Insomnia...post-partum???

[ryleigh'smama]

Please tell me it is hormone related and will pass!!!! I have had the hardest time falling asleep the past two nights. My mind races and I feel like I am just waiting for either the baby or my toddler to wake up and need me. I am exhausted, and figure it must be partially hormonal, and partially because my toddler is handling baby brother very well EXCEPT at night/naps...she wants mama when she's sleepy. Anyway, if anyone has advice or experience with this let me know, TIA.

[timneh_mom]

I had TERRIBLE insomnia when DS was a newborn. Unfortunately (sorry) I still have terrible insomnia. I've been this way probably for the past 10 years or so. It really stinks. But it's been much, much worse since I got pregnant for the first time and have become a mother.

I hope yours eases up, I completely understand how frustrating it is to NEED to sleep but you just can't...

[raeinparis]

i had something similiar with ds1. and i would have wacky dreams and look for him low down in the bed when he was on top of me. and we were watching battlestar galactica and i was sleep-deprived hormonal woman and the middle of one night i shouted out, "my baby is not a cylon!!" which has kind of stuck, sadly.

my wacky sleep did calm down over time and now i'm treated to a toddler who (touch wood, all of you) has been sleeping pretty much through every night but of course i can't sleep for love or money.

[mom2mimi]

I had terrible insomnia for the first 6-9 months, unfortunately. I think it was mainly because he was a horrible sleeper so my mind always figured that he was just going to wake me up anyhow, why bother even falling asleep! My dh is terrified of this happening to me again because I finally ended up having some sort of breakdown over it!

[ryleigh'smama]

I called my m/w who recommended taking benadryl...I am reluctant as always to take meds, but she encouraged me by telling me it was fine and better than being crazy. I just don't recall having this problem post dd1 being born, but my hormones were definately terrible for a few weeks after having her so maybe this is the same.

[p1gg1e]

Calms forte or rescue remedy? chamomile tea?

I to think its hormonal and will pass..I wont be able to blame my no sleep on the nurses this time

[timneh_mom]

I had some really odd dreams too, I remember waking up from them feeling terribly lonely. I think it was because I hadn't yet gotten used to him being born, and so he was not in my dreams or even in the thoughts I had during my dreams. They felt really empty. They weren't bad or scary at all, I just remember feeling so empty! It was very weird and kind of unsettling. I would wake up to nurse him and be up for hours. I'd wake up drenched in sweat (another hormone thing).

He never slept well either, so that was a big part of it... he's getting better but still seems to get into streaks where he wakes us up every night.

[ryleigh'smama]

Well, maybe just having the option on something helped...or the hormones are passing...or I was just exhausted but I slept like 9 hours last night. I fell asleep putting dd1 down at around 7pm on accident, dh brought ds into nurse at some point and we all slept. He woke up a couple of times and so did she, but I was able to fall back asleep easily. I do think I will get some rescue remedy and calms forte, I would rather take that than something else besides benedryl if it came to that.