insomnia-im soooo tired but cant sleep

[littleducks]

I have started putting dd to bed at 8 which seems to suit and was thinking of leaving it at the same time when the clocks go back so that i have evening with dh and can eat. I feel so tired in evening but go to bed 10ish and cant sleep, lie there til 11.30ish while dh happily falls asleep.
I used to have lie in with baby but she now wakes up when dh gets up for work which is why i wanted her in bed early. She used to always sleep for hour or so if cuddled up with me but now (4 months) would rather play with her feet and generally fidget loudly. She doesnt nap either.

Im so tired, she doesnt sleep much so i cant believe that i waste this chunk of time when she sleeps well. Im breastfeeding so cant take sleeping tablet (i presume?)

ideas anyone????????

Maybe you have alot on your mind and dont know how to 'shut off' when you go to bed if you are still thinking about lots of different things and worrying because your not falling asleep yet - its a vicious circle! you need to find a way of calming yourself down and relaxing before bed i suppose abit like you would your dd if she was overtired and stressed what would you do? bath her? read her a quiet story? give her a soothing massage? maybe you should 'baby' yourself for a while before bed, see if it helps - horlicks is good too!

oooh, when will dd be old enough to give me a massage { i cant wait, no chance of one off dh will try bath idea but i hate milk so horlicks is out, unless i get really desperate. Thanks for replying.

I hope you get some good sleep soon hun oh and you can make horlicks with hot water i think! xx

ok will add to shopping list then, thanks!

Empathies.

I have suffered from insomnia most of my adult life.

Ive had insomnia since I was 16 and its horrid.The only time I didnt have it was when I was pregnant, but as soon as dd arrived so my sleeplessness returned.It was fine when she was still waking in the night, but as soon as she started sleeping through it became sooo infuriating as everyone else in the house was asleep.
Sometimes I find that giving up trying to sleep and getting up, going for a walk and then going to bed all over again works.Im fortunate to live in a really quiet rural area however.I used to live in a dodgy bit of London and I wouldnt have tried it there!
And Horlicks yes..But beware the Horlicks if you are on a diet, (which I always am, grrr).When I was pregnant I stopped drinking tea as it didnt agree with me, and started drinking like 5 cups of Horlicks a day.I carried on after I'd had the baby until I looked at he packet and relaised its got 200 calories a cup!A thousand calories a day in Horlicks.
I am back on the tea now suffice to say.