OMG insomnia, 13 weeks, DC2

[Gettingonabitnow]

Hi Ladies

This is horrendous. I’m waking up around 4am every morning and not being able to go back to sleep. I had this with my daughter but not until near the end.

I’m really really struggling with a full time job plus hardly anyone sleep, at my wits end.

Anyone in the same boat?
Anyone any suggestions to tackle it?

Thanks x

I feel your pain! I'm 9w and wake up every morning between 2-4am. In some ways the 4am awakenings are worse because it's harder to get back to sleep.

I was using an eye mask to tackle the early morning sun coming in. I think it helped me to go back to sleep because my eyes are forced shut. Hasn't worked the last couple of days though

You have my sympathies! I'm 38 weeks now and still struggling.... My suggestions are:
Podcasts- my current fave is something called Ologies. Just interesting enough to not let my mind start wandering, but I'm often asleep again after half an hour or so
Warm milk in a flask by your bed.
Don't get out of bed.
GP if you're not coping because there is some medication you can take called phenergan. It's a strong antihistamine which completely knocks you out. Drowsy the next day, but worth it for a full night.

Also, I learnt to accept a lot more TV time with the toddler!

Thanks so much ladies for replying! It’s a lonely place insomnia isn’t it

I never knew there was medication that was safe to take - I might speak to my GP.

It’s the audacity of when you’re exhausted during the day then can’t get any sleep at night!! 😂

I'm the same. DC2, full time work, 1 y/o, terrible insomnia since about 11 weeks and I'm 20 now.

Things that have helped:
Eyemask
Earplugs
Keeping doors shut
Leaving my phone charging downstairs so I don't check the time and light up the screen

Just trying to ride it out but have had to take 2 days sick leave this month which I hate doing.

Have you tried Headspace? There are ten free meditation sessions and then you can decide to pay a subscription. There are sessions especially for sleep but all of them make you feel much more relaxed - it makes me realise how tense I am when I go to bed sometimes, when I think I'm knackered and ought to sleep like a brick.

I should say my problem is not usually falling asleep but staying asleep. Even if I get up for a wee at 4am, if I've meditated at bedtime 90% of the time I'll go straight back to sleep.

I have a routine where I massage my feet with creme sitting on the side of the bed in the darkened bedroom. Then I lie down and do my headspace meditation. Then if I haven't gone to sleep already, I put on a podcast on BBC Sounds, a drama or anything with people talking (speech seems to work better than talking) that I'm half interested in and drift off. If it's long, you can set the sleep timer to switch it off after 30 minutes or so.

Also think about the temperature of the room, it's muggy at the moment. I have a quiet tower fan on and the white noise sound seems to aid sleep as well. And the darkness of the room. My curtains keep out most of the light, and I just have a tiny nightlight plugged in.

It can be hard to get comfortable when pregnant in any event. Experiment with putting a cushion under your bump and so on.

Also, I assume alcohol and caffeine aren't a particular issue at the moment, but consuming more than one glass of wine in the evening will (boringly) disturb my sleep. And I can't have more than two cups of coffee in the morning.

Eating can affect sleep as well, especially when you are pregnant and your digestive organs getting squashed. Try eating your evening meal earlier and nothing rich.

Unfortunately, I am suffering the same thing. It takes me ages to fall asleep and I wake multiple times. Also, most days I wake 5am and can't get back to sleep :( It sucks! This is my third pregnancy and I never had this with my first two. I feel exhausted from lack of sleep. I did have two nights recently where I slept well. I am thinking perhaps I need to cut my afternoon tea out and see if that helps!! It is so frustrating and so exhausting. I have two dc and a puppy. The puppy is pretty easy and children are in school, but even when I try to take a nap during the day I just can't sleep.