THAT is what I'm telling myself... If I really needed sleep, I wouldn't be able to function without it, right?!...
CJ had night 11 of nightwaking last night & it was a doosy... He was up every 3 hours (from wake to wake), took a full feeding each time (30 min), and went back to sleep easy. (thankfully) However, my struggle is that it's been taking me about 3 hours to fall asleep and well... you can do the math on that one.
I actually do know why it's taking me so long to fall asleep, but I don't know how to change it. I find it is the only real "down" time that I have, and I have a million things running through my mind, along w/ very horrible images/memories I have seem to creep into my mind at bedtime. I close my eyes and see my mom dying... or I hear a noise and think something's happened to the baby (I still have a pretty intense fear of losing him), or Juan isn't snoring (which is a rare occurrance), and I'm afraid something's happened to him, or I hear various commotion on our street, and it wakes me and worries me... I have tried sleep-aids: Tylenol PM, Benadryl, and Melatonin... nothing has worked.... what to do?... don't know. I guess if my body gets tired enough, I WILL sleep... eventually...
And CJ is waking up from his nap and crying for me, so I gotta cut this short...
May God bless you today, and may you sleep!
Please know that you are not the only momma with this problem. I found that napping during the day with the baby tends to come slightly easier because I'm so exhausted from not sleeping at night.
ReplyDeleteRecently I found a website where you can make free nature music and download it as an mp3, so I play the sound of waves and I've been sleeping better, even on nights when the baby wakes up. You might try it. (msg me on facebook for the site)
Exercising in the morning helps with sleep at night.
Mediation after a short prayer session for just ten minutes (during a day nap, maybe) is a big helper too.
Practice visualization techniques, you can google them. I often picture a garden with a fountain or the ocean because water is my big relaxer, my oldest son imagines being snuggled in his bed reading a favorite book. It helps to focus on something.
I've had sleeping problems all my life. Imagining being in a happy place has helped more than most things. Oh! It may seem kinda odd (not unlike the rest of my advice) but I used to imagine resting in God's hands. Knowing He was keeping me safe.
None of these will make everything all better, you'll never lose that intense fear of losing the baby, or Juan, but you will eventually learn to be more relaxed. Especially since, I do believe, you're a big believer in the Lord. :)
Two of my favorite prayers:
I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee. I testify, at this moment, to my powerlessness and to Thy might, to my poverty and to Thy wealth.
There is none other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
Bahá’u’lláh
O God! Refresh and gladden my spirit. Purify my heart. Illumine my powers. I lay all my affairs in Thy hand. Thou art my Guide and my Refuge. I will no longer be sorrowful and grieved; I will be a happy and joyful being. O God! I will no longer be full of anxiety, nor will I let trouble harass me. I will not dwell on the unpleasant things of life.
O God! Thou art more friend to me than I am to myself. I dedicate myself to Thee, O Lord.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá
I hope something in all that I've written helps you dear!