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Original poster

Too scared to sleep when the baby sleeps

18 replies

Piggywiggles · 01/03/2019 23:49

Sorry if this post is in the wrong place!

Feel free to move it.

DD is almost 2 days old and we are home from hospital.

Im too scared to sleep when she sleeps. She has a Moses basket and although we weighs 9lbs 1oz, her baby sleeping bags look huge on her.

I’m so full of anxiety but I want to sleep. Please help!

OP posts:
Original poster
Piggywiggles · 01/03/2019 23:51

Should also add I’m scared she’s going to be too hot or too cold. The room temperature is 19.1 according to the GroEgg and she’s just in a long sleeved baby vest at the moment as it feels really warm...

OP posts:
WaddIelikeapenguin · 01/03/2019 23:55

Can you delegate baby watching duty to your partner tonight so you can get a bit of sleep between feeds - everything will feel easier once you’ve had a bit of sleep (& he can sleep tomorrow) Flowers
Congratulations!

HeyCarrieAnneWhatsYourGame · 01/03/2019 23:57

Deligate the watching to your partner as PP says but then go and buy an angel care monitor tomorrow, with one of the sensor pads on. Saved my sanity in the early days.

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Original poster
Piggywiggles · 02/03/2019 00:02

Thanks!

He’s taking a nap at the moment. I had to wake him as I had to change my pad and take an antibiotic (I have a 3rd degree tear) and I was feeling a bit sore. He’s more tired than I am as he’s barely slept past few days. I’m going to wake him in about an hour and a half.

I’m so scared about falling asleep

OP posts:
IggyPoppers · 02/03/2019 00:08

Awww. Those are the hormones talking. The baby will be ok if you sleep. If it makes you feel better get a motion monitor but be warned they do sometimes false alarm!

gnarlington · 02/03/2019 00:11

Please, please, please try and sleep. It will make you feel loads better. I remember those first few days were the ones that my DS slept the most so me and DH managed to catch up on some much needed rest.
Baby is right next to you in the Moses basket and you will wake up if you are needed, it's like a natural instinct.

PoliticalBiscuit · 02/03/2019 01:02

It's ok, you do what you need to do. You could ask your partner to stay awake and hold her and try and rest next to them?

Tell your midwife you are distressed. It's normal. It's only the first days! She's been tucked up safe inside of you so long this is not a normal state for you to be in, you are discovering your new normal.

Take it easy. If I had my babies back as newborns I'd stay awake and watch them for hours too. But you've been through a lot - look after yourself and find a comfortable way to rest whilst you get used to it all.

Essle · 02/03/2019 01:11

Congratulations on your successful birth and lovely baby! It will be fine. Try to breathe and relax.
Look at it this way, your little beauty is incredibly strong and resilient- she's grown from a teeny dot to an actual human and been through birth (pretty awesome).
She can handle sleeping for a bit.
Relax and trust in the strength you've given her.

VimFuego101 · 02/03/2019 01:11

I second the Angelcare monitor, I wouldn't have slept without it. It was a godsend.

Illstartexercisingtomorrow · 02/03/2019 01:12

Swaddle instead of sleeping bag for the first month. And get one of those gro-bag guides for how many layers a baby should wear in each temperature. You can just google it.

EyUpOurKid · 02/03/2019 04:45

I was exactly the same. I cried every night for the first 10 days because I was terrified of closing my eyes in case something happened to him.

It's hormones and all your instincts being on high alert, you've just given birth, that's huge, congratulations! But it's scary as hell.

You'd dh definitely isn't more tired than you, he may have barely slept also but you've just been through labour and birth (and a postnatal ward stint) which is no walk in the park. He needs to sleep but he also needs to look after you and be part of the team.

I used to wake up and put my hand on DSs chest to check him (he's over 2 now and I still check him) Your DD is right next to you, she's peacefully asleep, lie down and do some deep breathing and mental relaxation. Mention it to your MW if the anxiety persists. It will pass though.

Congratulations on your new little daughter! Flowers

foxsbiscuit · 02/03/2019 05:11

I have the Nanny motion monitor. It was £90 from amazon. Baby is almost 7 months now and its the best thing I ever got. It's never given me a false alarm unless I take baby out and forget to turn it off.

MaverickSnoopy · 02/03/2019 06:11

I remember feeling like this. You're not unusual. You've just birthed an entire human which is exhausting and I found a shock to the system. Physically and mentally you're all muddled up and on top of that you're now responsible for this human life. With our first I was terrified. We very quickly moved to a motion monitor and although they shouldn't be used in place of all of the usual checks etc, they do give enough peace of mind to be able to sleep. You can get them cheaply and second hand from Marketplace on Facebook.

ellesbellesxxx · 02/03/2019 06:14

This advice here on what to wear was amazing! Then just a hand on their chest to check temperature. My twins were tiny in a heatwave one summer and I was terrified of them overheating

Too scared to sleep when the baby sleeps
WaddIelikeapenguin · 02/03/2019 14:34

How are you doing Piggywiggles did you manage some sleep? Flowers

MummySharkBabyShark · 02/03/2019 14:45

I second, third or fourth the angelcare recommendation. Still use ours now at 10 months but in a different room.

Congratulations on your baby.

I felt the same at first but tiredness took over after a while and I did sleep, she has never woken and I haven’t (including when it’s my husbands turn). After a while I stopped being able to fall asleep after night feeds because I was staring at her thinking how amazing she is!

Enjoy the times she is sleeping and you can rest even if it’s just reading or watching TV.

Congratulations again.

Middlrm · 02/03/2019 14:56

Congratulations on your baby!! I was similar the first night ( the only one he slept through so far ) but My now 14 week old let me know he was alive all night and day and would only sleep in mine or his dads arms for the first 3 weeks.... once he did start sleeping bits I fell asleep Due to shear exhaustion.

Though now he sleeps 3-4 hour stretches I do wake up and put my hand on his chest .

We have ours in a snuz pod so we sleep right next to him which helps for peace of mind And I have heard great things about the monitor pads too, we also have a camera monitor so if he is napping upstairs ( he never napped out of sight until a month ago i will confess ) I can see his chest moving and his fidgeting.

It’s so life changing and amazing and coping on 3-4 hours sleep ... is bearable after a couple of weeks you adapt!

❤️❤️

Middlrm · 02/03/2019 15:36

Congratulations on your baby!! I was similar the first night ( the only one he slept through so far ) but My now 14 week old let me know he was alive all night and day and would only sleep in mine or his dads arms for the first 3 weeks.... once he did start sleeping bits I fell asleep Due to shear exhaustion.

Though now he sleeps 3-4 hour stretches I do wake up and put my hand on his chest .

We have ours in a snuz pod so we sleep right next to him which helps for peace of mind And I have heard great things about the monitor pads too, we also have a camera monitor so if he is napping upstairs ( he never napped out of sight until a month ago i will confess ) I can see his chest moving and his fidgeting.

It’s so life changing and amazing and coping on 3-4 hours sleep ... is bearable after a couple of weeks you adapt!

❤️❤️

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