Mommy Insomnia Insanity

I don’t know what has happened over the last 6 years that took me from being the hardest, soundest sleeper to a member of the walking dead!? Oh wait, KIDS! I swear a mac truck could have ploughed through my house before we had kids and I wouldn’t budge. Now a kid so much as coughs and I’m wide awake in bed. The tiny sounds have me up at night, and this momma has HAD IT!!

Also annoying about this dilemma is my husband is the soundest sleeper ever. EVER. He never hears a kid cry, doesn’t remember kids coming into the room at night and it usually takes him a good 5-10 minutes to realize his alarm is going off in the morning. I kind of hate him for this, but I think I’m just jealous.

The other night, the dog was the member of my family that had me up at 3am. I took her outside to pee and then sat there looking at a weird light going on and off at our neighbor’s house (an older gentleman who has been known to cut the yard in his tighty-whiteys, for real- I have witnesses.) I started putting together a story about how he is an alien and doing alien experiments in his garage and that totally explains why he would mow his yard in his underwear.

I really couldn’t go back to sleep after that. Thoughts about my alien neighbor were followed by my mommy brain shouting random things at me. What was I going to write for my blog this week? Did I put Lucy’s ear drops in? Did Lucas pee before he went to bed? Crap! I forgot to get milk at the grocery store! Oh no! I have made double plans on Friday and we have no babysitter! I toss and turn in bed for about 3 hours, finally fall back asleep, and minutes later open my eyes to little people asking me to turn on cartoons! And so my day begins: miserable, pissed and TIRED!

I know I am not alone! In fact, 84% of women experience insomnia during pregnancy and/or after childbirth! So for any of you that can relate, I will share some of the things that have worked for me and things I am working on to help get a MUCH MUCH needed good night’s sleep.

ROUTINE

You know how important this is for your kids, well surprise! It’s super important for you too! Having a bedtime routine is very calming and can help you fall asleep at night. A hot shower before bed, reading,  or listening to music are all things that might help you prepare to go to bed.

In my case, going to sleep isn’t the problem, it’s the waking up in the middle of the night. I have greatly reduced my tv time at night and think that is huge reason I can go to sleep easier. Also knowing my history of waking up in the middle of the night, I try to go to bed earlier in hopes that if I do get up, I will have gotten some extra hours of sleep earlier from heading to bed shortly after my kids.

NO TV OR MEDIA

This one is especially important in the middle of the night. I am so guilty of picking up my phone in the middle of the night to check the time and just taking a quick look at facebook or perusing pinterest. BAD BAD BAD! Don’t do it. In fact, just looking at the clock is enough to keep the sleeplessness going. Charge your phone away from your reach and don’t feel inclined to look at what time it is. If you wake up, try going back to sleep without distraction.

WARM MILK AND CINNAMON

Sounds silly right!? Seriously just try it. When I was pregnant I had the worst anxiety attacks in the middle of the night. I would wake up feeling like I couldn’t breathe and cry and cry for no particular reason. It was awful. Of course I spoke to my Dr. about it, but was told anxiety attacks and insomnia were both extremely common during pregnancy. Awesome. Since you can’t take much when you are pregnant, I reached out to the facebook community for tips. My friend, who is also a doula, told me to try warm milk with a dash of cinnamon. Totally did the trick. Eased my anxiety attacks and helped me head back to bed. I do this now when I can’t sleep and have also done with my kids. If you aren’t into dairy, try some chamomile tea.

WHITE NOISE

We play white noise for my youngest daughter every night (really to drown out the nightly fights and or meltdowns of the oldest two). Since small noises seem to be the culprit for my many sleepless nights, I thought white noise might be a good solution for myself. It’s loud enough so I can’t hear those trivial sounds, but still lets me hear crying or other things I need to be awake for.

BE PRODUCTIVE

When I really can’t go back to sleep, I try to get up and be productive. Three hours tossing and turning in bed or three hours doing laundry or reading a book? I find if I get up and actually do something it almost always turns my mind off and within about 45 minutes, I’m ready to go back to sleep and have an easier time doing so.

SEE YOUR DOCTOR

I’m no doctor, so these are only a few suggestions of things that have worked for me. If this is a chronic problem for you, visit your doctor to choose the path of treatment best for you!

What are your secrets to a good nights sleep? Please share!! I could use all the help I can get!