Post natal insomnia

[elsiewoo]

Can anyone tell me if they have suffered with this and got over it? My ds is 3 mo and sleeps reasonably at night but I can't seem to get back to sleep between feeds (am bfing) and lie awake for hours feeling wide awake but come the morning I'm shattered. I expect ds to disrupt my sleep but it's horrendous that I'm doing it to myself.....

[Bumperlicious]

I had this in the beginning and used rescue remedy night and lavender on my pillow. It is horrific, I had really bad insomnia while I was pg.

[Mull]

Yep I had this as well and, too be honest, it only got better when we moved DS into his own room. He'd lie there asleep and I was wide awake wondering when he'd next wake up! I wasn't even lying there worrying about his well-being etc, I was thinking about random stuff like what would fit me to wear to my BIL's wedding 3 weeks after DS's birth!

I feel your pain.

[elsiewoo]

Ah, thanks for the replies. Unfortunately, have already moved ds out and have tried rescue remedy and lavender.... I'm also not worrying about his wellbeing, I'm just thinking about not being able to sleep!

[enimod]

i had it with both my lads and nothing worked- in the end i had to go on anti depressants- amitryptiline (cant spell it)-i have a very weak dose and it just helps me sleep a bit better and is safe for breatfeeding. prior to this i tried everything!
i still dont sleep all night and have weird dreams now but atlest i arent lieing awake worrying about not sleeping!

[MoragG]

I had terrible problems with this, but I can say that now DD is nearly 10 months old I am sleeping better. I still wake up earlier than I want to, but I can get to sleep no problem, and have stopped waking several times during the night. I think my problem was that I was subconsciously worrying about things to do with DD, even though I couldn't have specified exactly what these things were! I now feel that I have more of a handle on being a mum, and this has helped my sleep. The only thing that did help me a bit with getting to sleep was having a milky drink before bed rather than the tea or coffee I had previously had. But I think in the main it has just improved with time. I don't think I will ever sleep as well as I did before DD was born, but my sleep is good enough now to be able to function properly.

[WowOoo]

Had this, you have my sympathy.

I still have it. ( I share with ds2 still)
I was woken up last night by ds2 very noisy bottom burps and couldn't get back to sleep.

Arrange a lie in on weekend? Some Kalms (not fab when breastfeeding but they are herbal and weak. Not too habit forming once in a while)?
Just rest as much as you can in the day also and enjoy the times when little one sleeps as restfully as possible.

[sunberryhat]

I had a terrible time with this with ds1. It helped to get him in his own room. Also, getting regular exercise is really helpful, ideally outside in the fresh air, so that you are physically and well as mentally tired at the end of the day. Perhaps making a point of walking with the pushchair every day might help.

[elsiewoo]

Thanks all, I am doing everything you have suggested so far. I make sure I go for a walk with the pram every day, regardless of how knackered I am and how bad the weather is. Just have to hope it passes soon......zzzzzzzzzzz

[rubyblue]

I was just about to post the same question elsiewoo. DD is 17 weeks old and had a terrible night last night and I could not get back to sleep and have tried (unsuccessfully) to nap (she is sound asleep and will be for another hour). What is wrong with me? I can't shut off my brain.

[elsiewoo]

Oh it's so horrible isn't it rubyblue, I'm completely exhausted, but if I could sleep when he did, I'd be absolutely fine. Let's hope we can snap out of it....

[katiecubs]

Very interested to see this thread! Thought i was the only one, DS is 3 months and annoyingly since he started sleeping better my sleep has got worse. I can get to sleep fine but it's getting back to sleep once i wake in the night that's the problem.

I had one night where i could not get to sleep at all since midnight, was so shattered the doctor prescribed some sleeping pills and anti-anxiety meds. Hate the sleeping pills as don't want to rely on them but i think rescue remedy and nytols help.

Have been feeling better lately though and had a good night last night with no help :)

[sofasurfer]

It's awful isn't it?

I found listening to a hypnotherapy sleep mp3 the best thing. It stopped my mind going into a "loop" and although some nights I listened to it again and again, after a few days I'd be gone in seconds. The relief!

That, and going to bed a bit later. Sounds bizzare but I had got so used to going to bed before 9pm that by 3 or 4am my body had had enough sleep to stop me dropping back off, even though I'd then be exhausted the next day.

