insomnia

[♥ms.pacman♥]

^thanx for the tips! yeah i learned not to go on the computer once i wake up and can't sleep, that definitely tends to keep me up!

and as for exercise, i do love going for walks with my son but unfortunately weather in my area has been crappy for this (extremely hot, then rainy). hopefully though in the next few weeks it will get better.

anyway, last night was a lot better, i fell alseep around 10pm without much problems, i woke up several times at night, but managed to fall back asleep every time. and my son didn't wake up for the day til 9:15!! (he did wake up around 630 to nurse but i was able to nurse him in bed since DH brought him over). however, i did wake up with a bad headache (always seems to happen after rainy weather). boo! indeed, i can't wait till 1st trimester is over.!

[daisymommy]

This is just me, but I would prefer to let him sleep as long as you need him to at night, so that you get enough sleep, then wake him up in the morning, so that he is tired enough to take a couple good naps for you in the afternoon.

For me, even if I got a solid 8-9 hrs. of sleep at night, I was still tired in the middle of the day and needed a nap myself desperately. I needed sleep to break up the day, and couldn't go from morning to night without it (well, not without feeling miserable anyway).

[Uno-Mom]

Turn the monitor way down and put it accross the room. That way only the loudest shrieks will reach you. That's what we're doing now. I have struggled with severe, severe insomnia for over 12 years.

Can your partner help? There's been a couple times when my daughter hit a night-waking phase (teethign or whatever) that coincided with me fighting the start of an insomnia cycle. I temporarily slept on the couch and my dh slept with the monitor. That way I wasn't disturbed by those brief wake-shrieks. KWIM?

For me during pregancy, it improved hugely when my midwife researched sleep aids and approved me to take my Ambien while pregnant. It's category B risk and is approved for use during pregnancy - if you really need it. For me, if I get started on an insomnia cycle, it can go on for ages and have health consequences, so we felt that any slight risk from the med was better than the other.

But for me, knowing I have the med to take IF I need it usually makes me not need it! So I used it rarely.

I also use relaxation and sensory techniques. I use some dialectical behavior therapy strategies as well. Good luck - this problem is HORRIBLE!!

[♥ms.pacman♥]

thanx for the responses.

dh has been helping a lot and so far i've had good nights' sleep (knocking on wood). as soon as ds cries (usually around 4am) dh turns off monitor and goes to check on ds. then he usually stays in the guest room or whatever till ds cries again for milk (630 usuall) and then he brings him to the room so i can nurse lying down. and yeah, i do think just staying in bed helps. also helps with the nausea too..my morning sickness is worst at night and in the early morning, and many times just getting up and walking across the room makes me sick!

and i agree having a med option might help..a lot of it is the worry that i won't be able to sleep and therefore will be in bad shape to take care of my DS the next day. if i still have issues later i'll probably look into asking my doc abt it.

[Dr C]

Turn the monitor way down and put it accross the room. That way only the loudest shrieks will reach you.

We do this. In fact, we put the monitor transmitter OUTSIDE DD's door (it actually sits on the sink in a buddy bath between the kids' bedrooms so we can hear either of them if they really need us). I used to leave the door open between DD's room and the monitor but don't even do that anymore. She usually sleeps through the night and I think that I'm probably doing more harm than good regarding her sleep habits if I check in on her with every little peep she makes. I know if she really needs me she will scream loud enough to register on the monitor, but I don't need/want to be woken up to listen to her singing to herself at 2 AM.

[Smillow]

One thing that jumped out at me was that your son is only 9 months old, and one nap is only 30 minutes, the next only 1 hour?! yikes! Most babies that age are taking 2-3 hour naps, sometimes 3x a day. I would work at getting him to take longer naps so you can get some sleep during that time. He needs more sleep at this age than that too.

My DS was like this. He didn't take a nap of more than an hour until after he dropped down to 1 nap at 11 months - and even then it took a couple of months before the nap got longer than an hour. Some babies just won't sleep (and I was ALL ABOUT protecting the nap)!

[Melbel]

I had terrible insomnia during each of my pregnancies. For me, it helped to keep the thermostat very cold (about 69 degrees). During my pregnancy with DD1, DS was only 1 and a horrible sleeper. I ultimately started taking ambien after I ran a red light while driving to work one morning due to sleep deprivation. Since I was working FT, naps were not an option. I am sensitive to meds, so I was able to take a very low dosage on the worst nights. My OB was very comfortable prescribing ambien. It is great that your DH is helping. I hope you feel better soon.

[Uno-Mom]

..a lot of it is the worry that i won't be able to sleep

Oh yeah, been there! Ihope it helps to know that there are others out here who know how it feels...

We finally got a home internet connection in January 2009 (right when I went OFF birth control and also OFF my Ambien - at the time I mistakenly assumed that no sleeping pills were approved for pregnancy) and it helped so much to go on FB to find awake friends. It helped that I live on the Westcoast and many friends live in the East, but still - it was so good to have company and not feel like I was the only person awake in the world!

Tell your husband KUDOS from another insomnia-sufferer. I couldn't imagine motherhood w/out my patient husband helping me through my sleep issues.

Quick advice that I got from my sleep therapist: (you may have heard this already) if you can, avoid lying awake in your bed for ages and ages. Get up and make yourself comfy on a couch or something. It helps avoid the negative associations with bed & for me it relieved the pressure to SLEEP. I often woke up on the couch, half sitting. Which also helped my pregancy heartburn!