Totally dreading the forthcoming sleep deprivation...help!

[NooNooHead]

I’m 34w pregnant tomorrow with DC2 and it’s been 7 and a half years since I had DD1.

I am going to be very honest and say I don’t cope well at all with sleep deprivation. When DD was born, I coped fine and don’t remember being too adversely affected. Two years ago though I had a head injury and post concussion syndrome, which leg to a severe breakdown and insomnia, after which I got a drug induced movement disorder from some medication I was given.

My involuntary movements are exacerbated by stress and sleep deprivation so I am totally dreading existing only on a few hours a night - it will turn me into a twitching mess. I’m probably being unrealistic but I know that it will be hard at first, although if I am lucky I may get a baby that sleeps ok this time...

My stupid movement disorder is so embarrassing and makes me feel so self conscious- I can’t stand the involuntary movements I make (lip smacking, grimacing etc). How can I relax enough to enjoy my new baby while not worrying about being sleep too sleep deprived?!

Help!

FTM mum here- so maybe not best placed to give you advice, however I have a 4 month old so fairly fresh in my mind.

First few weeks awful- I can’t lie, recovering from pregnancy/birth/complications and dealing with a colicky newborn. It felt like a bomb had dropped on our lives.

Then it just got better- the sleep improved gradually (although all over the shop in 4m sleep regression at the mo) and LO much more interactive.

What I noticed about myself is that I adjusted. My body learned to function fine on getting

Sending you good wishes - sleep deprivation is tough enough, without the additional anxieties you face. I found those first months so hard.

My suggestions to ease sleep deprivation in the first place would be:

• formula feed (personally I found it much easier to get into a sleep / feeding pattern than when I was bf)
• swaddle
• use a dummy
• use white noise (dream sheep/Spotify playlist etc)

To help with your anxieties I second relaxation, and maybe try some mindfulness- there are apps you can download for guidance.

I've breastfed all of mine to about 2 years, so not anti at all, but in your situation I think formula feeding would be best. None of mine slept through until older toddlers when stopping night nursing. Can dad take over the paternity and you work instead?

Thank you all for your good advice! Yes, I completely agree that formula feeding is probably the way to go, and that I can hopefully combination feed like I did with DD too. I’m going to take each week as it comes and try not to stress too much, plus practising mindfulness and meditation is something I can definitely try to continue doing. I had some CBT and counselling after my head injury that taught me to use these as coping techniques so I am really going to put them into practice properly once babu arrives.

I’m sure it will all be ok but it will take some adjustments to get used to it! As long as I can cope with the day to day things, I think I will be ok.

DH has two weeks paternity leave and we’re not doing shared parental leave as I am self employed and haven’t worked since last August, so it will be a case of getting myself used to coping with it and getting on with it! 😖😳😝