[elsiewoo]

katiecubs - that is me exactly. I do get to sleep at first, but either wake very soon or can't get back to sleep after the first feed. Last night I was awake from 12.30 until I got up at 7 :(

Went to GP yesterday in desperation, I can't have sleeping tabs because of breastfeeding, but she thinks I may have PND, so I'm to go back to see her in a week to assess the situation then. I don't feel depressed, just bloody tired!!!

Sofasurfer - that is what my gp suggested, a later night and a couple of drinks!!

[katiecubs]

elsiewoo i def think the problem is deep rooted - i had been feeling increasingly anxious and on edge and finding it harder and harder to get back to sleep.

Then it all culminated with not being able to get back to sleep at all. Having to look after a baby all day (who rarely naps!) is terrifying with no sleep which makes the problem even worse.

Am really hoping the anxiety meds sort me out - they are the same as anit-d's. Be sure to keep talking to your GP if things don't get better but am sure it's just a phase that to be honest most new mums go through, your sleep is all out of whack and it's hard to adjust to just getting an few hours at a time!

[DreamingofFour]

I had this problem with my first and it drove me crazy!!Even tho my son was going four hours between feeds, I spent three hours trying to get back to sleep only to get woken again. It always takes me a little while to fall asleep, and going through this same process three or four times a night drove me nuts. It was worse at around the 12 week patch. My theory is, you basically break your normal sleep pattern and after 10 weeks or so of random wakings your body loses the plot! I was in tears and totally hysterical at this point. What worked for me was this: my husband basically put the baby to sleep in one room and made me sleep in a room on my own (actually I just used the sitting room as we only had a small flat). Then he said that he would be doing all the night wakings and I was not to emerge until morning. It took about three or four days to re-learn how to sleep, and it also had the knock on effect of improving the baby's sleep (waking up for a bottle - of expressed milk or formula from Dad not half as much fun as warm breast!). I was reading the 'Solve your child's sleep problems' at the time and the idea of having to train my own brain back into not waking up multiple times at night made total sense to me. My other tip is to go to bed quite early (say 9.30?) because that way you are more likely to get some 'good' sleep early on, than if you go to bed at 11.30 and then woken at 1am. For me the sleep disturbance was something that pushed me very close to PND, but I could also see that if you had PND you might get sleep problems too, so hard to disentangle the two.

Hope this helps

[beachavendrea]

I had exactly the same thing for 4 months after ds was born and it was so frustrating. I feel your pain, I would wake my husband up sobbing that I couldn't get to sleep. Mine was also because of anxiety and stress.

My stupid gp didn't prescribe my anything even though I was in tears in her office twice.

What helped me was I went to bed at 10:00 rather than 9:00, because going to bed earlier didn't not help I would just lie there getting wound up.

I used herbal nytol which sometimes helped sometimes didn't. I also gave myself a bedtime routine. I had a hot shower and read for 15 minutes before bed. But the biggest difference was I would go for a long walk in the afternoon so my body was physically
tired. I still do this and i notice that if I don't I find it hard to get to sleep. Hard in this weather and with a little baby but it did work for me!

[katiecubs]

how are you doing elsiewoo is the sleep any better? I had a couple of bad nights waking at 3 (not even for baby as he is mostly sleeping through!) and not being able to get back to sleep.

Had the best night in ages last night though, got up to DS at 4 but was able to go straight back to sleep again! Hoping it continues.

[elsiewoo]

Hi katiecubs. Had a couple of truly horrendous nights, then I went for a session of reflexology yesterday, which had been recommended to me. I was so sleepy afterwards that I went to bed at 8 and fell straight to sleep. Unfortunately, ds woke at 10.30 (he never does that!!!) but I managed to get back to sleep after and between subsequent feeds, so I don't feel to horrendous today. I am also using a hypnotherapy app on my phone, which seems to help me relax at night.

Glad to hear you had a good night on monday too. We will conquer this!!!

[katiecubs]

Glad that helped! Might try and look into it too....

Bad night last night again - woke at 3.30am, not even by DS it was all quiet. Couldn't get back to sleep at all so now back to square one :(

[elsiewoo]

Oh no :( I find it's good night, bad night, at the moment. Reflexology could just be placebo effect, but the reflexologist said I was full of tension and I definitely felt more relaxed afterwards. It was also nice to have an hour to myself,if nothing else. I'm going to try a couple more sessions, nothing to lose but 35 quid a pop....