Rant - Feeling so hopeless about sleep!

[libbylou]

This insomnia combined with bad sleeping baby is kicking my ass big time.
Last night I went to bed at 9:30...and lay there staring at the back of my eyelids until 11:30 when LO woke up. I nursed her and put her back down, she was asleep by 12....then she woke up at 12:45 and refused to settle. An hour later I finally got her settled in our bed. By 2am I was still lying there, not sleeping. Finally fell asleep but woke constantly and would just lie there...I feel friggin awful

Aimee - yay Coleton! Funny how even one good night can make you feel and look like a new person! There isn't enough makeup in this world to cover the bags under my eyes right now

Shadowy - so sorry about your crap night I hate hate hate those middle of the night wakings when they refuse to go back to sleep no matter what you do

MrsPear - hope you can get a break soon! Not enough hours of sleep is bad enough, but when its broken up into tiny little chunks its awful

 

[bananaz]

This insomnia combined with bad sleeping baby is kicking my ass big time.
Last night I went to bed at 9:30...and lay there staring at the back of my eyelids until 11:30 when LO woke up. I nursed her and put her back down, she was asleep by 12....then she woke up at 12:45 and refused to settle. An hour later I finally got her settled in our bed. By 2am I was still lying there, not sleeping. Finally fell asleep but woke constantly and would just lie there...I feel friggin awful

Ugh, I'm sorry, how terrible. Just anxiety stuff? I hope you get more rest tonight.


Well I think I may have just inadvertently done CIO with Elsie for her afternoon nap. I first tried nursing and then shush-patting her to sleep but she kept fighting me so finally I decided to put her in her crib and give her ten minutes to try and settle herself. Before the 10-minute mark she seemed to be calming down so I didn't go in, but then a little while later she started crying. I waited a couple minutes and she went quiet, and 5 minutes after that the crying resumed. This off-and-on thing continued for almost a half hour.

I feel bad for leaving her in there that long but I just didn't know what to do, and I didn't want to run in there and bother her if she was trying to go to sleep on her own. Hopefully she gets a decent nap in spite of being upset...

 

[socitycourty]

Libby I hope you're doing ok. I have had a horrible week with my anxiety and my phobia and I'm just at the end of my rope. I can't eat or sleep.

 

[Noelle610]

Libby I hope you're doing ok. I have had a horrible week with my anxiety and my phobia and I'm just at the end of my rope. I can't eat or sleep.

Hi honey - are you seeing anyone to talk about this? A therapist or your doctor? I avoided it for sooooo long and now I wish I had gone sooner!

At it's worst I was sleeping maybe 2 hours a night (broken) and eating very little. I was 135 pre-pregnancy and got down to 120. Not in a healthy way, either.

 

[Aimee1003]

Libby and Socity- How horrible! I know how awful that feeling is. Weeks 3, 4, and 5 were my insomnia - laden times. C had colic and the stress of that combined with newborn wake ups caused it. Medicine really has helped. I went ahead and stayed on medicine even after the insomnia cleared up to make sure I didn't get stressed like that again. Good thing since the last month he went back to waking every 2 hrs. I bet the insomnia would have returned otherwise. Libby I hope the meds kick in quickly. Socity-U need to call ur doctor. There is no reason to suffer when getting help is just a phone call away!

Coleton had another good night. 7:15-1:30 and 2:30-6. Yay!!! Last 2 nights he has had a long wake up where he is really hungry and nurses 1-1.5 straight! He even took both breasts last night!!! He usually only takes one side.

Bananaz- lol. Ur accidental early bedtime stories keep me entertained. What a wonderful addition the accidental cio nap story is!!

 

[bananaz]

Coleton had another good night. 7:15-1:30 and 2:30-6. Yay!!! Last 2 nights he has had a long wake up where he is really hungry and nurses 1-1.5 straight! He even took both breasts last night!!! He usually only takes one side.

Bananaz- lol. Ur accidental early bedtime stories keep me entertained. What a wonderful addition the accidental cio nap story is!!

I'm glad you had a good night! Elsie has been nursing like crazy for the past couple weeks too. It's like she's a newborn again! Maybe there's a big 8 month growth spurt?

And I'm also glad we can provide some entertainment. I seem to be pretty good at accidental parenting. I should probably start saving up for Elsie's therapy bills now

 

[Shadowy Lady]

Lillby and Socity - hugs ladies insomnia and anxiety suck big time! I'm a victim too and it's so hard to see light at the end if the tunnel.

