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Mum insomnia

BB1New Contributor23 Jan 2023, 1:35 am AEDT

Mum insomnia

Hey guys,

I'm up again. Just can't sleep at night. I have anxiety which is sky high at the moment but also a beautiful seven month old who still wakes several times a night. I literally have to have a drink or two to go to sleep at night and even then I'm still up getting like 4-5 hours sleep a night if I'm lucky. I've tried meditation, I exercise rigorously every second day and eat well. I'm already medicated I don't know what else to do. I know having a drink everyday to go to sleep isn't good for me and I'm exhausted. I just feel so on edge about everything. I go back to work in a week and it's just going to be a nightmare- I'm definitely stressed about that but the not sleeping makes me more stressed then I sleep less? I tried to talk to my partner about it today but he just doesn't understand. He tries to help with night feeds but our baby is pretty stubborn and only wants me at night. The crying makes me super anxious, so I don't see how we can accomplish a bottle feed without me having a breakdown. I think my partner thinks I know how to manage things even though I said I don't. Any ideas?

3 replies

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In response to: Mum insomnia

David_888Senior Contributor23 Jan 2023, 2:43 am AEDT

Re: Mum insomnia

@BB1

Can you sleep with your baby next to you?

In response to: Mum insomnia

hanamiSenior Contributor23 Jan 2023, 10:15 am AEDT

Re: Mum insomnia

Hi @BB1

My heart goes out to you reading your post. I have been through something similar each time I've had a baby (four!). I would feed the baby and they would go back to sleep but then I'd just lay there awake. I used to nap a lot through the day to try to get some sleep but of course that isn't the same. And I can imagine how stressed you are wondering how you are going to do this when you return to work soon.

Have you checked out these two organisations to see what they offer for support for new mothers?

https://panda.org.au/

https://gidgetfoundation.org.au/about-us/what-we-do/

I hope you find something there that helps. Also wondering if you've talked to your GP about what's been going on? They are a great starting point to get support for mental health issues.

Warmest wishes

Hanami

In response to: Mum insomnia

Unknown userMember23 Jan 2023, 6:40 pm AEDT

Re: Mum insomnia

Hey @BB1, not sleeping and have a pretty young child sounds pretty difficult and overwhelming. I can only image that combo! It sounds like you've been learning what has been helping and what hasn't. So I thought I'd share a few things from the forum which might be useful

The Virtual Village - a space for parenting 'stuff'
Our coping toolbox 🧰 which has a lot of coping strategies the community has put together

I've also had a lot of trouble with sleep over the years. I find my brain has a lot of trouble slowing down in the evenings and goes from one thought to another, not sure if it's similar to you. There was a while there when I also use to use alcohol to cope with it. I found chatting to some support lines and connecting with a counsellor super useful for me. So if you're worried about your alcohol use, this website/organisation has some great support via the phone or a web-chat too https://alcoholthinkagain.com.au/help/

Let us know what you think ❤️

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