dh not sleeping well; advice?

[Dylan's Mom]

Hi :wave,
My dh is not sleeping well mostly due to job stress :eyes, and last night he said he might want to start taking sleeping pills. DS sleeps between us, bed on box spring, and I'm thinking if the pills come in to the picture the little one won't be safe in our bed :crap. (We already had a roll-off from my side, so that's out.) Anybody else have any experience w/ this?

I love the family bed and sleep so much better w/ ds in the bed, so I'm a little worried. :(

Any thoughts?

[MeghansDad]

i dont know about most DH's but i really dont mind sleeping on the couch at all. I love my happy co-sleepin family but solo time on the couch is great too.

Is he getting edged off the bed? or is the bed just too small? we recently bought safety bedrails and i sleep way better having that support and security with sleeping on the edge.

[rachelmarie]

I was going to suggest bedrails, too. We have a bedrail just on my side of the bed and it helps a lot. If ds is being squirmy (especially when he is going to sleep) I put him between me in the bedrail so that he doesn't disturb dh. It works well for us!

You're right to be concerned about your dh taking sleeping pills with your ds in bed. Maybe try the bedrail thing first or maybe like the pp said he could sleep somewhere else but only when he wants to take a sleeping pill? There are also other ways he could deal with stress from his job rather than taking a pill. Don't know if he would be interested in journaling, talking to you about it, etc. Maybe some others have some ideas.

Good luck! :)

[mom2owen1]

i also use bedrails. mine is now at the end of the bed, as i have put the bed in a corner. you could also put the mattress on the floor so if your dc rolls off he won't get hurt.

my dh also sleeps in another room.

i would wonder if he would sleep better if he was in another room? if so, it may be a better solution then pills.

kris
owen, 11 m

[3boysmom]

I've had the same problem in the last year or so...too stressed to sleep. It seems that as soon as I hit the pillow my mind starts racing. I've had great luck with Moon Drops - a homeopathic remedy. They are very mild, no grogginess in the morning or inability to wake up if needed, they just quiet the mind and allow you to relax enough to fall asleep.

[Dylan's Mom]

Thanks, folks. I will try some of your suggestions. Things are a little better last couple of days. I gave him linden tea a few times. And he's trying harder to implement some relaxation strategies before bed. I'm going to pick up moon drops when I get a chance. Thanks Meghans Dad, it's nice to hear from a dad on here. Dh does ocassionally sleep on couch. The bed rail idea I will also look into. Thanks! :o