Lavender for Sleep

Part of pregnancy is sleeplessness. Have you ever known a pregnant woman who is not tired?

In my pregnancies, that second trimester energy never kicks in. Now that I am in the third trimester, I think about sleep, plan to sleep, and wake up counting down the hours until I can sleep again. 

When I do finally lay down, I groan and moan as I position two to three pillows perfectly seven or eight times (my Husband doesn't sleep much either as he listens to this). Right side, left side, back angled toward left side, right side, then finally left side. At last Mr. Sandman comes...with awkwardly bizarre and vividly realistic dreams that are a plague to me only during pregnancy. I wake up stressed and exhausted from these dreams. Multiple times a night. For weeks.

I don't love the smell of Lavender. I knew it aided sleep, but I was just too tired by the time evening came to care. Desperation finally drove me to try it. 

I started applying it topically, at night, before bed. Sometimes I, or my Handsome Man would massage 3 drops into the bottom of my feet before bedtime. I did this faithfully for over a week. 

I noticed a definite improvement! It wasn't immediate, or drastic, but over several days I was sleeping more, and dreaming less. 

Now the smell of Lavender oil doesn't bug me as much, and I will even rub my hands on the back of my neck after massaging my feet. If I neglect using it, I usually have a terrible night. How are you sleeping?

About Lavender Oil: It is supposed to help with anxiety and insomnia, which is why I tried it. Even though I don't adore the smell, I knew it was safe for pregnancy.