Insomnia, anyone?

[Blanca78]

So, my darling sweet baby slept for six and a half hours last night, her longest stretch ever! Unfortunately, I was awake for half of it--it took me a while to fall asleep, I woke up an hour later, and then again about two hours before she woke up--and couldn't get back to sleep. I've been having this problem a lot lately, sleeping really lightly/fitfully and having trouble drifting off or with waking up too early. I listen to meditation tracks on my iPod (mostly just for the music/soothing voices) but the waking up early (before she wakes up) I think is due to stress and my body clock being completely screwy.

Anyone else having this trouble? I never thought I'd be blessed to have a baby who slept so well at 7 weeks, and am so incredibly grateful (she does NOT do that every night!) but I am SO frustrated to be exhausted anyway. Just needed to vent!

p.s. Part of the issue is despite sleeping with earplugs and a noise machine one room away from her, I hallucinate that she's crying or moving and it wakes me up (she's in our bedroom and I had to move to the guest room because her sleep noises kept waking me up). It's maddening. My nerves are shot.

[mamapigeon]

I had horrible problems with insomnia when my son was first born. It took a couple of weeks for it to get better, though I'm still not getting as much as I could be (sleeping while ds sleeps in the night).

Have you tried chamomile tea? I found it to really help before bed in the beginning, and I still drink some now if I have a stressful day or have to get up really early and want to maximize my sleep time.

Could someone watch your daughter for a while so you just lie down and close your eyes without worrying about her crying?

[Blanca78]

Chamomile tea's a great idea. I took Tylenol PM a couple times (basically tylenol + Benadryl) and it helped both insomnia and muscle soreness from all that baby-bouncing. But I've also heard Benadryl can affect milk supply, so I'm going to try to stay away from it. Will try chamomile tomorrow.

Weekends are good catch up time. DH tries to get the baby out of the house for a couple hours at a time so I can get a good nap.

I know things'll iron out when her sleep becomes a bit more predictable (so I can relax and not be afraid she's going to wake up any second), but it's so frustrating to experience this on top of the natural sleep deprivation, which also follows months of pregnancy insomnia. UGH.

Otherwise, for anyone else struggling, listening to the "Meditation Oasis" and "Inner Health Studios Relaxation" podcasts have helped me fall asleep a lot of nights. Staying asleep is harder in some ways.

[mamapigeon]

Have you been able to get any more sleep?  For some reason, my little guy has slept so long the last few nights that I've leaked milk all over the bed!

[Blanca78]

Ah, isn't that a great feeling, waking up with leaking achy breasts because you realize it means your dear little one has decided to sleep a longer stretch? LOVE IT!

I have gotten some more sleep! Night before last sucked--she slept great (5.5 + a 3 hour stretch) but I slept really fitfully for some reason--kept waking up and did not feel rested. Last night, she slept not so hot (2 hours, then 4 hours, then another hour and a half or so) but I slept much more soundly--the quality of the sleep makes all the difference. My doctor says benadryl CAN affect supply, so I stopped taking it and had some Sleepytime tea before bed. I also slathered myself with my Mygrastick, which is a little roller that dispenses lavender/peppermint oil. It's really relaxing. Then this morning she took a whopping 3.5 hour nap and I got a good nap in as well. It's obvious we are both better rested--she is a much more cheerful baby today. (The last couple nights were overtired cranky hell.)

Trying not to panic over the fact that she's not consistently giving longer stretches. I have such a history of insomnia and sleep neurosis--I really obsess over it, which is not ideal for the parent of a newborn. She was 8 weeks on Sunday and I understand 8 weeks is a big one developmentally, so it's not unusual for babies to fuss and not sleep so well--their brains are processing so much. More info at thewonderweeks.com, if anyone's interested.

Thanks for letting me vent, whoever's reading this! Hope you are all managing to get at least some rest.

[Skippy918]

Count me in too.  DD is sleeping pretty well, but I have trouble falling asleep cause I'm so anxious to fall asleep to get enough in before the next wakeup.  She's been going to sleep anywhere from 9 till midnight.  The other problem I have is falling back asleep after she gets up for a feeding.  Her feedings have been at 4 or 5am and between the wake, change diaper, feed, burp can take 30-45 mins, I'm nearly awake at that point and then it takes me nearly 2 hours to fall back asleep and I want to fall asleep cause then it's nearly time that my son wakes up.  It's so frustrating. 

[Blanca78]

Yeah, this is me exactly. Falling back asleep after feeding isn't so bad, but it takes us a good 45 minutes to get her back to sleep, as well, and even though I fall asleep okay I never sleep too well during the second stretch--just sort of drift in and out. The worst is just feeling like I'm in a constant race to sleep. She's started doing longer stretches--last night she went from 10:45 to 5:45--but I'm still waking up before she is. I think as she starts to do longer stretches more consistently, maybe I'll relax a little and not feel so much pressure to get to sleep immediately, and my body will adjust to not needing to wake up as frequently. I hope.

Originally Posted by Skippy918 

Count me in too.  DD is sleeping pretty well, but I have trouble falling asleep cause I'm so anxious to fall asleep to get enough in before the next wakeup.  She's been going to sleep anywhere from 9 till midnight.  The other problem I have is falling back asleep after she gets up for a feeding.  Her feedings have been at 4 or 5am and between the wake, change diaper, feed, burp can take 30-45 mins, I'm nearly awake at that point and then it takes me nearly 2 hours to fall back asleep and I want to fall asleep cause then it's nearly time that my son wakes up.  It's so frustrating.