Aimee - glad both u and C are doing better. Hope it continues for u guys

Last night was as gas as the night before except I got 3 hous of sleep instead of 1.5 :/ not enough to make me feel better though of course. She just wants to be up from 11:30-1:00 am and whether we feed her or not doesn't seem to make ant difference. She doesn't cry even...just talks to herself. She actually does cry when we go to her though which is why we let her be. DH can sleep through her talking but I cannot

She's learning to sit btw these days and is even more talkative than before. Nit sure if that's why her sleep is messed up coz her naps are still good. I'm staying at my parents tonight. I'm so sleep deprived that I gave in to a night away from Sofia

 

[bananaz]

Last night was as gas as the night before except I got 3 hous of sleep instead of 1.5 :/ not enough to make me feel better though of course. She just wants to be up from 11:30-1:00 am and whether we feed her or not doesn't seem to make ant difference. She doesn't cry even...just talks to herself. She actually does cry when we go to her though which is why we let her be. DH can sleep through her talking but I cannot

She's learning to sit btw these days and is even more talkative than before. Nit sure if that's why her sleep is messed up coz her naps are still good. I'm staying at my parents tonight. I'm so sleep deprived that I gave in to a night away from Sofia

Elsie started having long wakings at 11pm right around that age too. I still don't really know what was up but they went away on their own after a while.

Anyway, don't feel bad about taking a night off! Having a well-rested mama is a good thing for Sofia

 

[Noelle610]

Same as Bananaz! We had that too and it passed, then started again around 7 months for like two weeks. So weird, but I'm pretty sure it's developmental.

 

[socitycourty]

i'm seeing my therapist on tuesday.....i really need some help.

 

[Noelle610]

So glad you are going!!! Take care of yourself

 

[libbylou]

Last night was better. LO went down about 8...woke up at 9 and cried for a few mins then resettled herself. Woke up about 12, cried for a few mins, resettled herself. Up at 2 for a feed then right back down to sleep. Woke a few times between 2 and 4:30 but resettled herself. Came to bed with us at 4:30 and actually shared the bed nicely (instead of either nursing nonstop or crawling around crying because she can't find a comfy spot)
I didn't get a ton of sleep, but my insomnia wasn't as bad last night
At the recommendation of a few friends I'm taking my Zoloft in the morning from now on instead of at night which should help with the Zoloft related insomnia

Bananaz - yeah its mostly anxiety related and also not knowing when LO will wake as she is so inconsistent so I just lie there thinking "whats the point of going to sleep if she'll be up in 20 mins..."
Don't worry about the naptime...LO often has naptimes like that. I'll leave her to fuss for a bit, then she seems to drop off...then starts crying for a few mins..but I'm afraid to go in because she's not hysterical and I know she'll take longer to settle if I go in when she's winding herself down

Socity - I'm not eating right now either...the Zoloft is making me feel like poop and I can't eat, or sleep. I'm glad you're going to see your therapist...you can't hang on much longer as you are going, you'll crash and burn and you won't be able to take care of LO

Aimee - glad Coleton had another good night! I bet he's having a growth spurt (or possibly teething? LO nurses constantly when she's teething)

Shadowy - my DH sleeps through everything too! Sometimes LO will have a good hour or more where she'll cry out, then go to sleep...then 5 mins later cry out...and so on. DH sleeps right through but I'm wide awake the whole time

 

[MrsPear]

Socitycourty, big hugs to you It's just horrible to feel that way, so demoralising and isolating. I hope that speaking to someone can at least let a bit of that tension out. Sometimes with a baby I find anxiety builds and builds and there is no let up, more and more just tumbles on to make you feel worse Thinking of you.

Libbylou, glad you had a better night, still sounds a bit of an ordeal though. Hope you have a better-better night soon.

Awww Shadowy, poor you. It sounds like you really need that night away, you arent getting enough sleep at all. No doubt you feel really guilty though, it's like a vicious cycle isn't it, guilty whatever you do. I think you're doing the right thing and Sofia needs her mummy to have had a few extra hours sleep so you can be less exhausted in the day.

Bananaz I did that sort of 'CIO' thing with Joni the other day. She was sort of crying on and off for 40 minutes but I kept leaving it because after crying, she would start babbling and I thought, she can't be that upset if she's got time to chat in between? Then she did fall asleep but I felt guilty as she had been crying. I don't think it's CIO really...your Elsie is 8 months now and you would know when you 'needed' to be in there and when she will be able to settle herself. I think you did the right thing!!

Aimee that sounds like a brilliant night, do you feel refreshed for it? I find that when you get used to crap sleep, even a single good night makes a huge difference.

