Scared I won't be able to cope

[mellowyellow1]

I'm 36 weeks and have tried to be chilled out throughout this pregnancy. At first I was depressed but have tried to be more positive, but now the fear is hitting me big time and I'm so scared I won't be able to cope.

I am worried I won't be able to cope with the sleep deprivation, I've thought about co-sleeping but worried I will roll on the baby and crush her. I'm not sleeping great now but I know this is nothing compared with what's to come.

I suppose I just want to hear that it will all be okay but to be honest I'm not excited just terrified and full of absolute dread

[SunnyDays1987]

I actually got more sleep after DS was born than I did when I was pregnant. There will be difficult nights and days but you'll get through it. Everyone does! You learn as you go. You could have a detailed plan set out now on how you'll deal with everything but you really don't know how it'll all be or how you'll feel until your baby is born. Try your best not to panic now and rest as much as you can until you baby is born.

Good luck and never feel like a failure if you need to ask for help!

[eternalopt]

You'll be fine. I was definitely a person who NEEDED sleep, and lots of it, to stop me being a complete witch, before having kids. DH was a light sleeper who slept much less than me. After baby came and a new round of hormones kicked in, I coped much better than he did with the lack of sleep. It was weird, but I had read that new mum hormones help our bodies to cope, and it seemed to be true. Also, you get a baby out of it and they're lush!!

There will be dark days where you feel like you are drowning, but they pass and everyone gets them. Screaming into a pillow helps!!

If you feel like there are more dark moments than light, don't be afraid to speak to the health visitor about it

Enjoy xxxx

[Gillian1980]

When you ate suffering from sleep deprivation keep repeating to yourself "its just a phase, it'll only last a few weeks".

Of course all babies are different, some sleep brilliantly and some not so great. But it is not forever and at some point it will get easier.

Quite frankly I got irate with people saying to me to "sleep when the baby sleeps"... most unhelpful piece of advice ever!! But do try to sleep when you can and get people - partner, friends, relatives - to look after the baby so you can rest, even if only for half an hour.

[Wolfiefan]

Mellow I was the same. Huge bump and needing to wee every 5 minutes through the night meant less sleep than with a newborn!
You said you had depression? Did you seek treatment OP? It's normal to be a bit apprehensive but you sound super anxious.

[mellowyellow1]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I am not depressed now even though I may sound it - I guess I'm worrying over something that has not even happened yet and have to remember billions of women cope!

[Caterina99]

The first night we brought DS home from the hospital felt like the best nights sleep I'd had in months. Yes I had to get up and feed every 3 hours, but I could actually sleep comfortably for those 3 hours. DS was a good sleeper and was going up to 8 hours (annoyingly that started at 8pm, but I knew how lucky I was so I wasn't going to get too upset about the one night feed!) from pretty early on and has basically slept 12 hours overnight from 6 months. Yes the first few months are tough, but you may get a baby that sleeps well