diaper time, or bring his favorite toy, that he is playing with already, with you when possible. Sometimes a little distraction is all you need in order to quickly and smoothly get through the diaper change.

If worse comes to worse and you just can’t get your baby to lie still, let him have a little freedom. Five minutes of sitting, crawling, walking or even running around in his birthday suit will not hurt your baby. This amount of freedom to do what he wants may help him settle down easier when you do decide to put the diaper back on. Just stay near him so if he has an accident you can quickly clean it up, or if you can tell he is about to go that you can quickly lie him on a diaper.

Remember, the diaper changing battles won’t last forever. After a while your baby will realize that all he has to do is lay still and let you do your job and he will be back up and playing with his favorite toys faster than when he fights you. Eventually your nice, easy and quiet diaper changes will come back and the battles will be fewer and farer in between.