 

[Noelle610]

I take Zoloft in the morning because I was scared it would have an effect on my insomnia. So far, so good.

It's crazy how many of us with bad or formerly bad sleepers suffer from postpartum insomnia. Having kids like this must really cause anxiety and mess up your circadian rhythms! Are they trying to kill us?!

 

[bananaz]

I take Zoloft in the morning because I was scared it would have an effect on my insomnia. So far, so good.

It's crazy how many of us with bad or formerly bad sleepers suffer from postpartum insomnia. Having kids like this must really cause anxiety and mess up your circadian rhythms! Are they trying to kill us?!

Yeah, I think it's the unpredictability + the hormones, and in my case also just general anxiety. It's gotten better for me recently though - I haven't had to take melatonin or Benadryl at night in over a week, which has to be a record! Going back to sleep after LO's 3-4am waking is still borderline impossible most nights but at least I sleep pretty well up until then.

I took Zoloft a few years ago for anxiety and depression during a difficult time in my life and it made a big difference for me, but it took a couple of weeks to notice a real difference. I would love love love to go back on it or something similar but I think I'm going to hold off until LO is weaned. I'm glad you ladies are being proactive about your mental health; dealing with high needs, unpredictable babies is hard enough even when you're at your best!

 

[Shadowy Lady]

so I ended up sleeping over at our next door neighbour's place last night. I just could not be too far away from Sofia. We did her night time routine and she was out by 7:15 pm. I hung out with DH a bit and then went to our neighbour's place at 8 pm.

I slept ok there. The room was a lot warmer than I'm used to (I like my room cool) so I woke up 5-6 times but back down right away. Woke up in a much better mood at 6 am and just walked back home and started pumping (hahaha). Sofia woke up at 7 am and we were hanging out till DH woke up. He told me she had slept till 2:15 am, woke up then for a quick bottle and went straight down till 7 am when she woke again. So no middle of night craziness!!

I mean it's great!! I sure hope that we have seen the end of the tough nights...or she knew I wouldn't be there and she should sleep, hahah! Either way I feel pretty great today. Off to go jogging and then I need to clean the house.

Have a great Sunday ladies

 

[MrsPear]

Yay Shadowy! So glad it was a success. After one good night I always feel amazing. Hope it continues!! xx

 

[daneuse27]

Just found this thread! Hope no one minds if I join. My happy, well behaved little girl went from being a good sleeper to recently (if you've seen any of my posts, I know Noelle has) to sleeping MAYBE 10 hours total in a 24 hour period if Im lucky. This usually consists of a solid night sleep with 1 to 2 wakings at the end, and then no naps during the day.
She will literally go 12 hours without a solid nap and its driving me insane. Whenever I try to get her down, she ends up wanting to keep nursing. The attempt goes on for 3 to 4 hours and turns into more of a cluster feed than a nap! so no break for me, whatsoever

Im going to start solids soon, and Im hoping this will help. Maybe the afternoon clusterfeed will turn into an actual nap if she feels full. Crossing my fingers!

Last night, she slept 10.5 hours ...BUT woke up several times with gas pains. There was a lot of air passing. Id put a paci in her mouth each time, rub her belly and shed fall back asleep. If it werent for her gassiness, Im sure shed sleep through 12 hours! I take her to a chiropractor once a week AND give her gripe water that used to work, but it doesnt seem to be helping. It seems to just be getting worse.

 

[Noelle610]

Hi daneuse27! Welcome. I'm sorry you're having a tough time.

My little girl had a lot of digestive issues - reflux, gas, you name it. It was awful. Learning to sit unaided and starting solids really helped us. I hope you have a similar experience.

Shadowy Lady, glad you had a nice night and no long waking! Long may it continue.

Our night was okay. Charlotte is getting a front tooth and it's really bothering her. I gave her some advil and she slept from 6:45pm to 4am. I thought that was pretty good! She then woke screaming. I gave her more advil and fed her and she slept until morning.

 

[bananaz]

Shadowy -I'm glad you and Sofia both got some rest! It's nice you have a neighbor you can crash with.

Daneuse - Sorry you're having so many napping issues. Is nursing the only way she'll settle? Starting at around 5 months my LO went through a phase where I couldn't BF her to sleep during the day but I discovered that sometimes I could get down using other methods (singing, bouncing, patting, etc). About the gas, have you tried colic massage? Sorry if that's what you meant by rubbing her belly, just figured I'd ask since it was really helpful for us

Noelle - A 9+ hour stretch is awesome, especially during teething! I hope that tooth pops through soon. Also, how did you manage to eliminate night feedings again? Did you use the Ferber night weaning method or something else?