11 week old dd and no sleep - she sleeps and I can't

[Wildpoppy]

The baby is now sleeping (sometimes) 8pm-5.30am with a dream feed and another hour or so after her 5.30am feed. But I can't sleep. Have stopped having caffeine after 6pm and no checking emails before bed but i can't sleep properly and often lay awake for an hour especially if I've woken up, checked the baby and gone back to bed. Help...

Oh you poor thing. Postnatal insomnia is horrible. I would take a trip to the doc to rule out things like PND (which can manifest as sleeplessness and extreme fatigue) and overactive thyroid which can spur into action after childbirth.

Poor you - this is VERY common!
PND would be helpful to exclude ( as also VERY common). DO you have a regular wake-up time? This has been proven to help with adult insomnia - just a thought.
All the best x

I know how you feel, my dd is 12 weeks and will generally sleep from 9pm - 5am but just like you I can't drop off and when I do I'm awake every hour thinking I can hear her crying. It's a nightmare, I'm completely exhausted.

I experienced exactly the same thing! My DD is now 10 weeks and from the age of 4-8 weeks I had severe insomnia. I have found using a hypnosis CD really useful and helps me relax and get off to sleep although I do still often wake during the night I am getting back to sleep easier. I was also really worried about PND as I was finding it difficult to cope during the day but tbh as soon as I got a bit more sleep I started coping fine during the day - I was just exhausted! Its horrible but it does get better

thank you - I don't think I have pnd and slept better last night. in fact must get off computer now and wind down....

pleased to know not just me. Had glass of wine tonight - am hoping it helps!