Insomnia - me, not the baby!

[Kaymer]

Grrr. My 5 month DD is sleeping better and better - some nights. But I can't sleep. I think the problem is that she is so inconsistent. She might wake up after three hours, or, as tonight, she is still asleep almost 8 hours after going to bed.....meanwhile I have been awake since 4am waiting for the cry. So frustrating.

Quite often I will wake to go to the loo at 2am and then just lie there for hours. Am seriously sleep deprived and it's not even my baby's fault!!

People have told me I need to get up and do something boring but I never seem to remember that in the middle of the night because I am just in this frustrated stupor-type thing.

Anyone had this problem and found a way to deal with it?

can't help but i've just posted a very similar thread! at least you know someone else is going through it!

sleepy, supportive hugs!

And another one. It sucks, doesn't it?

I can sympathise too. DD has been sleeping through the night since 10 weeks or so (now 22 weeks) but I am waking up at 5-ish every morning for no apparent reason. It's really annoying! I can get to sleep ok, but keep waking up too early and don't really get back to sleep. I think I must be sub consciously worrying about something :-(

Thanks guys,
It does make it a bit nicer in the middle of the night to think of all the other mums lying awake around the place feeling similarly....!
Let me know if you discover a cure

I'm going to try some shiatzu and hypnotherapy... I'll let you know if they help!

Same with me - and think its because my 14 week old is so random too.

Can your partner help. If its because you are listening out for DD maybe try her in her own room. Or see if you could sleep in a different room and get your partner to bring in for feed when she wakes (if he finds it easier to go back to sleep, ignore any rustlings)

I even got sleeping tablets from the doc (which you can have while b/f by the way) but they dont work brilliantly - you could give them a go

I tried downloading a hypnotherapy cd on itunes for my ipod but it didnt work for me - found it too depressing

It does help to know Im not the only one - i feel like an idiot for not being able to sleep when dd sleeps

Doc thinks I may have PND - if it doesnt get any better go see your doc/HV before it gets any worse

Oh and some games I play in my head which sometimes work to focus the mind away from worries if the sleeplessness is not too severe nd help me drop off

The alphabet game - pick a topic e.g. boys names, vegetables, towns in the UK and then try and think of an item beginning with each letter of the alphabet - just skip a letter if you cant think of it - point is not to be good at the game but to relax your mind

Toes go to sleep - try mentally telling each of your body parts to go to sleep and feel them relax as you do it - work from the toes upwards

The lottery game - think about what you would spend the money on if you won the lottery (sometimes this can be a bit over-exciting)

One for the boys - my partner imagines he is the manager of his football team (everton) and has money to spend and decides which players to buy in which position

Heres hoping one or some of these work for you!

I also struggle to get to sleep, can't offer any solutions just moral support

Hi guys, I am convinced this problem (surprisingly common) is hormonal. I had it after DS3 was born and still do but not as bad (he's now 7.5 months old). It doesn't necessarily mean PND by the way. I was perscribed prozac when I went to the doctor saying 'I'm so tired, I can't cope' and those pills made me worse so I stopped taking them after 3 days of hell. Herbal tea helps, hypnosis on the ipod too, vitamin B tablets are good also, and just trying to be chilled about it and accept it is just a phase.

I cannot drop off to sleep. I've always been like this, bit anxious and whizzy in the head at bedtime but thought that being so so knackered the problem would disappear! It hasn't so know I lie wide awake whilst dh and dd snooze happily. generally drop off about midnight and then dd gets me up at 5am. Quite tired now!

Me too. Last three nights had about 5 hours each. Zombie today.

Ditto here. DS cosleeps with us once he wakes in the night so on the odd occassion when he sleeps through, I don't! TBH, I was a rubbish sleeper before but now it's even worse!

I have exactly the same problem. My 12 week DD is a pretty good sleeper, sometimes sleeping through or will wake once and go straight back to sleep after a feed. I on the other hand will wake up for no reason or be woken by DD or DS and will lie awake often for two hours at least and often won't sleep from the early hours until DS gets up at 7am. DS who is 3 has started waking 2 or 3 times a night since his sister came along for various "reasons". He was a fantastic sleeper before she was born. Once I have been woken up I just can't get back to sleep, the more I think about getting back to sleep the harder it becomes. My husband works away 7 days and then home 6 days and my problem is so much worse when I am on my own with both of them. I think its because I know that I am solely responsible for them both and almost sleep with one ear open.On this basis I think my problem is linked to anxiety so I asked my doctor to refer me for cognitive behavioural therapy which I am due to start in a week and will let you know how I get on. I have also used a herbal remedy which has helped a bit. Makes me feel better that I am not alone as after a few days of little sleep looking after two on my own I feel at my wits end and v frustrating when DS is sleeping so well.

I've had exactly the same problem after each DS, and much worse after DS3. Like you, scandilove, my DH works away a lot and when he's not there I always struggle to sleep.

What I've found helps is doing exercise in the day - even if it's just 10 minutes to an aerobics video or running round the block - and listening to a relaxation/hypnotherapy CD. I was very dubious, but it's great for getting you to breathe properly and take your mind off all the stuff whizzing around. I'd recommend Paul McKenna 'I can make you sleep'. I have it on my i-pod and keep it by my bed so I can have a listen if I wake and can't get back off.

I had this problem too - it got better a couple of months after DS started sleeping through the night so hopefully you'll be the same - I know his doesn't help much at the moment though.

I used to describe it like trying to sleep on the edge of a cliff - you just can't settle because you don't know when you're going to be woken and how long you might be able to sleep for. Like you, I lay awake for hours wondering when he'd wake, then as the hours passed by, it became harder and harder to sleep because you know there can't be long until he does wake.

Things I found help are:
Get up and have a bit of food, I think you sleep better when you can guarantee you're not hungry. Weetabix and warm milk I found helped.
Think of nice things in a methodical way, and if your mind wanders go straight back to where you left off. I used to think of a nice holiday we once had and think about where we went and what we did day by day.
Picture your body as five parts - head is number 1, neck and shoulders number 2 etc. Slowly count down 5,4,3,2,1 to your feet relaxing each section as you go past it. Repeat over and over and if your mind wanders, start again from the beginning.
Get some strong earplugs and get your DH to get up with the baby so you can have a night or two undisturbed. It might just snap you out of it