Babies: 6 - 9 Months

will I ever sleep again? (insomniacs come in)

I've been having a rough time with sleep lately. LO sleeps about the same as she has been for the last few months, some nights are good and some not so good.

But even when she's having a good night, I can't rest because I'm listening for her. LO goes to bed around 6 so I try to go to bed by 8 or 9 to get a few hours in before she wakes up, but I often can't fall asleep that early. Even when DH takes over and gives me a night off I can't let go, and our house is so small I can hear her every cry anyway. And even when I do sleep, it's light sleep and I grind my teeth the whole time so I don't wake up refreshed.

Not sure what the answer is. Just soldier through until she's sleeping better? Anti-anxiety meds? Ambien? Can you take a sleeping pill and still be able to respond to baby? My work is suffering because some days I feel I can hardly function during the day. I guess this is just a vent, but anyone in the same boat? Or am I going nuts?

Re: will I ever sleep again? (insomniacs come in)

  • I suggest putting a sound machine/loud fan/humidifier in her room. We have a loud humidifier running in DS' room constantly and everyone sleeps better because of it. It drowns out all those little noises for both him and us.
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  • This is also a symptom of ppa. It was for me at least. Talk to your doctor to see if you are showing any other signs. It will get better.
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  • I would Def not take a sleeping pill! You may sleep right through the cries when baby really needs you.

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  • I am exactly the same way as you OP. We have a white noise machine going on in her room, even still her room is next to ours so I hear everything. I try to go to bed early so I could sleep before she's up but I toss and turn for like 2 hours and can't fall sleep. Sometimes I wake up hearing a cry and I look at the monitor and she's asleep!
    I talked to my doctor and she said to take Bendryl. I did some search and turns out Bendryl decreases milk supply so I am not taking it.
  • I'm right there with you.  My LO just started sleeping through the night and I'm still waking up over and over again.  I wake up when she makes any little sound, and I wake up even when she's fast asleep and silent.  Our minds and bodies are used to being up at night, and it's going to take time for them to readjust so we can sleep better.  I am choosing to believe that it will pass. 
  • I have the same issues. I go through a phase where it's better sometimes and worse others. I know the alphabet backwards by heart. My new trick is counting backwards from 1,000. No joke. Usually I'm asleep by 880. If I get sidetracked I make myself start over.

    My mother said she used to count sheep but first had to build the fence. I've tried that but my knowledge of fence building is limited so I kept getting stuck at the same spot!

    You could try melatonin for a few nights. It might help set your clock to fall asleep earlier than you're used to. I've had some success and I BF too.

    DD #1: March 20, 2013
    DD # 2: May 2, 2015
    EDD #3: March 4, 2018



                                              

  • Have you tried distracting yourself?  I mean, it's a great idea to go to bed early while baby is sleeping but if you lie there awake for 2hrs then stop going to bed early!   Watch tv, read a book, start a hobby.  Sure you won't get more sleep...but right now your not getting more sleep and driving yourself crazy likely because you are bored out of your mind lying there awake!!

    When you are going to sleep run a noise machine in her room, run one in your room at the same time.  Find something fun to do in the evenings prior to that!

     

  • Hey ladies. I haven't posted in a while (I don't think since I had my LO) but this really strikes a cord with me. I started suffering from insomnia before I had my three year old and took medication for it. I would not suggest taking something like Ambien if your LO isn't sleeping through the night. But something over the counter doesn't put you in that weird place that prescription drugs do is a good replacement. If you have a smart phone or tablet, there are a lot of sleep/ hypnosis apps that are free and work well. I also drink Sleepytime tea. It's awesome! The fan/humidifier/ white noise machine also works well. Good luck!
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  • rsheehan10rsheehan10 member
    edited November 2013
    I'm right there with you. We have a white noise machine in lo room. I have taken everything in the book to sleep. Benadryl, unasom, ambien etc. I still wasn't sleeping until 3 am. I finally admitted to myself that it was ppa. I was anxious about loosing sleep that I was loosing sleep. Now I'm on low dose Prozac and ambien as needed. I still wake up in the motn when lo wakes up when taking meds. Hope it helps and you get some sleep soon!

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  • I had to take Trazadone for sleep when I was having major insomnia.  But I wouldn't recommend it if you are breastfeeding or pregnanct, it's a Class C.  I had to wean off it before I could even get pg.  Anyway, white noise does wonders to keep me from noticing all the little noises of the neighborhood (cars driving past, dogs barking) while I'm sleeping.  I use a fan.  But now that I don't have a working monitor, I stopped using the fan so I could hear the babies!   I love my moniotr (video), so I can just look at the babies to see what's going on without having to get out of bed.  It's much easier than popping up out of bed at any noise.

    TTC since May 2006. After 3 failed Clomid cycles, 2 failed Injectibles/IUIs, 2 failed IVFs and 1 failed FET, we moved on to adoption! 

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    Last ditch FET resulted in BFP, and identical twin girls!

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  • This is me!!! My dd woke up at 1am fell asleep within 5 minutes and now it's 3am and I'm still awake :( I bf any suggestions on what to do. We already have white noise in the room
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