Insomnia After Having Kids

I had trouble sleeping about a year and half ago. I have a son that is 5 and boy and girl twins that are 4. It was discovered by my doctor and myself that my insomnia was one symptom of anxiety (imagine that). Once I started taking an antianxiety medication, I could sleep like a baby again. There are dozens of symptoms of anxiety. You could do some research online to see if you have any other symptoms. I still take that same medication. I've tried to get off it but the symptoms always come back. So, I continue to take the medication because it helps me deal with the craziness of being a mother of three. I have also discovered after talking openly about my anxiety that there are a lot of other moms I know that take similar meds.

S. -
I too went through this after I had my first baby 2 1/2 years ago. I agree exactly with what Stacey M has said...believe it or not, it will pass. I ended up having to go to the sleep center at U of M because nothing seemed to work. I thought my sleeping issues would never resolve itself but they did. I went back to my OB to talk to him about this and he says he sees this from time to time. When I saw him, he was able to rule out postpartum depression (which I did not think I had either) and also checked my thyroid. He told me not to take sleeping pills and if it did not resolve in a few weeks, he would send me on to U of M. Well, it did not so I went to U of M. Basically, the sleep experts there will tell you that your body clock ends up getting completely off and your body just stops knowing what to do...apparently, this happens to a lot of people who do shift work (i.e. working midnights). They put me on a strict sleep schedule (basically, no napping, alcohol, caffeine and going to bed at the same time every night and not too early or late either) for about 3-4 weeks and it corrected itself. They had me keep a record of certain things like when I went to bed, how long I slept, how many times I woke up, etc. This completely corrected my problem and I never took one sleeping pill! Things have been fine since as well, however, baby #2 is due in June and I fully expect this to happen again (hope not!). Also, I could only go through this treatment once my baby was sleeping through the night or it would have been ineffective. I never told many people about all of this while I was going through it but since then, I have heard of so many people who have had this. One more thing, the dr's at UofM told me some people are just more prone to this than others....lucky us! One last thing, you mentioned you were 4 months postpartum and this is when it was at its worst for me...I went to U of M at about 7 months postpartum. You might want to have your doctor check your thyroid to rule this out...apparently, thyroid levels can bounce all over the place postpartum and cause this.

I do read in bed, but it's my relaxation trigger so I conk out pretty quick (unless it's the end of the book). I also have a sound spa to listen to the ocean and imagine I'm lying on the beach.

I guess the real trick is to empty your mind of all your obligations. I find I can't sleep if I'm thinking about obligations or projects that I'm cooking up at the moment. I force myself to meditate that I'm in a peaceful place with no outside pressures.

I too had the same problem with insomnia after having both of my children. Mine was related to postpardom and anxiety. I also take an anti-anxiety medication which helps me be more like myself. After my body adjusted to the medication I began sleeping through the night. sometimes I still wake up but I can usually fall back to sleep within an hour.

Yoga and meditation for relaxation before bed also help.

You might try taking a calcium supplement about an hour before bedtime, like 1200 mg. The "old wives tale" about drinking warm milk is the old remedy, before calcium supplements. It really had nothing to do with the milk, just the calcium in the milk. Calcium has a relaxing effect on most people. Liane has a great idea too...Yoga is wonderful. Sweet Dreams!

I have and had the same problem and have tried everything under the sun. It is kind of weird but my 96yr old grandma has the same problem and I finally got the right thing from her trying things as well. I tried Ambian-CR and thought that was the answer but it maid me to out of it during the day. So now I am trying sinequan and I slept great last night. Good luck, I know where you are coming from and it is not fun.

Ahh I did as well..after my 3rd child was born i was soo off schedule with my own sleep. I feel that its because we get so use to getting up with them for the late night feeding..this will last for a while especially for me it did til about the time my last daughter turned about 7 months old or so..and even then i had "lack" of sleep. And i never got in any naps! It felt like forever!!! There is hope..this will pass..sometimes when our bodies are over tired we wont sleep.."strange eh?" read a good book at night on the couch..then when u get sleepy , crawl in bed..but keep doing so and your body will eventually get 'trained" never fall asleep watching tv in your bed.."advice from a doc" your brain needs to know BED is BED..to tell it that its shut down time..not time for alertness ect...so keep tv time and reading on the couch..and when u start to feel groggy go to bed..This is not a quick fix, but in time it works.

I use something called Sleep Rescue. It is all natural and I keep it beside my bed at night. I also use it before I go to bed.
C.

Dear S.,

Ever since I started a regular exercise program, my sleeping has improved. I know it's hard to find time to exercise during your already busy day! But I promise that it's worth it, not just for sleeping but overall energy and well-being. Even if you just jog on the spot in your living room :)
You could also try doing some yoga-like stretches and deep breathing before bed, to relax you.
Good luck!
L.