Baby sleeping, but I am not. Anyone else had this problem?

[Jane7]

It sounds like a bizarre problem, but even though my baby has started to do a sterling job of sleeping through the night, for the past four nights, I have woken at about 4am and not been able to get back to sleep again. It's seriously annoying. It's as though my body clock has decided it's time to get up, even though I feel knackered all through the day. Has anyone else had this problem? I lie for hours wondering whether to get up or just lie awake.

I was there last night, 2 hours i lay there with everyone else asleep. Tried everything to let the mind drift but nope, still awake. Tis very annoying.

I have the same problem when I wake - I think when baby feeds your body releases something which makes you tired again (I recall reading that somewhere), I always found it much easier to get back to sleep after I breastfed my DS rather than just woke up for another reason. Hopefully when your baby sleeps through for a bit you will stop waking too?

Oooooooh yes. very familiar with that one. It got so bad I went to the doctor in the end because i was so exhausted it made me really miserable.

Two things which really helped me (more than the tamezepam i got from the GP)

• going to bed later. i was going to bed at 9pm because i was so tired, but the GP said I should leave it til 10.30pm or later. i was very sceptical but it did help

• listening to a sleep hypnotherapy mp3 when i do wake in the night which i stole obtained from the internet. it really helps with the "shall i get up, shall i just lie here awake all night" quandry because it gives me a course of action, and more often than not it sends me to sleep. if not, i play it again, it's a bid tedious but it is relaxing

i'm slowly getting better, though i still always wake up, i generally get back to sleep.

I would normally read, but that means turning on the light & waking DH & DD. I need one of those mini book lights (note to self - get one).

thanks for all these replies. i think i;ll try getting hold of a sleep hypnotherapy cd... so thanks for that idea
good luck to all the other insomnia mums out there. it's absolutely true that when i used to feed my little one in the night, i always had no trouble getting back to sleep. but now i just visit him to check he's ok, realize my boobs are feelign quite full, but i obviuosly don't want to wake him, so then have to go back to sleep...tricky

Yup, this could be me! DS, 4.5 mths, not sleeping through but has some nights which are better than others and its so so erratic that my bodyclock is all over the place. Have had a few days of having been up since 2am! The worst thing to do is to start worrying that you won't get enough sleep to cope with next day as once that's in your mind, that's it. I also find that I can sometimes just be in this horrid super light sleep that I get jolted out of really easily. I have found trying to do sums in my head somtimes sends me off. But it is grim grim grim and so sodding unfair! I find the best thing is to go to bed really early some nights as I panic less when the insomnia sets in and generally go back to sleep more easily.