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Day 58 of 280 · 8 weeks + 2 days

Up in the night

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 8 sources · Plain-text version

Night bathroom trips are breaking your sleep. The NHS fix is to shift your fluids earlier, not drink less. Here is how to do it.

Size this week
about the size of a raspberry
Length this week
around 16 mm from head to bottom
An East Asian woman in pyjamas and a long cardigan standing at a dim hallway doorway at night, one hand on the frame, a nightlight glowing behind her.

Eight weeks and two days. If you're up twice a night to pee, today explains why and moves the problem earlier in the day.

Your baby

A single ripe raspberry on a plain pale wooden table, close up, soft window light.

Around 16mm, about the size of a raspberry (NHS). This week the placenta is developing branches that will attach it to the wall of the womb (NHS). It is the organ that will supply the baby with nutrients and oxygen for the rest of the pregnancy (NICHD).

Your body

Frequent urination can disrupt your sleep around now, and the NHS's advice is specific: drink more fluids during the day and fewer in the evening (NHS). Two things cause it. Your kidneys are filtering extra blood and making more urine, and as the pregnancy goes on the growing baby presses on the bladder (MedlinePlus); the hCG made in the first few weeks also increases blood flow to the pelvic region (NICHD).

What helps, per MedlinePlus: avoid large meals or lots of fluids within a few hours of bedtime, limit caffeinated drinks, and know that many people sleep well in the first trimester and simply need more sleep than usual (MedlinePlus). A 15-minute warm bath or a warm caffeine-free drink such as milk can help, and short daytime naps make up lost sleep (MedlinePlus). The total still matters: blood volume rises by up to 50%, and the NHS suggests about eight medium glasses a day (NHS).

Try today

  1. The evening fluid cutoff

    Time: 1 minute to plan, all day to do

    1. Keep the NHS's eight medium glasses as the day's target (NHS).

    2. Front-load them: most before dinner, and only sips in the evening. MedlinePlus says to avoid lots of fluids within a few hours of bedtime (MedlinePlus).

    3. Put a small glass by the bed for a dry mouth, sips only.

    4. Count the night trips for three nights and compare.

    Make it work:

    Shift the fluids, don't cut them. Thirst this week is your blood volume rising, and the water is needed (NHS).

Watch for

  • Normal

    peeing more often, day and night (NHS).

    Call your provider

    for pain when urinating or a change in the odor or color of your urine, which may signal a bladder infection (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    feeling bloated (NHS).

    Call your provider

    right away for extreme swelling of your hands or face, on the CDC's urgent list (CDC).

  • Normal

    tired legs after a long day on them.

    Call your provider

    right away for pain and swelling in one leg but not the other, which can signal a blood clot (MedlinePlus), or for severe swelling, redness, or pain of a leg or arm (CDC).

For you

Broken sleep is a load, not a failing. The NHS's week page says plainly to ask for support with your mental wellbeing if you need it (NHS), and MedlinePlus gives you permission for the nap: short daytime naps can make up lost sleep (MedlinePlus). If there's a twenty-minute window after lunch, take it without apology.

If you're the partner: the bathroom trips are hers. The early alarm, the dog at six, the toddler at the door can be yours this week. Moving your side of the morning is the most useful thing you'll do today.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

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