insomnia

I never thought I'd be having this problem--I can't sleep. I'm so miserable, as if I wasn't already beyond sleep deprived from all the nighttime wakings and breastfeeding, etc. Now when I go to bed it's like I can't turn my brain off, or I feel all this pressure to sleep because I'm going to have to wake up again so soon, that I can't sleep! I put a call into my OB but haven't heard back yet. I have dealt with insomnia off and on before but not since the babies were born. I used to take Unisom or Benadryl, and now I'm worried those things are probably not good for the babies who are getting my breastmilk. I'm here sipping soothing tea, hoping to take a hot shower before bed, and I'll ask DH for a little massage, but you know how rushed you are when you're trying to get to bed as soon as they fall asleep. I guess you could say I'm stressed out...I wondered if you guys or your doctors had any good suggestions for dealing with this. I seriously thought I was losing my mind last night. Even though I'm exhausted in the mornings I'm so relieved when the nights are over!!

 

I had this when my DS was born and when the twins were born. Mine was actually from anxiety, I would lay in bed and try to fall asleep, and then the panic would set in and my mind would race. I finally was so exhausted after three days straight of not sleeping that I basically passed out and after that I was fine. I wish I would have called my doc and had her prescribe sleeping pills or something to calm me down. I think talking with your doctor is your best bet, especially if you have dealt with insomnia before....because I am sure having newborn twins will only make it worse.

 

I have the same thing, my dr recommended a book called the Relaxation Response (which I haven't gotten yet, but it is suppose to have some good suggestions for mind relaxation excercises etc), he also suggested that I turn the clock around in my bedroom so that I can't see it, because I would stare at the clock and get even more stressed at each 30min that went by that I wasn't sleeping. So, possibly these could work for you?

 

I feel for you it is so hellish....
I have no advice but only can send you good vibes and tell you (as everyone says) it does get better. Hopefully your doc can assist...
those first weeks I also had this problem and took herbal sleeping remedies that sort of worked though never helped with restless leg sydrome or twitching that kept me awake (apparently a sympton of sleep deprivation).
Hang in there

 

Tylenol PM... I take it EVERY single nite. I took it every nite during pregnancy also and it is approved and safe for breastfeeding. I am a chronic insomniac-- diagnosed and it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to fall asleep w/o medication.... Like it will NOT happen.

I TOTALLY know what you m ean about "okay fall asleep NOW!!" Not gonna happen for me. In fact, it's that "someone's going to be up in EXACTLY 45 minutes..." that adds to my anxiety and insomnia--- NOT A GOOD COMBO!!

Take Tylenol PM-- or benadryl.. If it's safe in pregnancy it's safe when breastfeeding.

 

I am so glad that I am not the only one suffering from this. My two sleeps through the night now but I still struggle to fall asleep. Even if I am so tired that i can just fall over. I will sleep for about two hours then wake up and lie there for the next 5 hours not being able to fall asleep again. But i am not to sure about taking any medication, just in case I dont hear them. and dh is no good, he NEVER wakes up. I swear he goes to the loo in his sleep...

 

I totally went through this once my babies started sttn at abut 8 months. It was miserable. A couple days in a row of no sleep had me convinced I was losing my mind and about to go off the deep end. I really did not ever think it would end. I had myself sooo worked up that I would start thinking/worrying in the morning about whether I was going to sleep that night or not. It ruined my entire day. The worst part was that I was convinced that it would never change.

Alas, take heart, you will not be this way for the rest of your life. You are going through a really difficult time right now and eventually, as pp said, you will become so totally exhausted you will pass out. I now sleep with earplugs (after the babies I sleep so much lighter that I can no longer sleep through DH's snoring) and when they/if they wake up in the night DH hears them and wakes me up if it is my turn. I also take something called rozerem every night. It is basically pharmaceutical grade melatonin which regulates your sleep patern. You can get melatonin at any health store and I have heard just taking the natural melatonin can help. I highly recommend talking to your doctor. I was also put on a medicine that sort of took the edge off of my anxiety. I like the rozerem because it is not nacortic.

This too shall pass.

HTH,
Amy

 

Right there with you. I figured I would be so exhausted by the time I could sleep I would fall into bed and be out like a light...no such luck. My mind goes 100 mph. I should be napping now while both babies are sleeping, but my mind has other ideas. I am up most of the night. I have thought about taking a little something(not breastfeeding) but worry it will knock me out too hard(I have never taken Benadryl, so not sure how it would effect me)and I wouldn't hear the babies. I found that when I am sleeping, it is not restful and full of way too many over vivid and bad dreams.

Dianna

 

I too am a chronic insominac (and my spelling stinks on top of it!) and now that the babies are sleeping longer through the night, I find that I am awake for a couple of hours a night. It is so frustrating. I have been taking Tylenol PM to help.

 

I had the exact same problem. I could never turn off the "alert" function in my brain and sleep. What helped me (sometimes) was to try to trick myself by saying "If I can't sleep, I'll just lie here for a few minutes and rest." I would often fall asleep if I could tell myself that I was just going to lie there until someone cried. Also, it's true that resting is important too. Even if you can't fall asleep, lying down with your eyes closed is not a waste of time.

I also got some counseling for general PPD and anxiety when my girls were little, and my therapist recommended the CD "Letting Go of Stress." It's similar to the "relaxation response" idea, but it has a guided meditation that you can listen to. You may not fall asleep while actually listening to the CD, but after a few times through, you will be able to do the meditation on your own and it really does help.

DH swears by listening to audiobooks on headphones when he can't sleep. He sets his mp3 player to shut off after 20 minutes and says he often falls asleep during that time. That doesn't work for me because my brain can't let go of the story to fall asleep, but it has the opposite effect on him -- if he can focus on the story, his brain stops racing and thinking about other things. So for him it is a kind of meditation.

And if nothing really helps right now -- it does get better. Your brain is still adjusting to this awesome new responsibility of being a mom, but you will adjust.

 

i swear you've read my blog before because your post is straight from my mouth last summer!!!!

i was out of my mind tired, like every woman on this site, and could not sleep for the life of me. i remember thinking....how many minutes before a baby starts screaming? tick tock...the minutes melted away one by one as i watched the clock & wondered...what's the point of going to sleep? i have never felt so helpless before. i tried reflecting on our honeymoon on a tropical island, counting sheep, counting backwards...you name it.

i called my dr. emergency help line because it was over the weekend & i literally thought i would die of fatigue. my dr. called back explaining that i should be able to fall down & sleep on the curb side. she believed it was sleep deprivation in concert with anxiety. they px a drug although i cannot remember the name right now...i'll try to look it up. it was WONDERFUL. i too was bf (still am)....but i slept soundly for the first time after taking it. i remember barely being able to hand off a baby...my head dropped & i was OUT!

hoping you find what works for you & catch some much needed zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzs. i'll try to track down the name of the drug they gave me. i was nervous about it bc of bf. also, i hate taking anything for sleep for risk of dependency. turns out...i only needed to take it briefly, until i learned to put myself to sleep again...and there was no harm for bf.

keep us posted!! wishing you lots of rest!!!! you will be sleeping 8 hours before you know it!!!!