Is there such a thing as a sleeping pill which will allow me to get up with the baby?

[numberthirtytwowindsorgardens]

I have two pretty poor sleepers. The upshot is that now, after I get up to feed the baby at about 3am, I don't go back to sleep, regardless of whether the children are asleep. It's absolutely killing me. Is there such a thing as a sleeping pill which would let me sleep but not knock me out to the extent that I couldn't get up with the kids?

I was prescribed Phenergan just after I had my daughter and found it worked like that. I slept much better but would still wake up for crying etc. I think different tablets impact people in different ways though.
I sometimes use a CBD oil spray from Holland and barrett which also has a similar effect

I take Phenergan as an anti-histamine for night itching and insomnia. I'm breastfeeding a baby, so up a few times a night too. It helps me go back to sleep quickly after a feed. It's prescribed, I can't remember if it's OTC.

Thank you both! Got a call with the doctor today- will mention this.

Not quite the same but my DH takes a small dose of Piriton (also antihistamine) when he has trouble sleeping!
I think that the sleep you try and have when you know you have to wake up again soon is hard to achieve. Could you also try something like a meditation app? It doesn't feel it at the time, but resting with your eyes closed is still resting even if not sleeping.

I sometimes have half a phenergan if I want some decent sleep. I can still wake up and hear my daughter if she cries from the room next door, and I wear earplugs! I find a whole tablet makes me feel too muggy the next day.

Not sure if you can take them when breast feeding but propanadol , which is prescribed for anxiety or high blood pressure always helps me get to sleep. Stops me overthinking when I am trying to sleep.

The thing is, I don't think I'm lying there overthinking - I'm just not asleep. (Though I could have done without Liz Truss crashing the economy and doubling our mortgage rate.)

Spoke to doctor, who obviously thinks I'm depressed and has asked me to go in for a ftf. Should I push for phenergan?

You can buy phenergan over the counter. It's not expensive

@lemonybiscuits @housepilot @Passmeaplacard thank you so much for the recommendation of phenergan. I took half a tablet last night and it let me go back to sleep after each ot the five wake ups!

I'm now wondering about tonight. Should I take another half before sleep tonight, or give it a break? I'm very keen to avoid becoming dependent on them, but am not sure whether it's better to take rhem for a few nights to (hopefully) break the habit of wakefulness or just to not take them for another night or two?

Any advice welcomed!

See if you can get the doctor to give you melatonin. What dose works for you really varies between people, but start on a small amount and work up - I find it really helpful and if the dose is right I can take it when I wake up and am not blurry the next morning.

Can your DH not help with some of the wake ups?

I also recommend white noise - I use a boring podcast eg in our time (sorry Melvyn) send me straight to sleep

Well, ain't that always another thread.

To be fair, though, this problem is about being unable to get back to sleep once I've woken up, and they'd wake me whether I got up with them or not.

@numberthirtytwowindsorgardens Really glad they helped! I think I used them on and off for about a month and then only very occasionally when I really needed. I would just take them until you feel caught up on sleep

@gogohmm Melvyn helps me drift off too! Diarmid McCulloch (Tudor historian) has a lovely soothing voice too.

I take phernergen for hypermesis and it’s
zombified me. I can still wake up but a crushing fatigue comes over me within seconds and I fall back asleep again. I wouldn’t take it if waking up with babies in case I dropped off with them in the bed.

I’m interested in this phenegran now! Does make it harder to get up and nodding off during the feeding or settling? My 5 month old is in the midst of the regression and I wake up way too much when I’m up with him and when he only sleeps like 1.5 hours and it takes me 30 min to go back to sleep I’m only just drifting off when he wakes again 😴

Despite being over the counter phenergan is pretty heavy duty and I definitely wouldn't use it for long periods of time. I take it for long haul plane journeys to help me sleep but feel so groggy after.

@GinnyBee I'm far from an expert, having taken it precisely once! - but I agree with @Endofmytetherfinally in that it's stronger than I was expecting. I was still able to wake up and comfort/feed the baby, but I felt incredibly hungover the next day. I was very glad @lemonybiscuits had recommended halving one; I did that and, considering how groggy I felt the next morning, am very glad I didn't take a full one! If I take it again, I think I might take a quarter rather than a half to see if that helps.

But it got me sleep after a week averaging three hours a night, and I no longer feel like I want to die, so I am a new fan of phenergan!! Just perhaps try starting with a really small dose and see how it takes you.