Sleep Anxiety

Hi A., we are all so protective of our children as well
we should be. I want to share a story with you, when I had
my daughter, she was maybe 3 weeks old and I was breast
feeding around 3:am, sleepy oh my goodness, anyway I fell
asleep while feeding my daugther, Im sure it was maybe 5 or
10 minutes tops. I woke up and look down at my daugther and then why I dont know I lifted her arm and it just fell
I screamed and woke my husband he jump out of bed and said
" what happen" , I said I killed her I smothered her with my breast and with all of the shouting and moving, she started crying like crazy.. Today my daughter is 33 years
old. Thought you might get a kick out this.. Deb

I have had the same issues. I am a special education teacher and have seen many children with problems.
Now I have discovered a way to get a great night sleep without taking sleeping pills, I drink 1 ounce of Xango juice before bed and this lets me sleep soundly. It contains the fruit of the whole mangosteen and other natural friuts. I think it helps my body feel balanced. I also find that when I wake up during the night, I have a second shot and a graham cracker. I fall right back to sleep. It will help with depression and anxiety and any discomfort you might have.
I used a baby monitor right by my bed so that I could hear if there was a problem. This reduced my need to watch them sleep.
The one thing I regret is keeping night lights on all over. Research tells us that darkness is necessary. It is even being linked to some breast cancer research. Please, keep a small flashlight by your bedside to guide you when you must get up. Your eyes will adjust to the dark and you will sleep better.
Any questions on getting xango juice please email me ____@____.com. I will send you a free sample.
I also have used music relaxation program to help me get to sleep. This works on nights when my mind will not stop. I focus on the music and I sleep.
Sweet dreams!

Hi A., You are right to be concerned about the way you are feeling. It would be a good idea to talk to your doctor about this. Probably every new mom worries and checks on her newborn's breathing, but losing sleep and constant worry isn't good for you or your baby. It is important for you to take good care of yourself so that you can take good care of her too. Don't put it off any longer and think it will just get better one day, when a visit to your doctor can help you right away. By the way, stop watching t.v. and reading about scary things; this only makes things worse. Ask God to take away the fear and bring you His peace. Saying a prayer for you today. Ginnie

The most important piece of advice I think I can give you is it will eventually go away. I think that it is natural part of being a mom you instinctively worry about every little thing. I slept with my hand in my daughters bassinet for about 3 months. Than when I put her in the crib I think I went in there about 6 times during the night (not including before I fell asleep) to make sure she was ok. This went on till she was about 10 months old. Now I still go in before I go to bed and if I happen to wake up at night to go to the bathroom or something I check in on her again. POstpardum is the hardest part b/c your emotions are on a massive overload. You are filled with so much feeling that you just don't know where to focus it. Just relax a little and except that it is perfectly normal to worry about all those things it may seem worse b/c TV doesn't help. It will eventually pass along with the postpardom emotions. And if it doesn't there are plenty of resources out there be it counseling or some kind of supplements. Good Luck and congratulations on your little girl.

Hi A. :)

I agree with Kym, who suggested it might be postpartum depression. In fact, before I read that, or even got to the part in your msg where you said you are having some trouble with postpartum issues, I thought, "Wow, this sounds exactly like postpartum depression." This is one classic way which ppd can manifest itself.

There are resources out there which can help you. Some try counseling. Others find online support groups (that's what I did - I found a group that talked primarily about my specific issues, and it was a huge help to know I wasn't crazy or alone). There are organizations that can help you find the right kind of help - one that comes to mind is called Depression after Delivery (DAD).

It may be interesting to know that many women who suffer from ppd have been helped tremendously by taking a vitamin B supplement. You might want to check with your doctor or midwife about that. Some others do well on St. John's Wort. These are fairly easy remedies that don't cause a lot of disruption to your delicate and fluctuating body chemistry, and won't hurt your baby if you are breastfeeding. (Breastfeeding also helps ease ppd, as your body releases various hormones that will help you balance out.)

Other things you can do - try "wearing" your baby - get a moby wrap or a maya wrap or a snugli, and keep her with you during the day when she sleeps. You will be able to get a lot done and won't have so much anxiety about how she is doing because she will be right there with you. Some women also co-sleep with their babies - perhaps you can find a side-car sleeper for her, so she is right there with you overnight.

With first-borns, it's very easy to worry a lot, so please don't think you're nuts ;-) But I would definitely encourage you to find some help, so you can be more peaceful and really enjoy motherhood.

-R.

www.drjanetphd.com

Go to that webiste and check out her products. There's one there called "Tranquility" that might help woth your sleeping..or lack thereof. But please talk to your physician before trying that product. I have not tried it so I can't tell you what it's like but I've heard great things about all of her products.

I too am a new mom and even though my daughter is 4 months old now, I still get up every so often throughout the night to check on her. I think it's very natural for you to want and need to check on your daughter every 10 minutes, especially as a first time mom. I even have a baby monitor on my night stand. It's a TV screen that shows me a very good picture of her, and the sound is awesome. I can hear her breathing as well as I have a great visual of her too. I'm at work right now but later if you want to know the name of the monitor I can let you know. Msg me back if you're intersted and I'll email you the info. I give it a million stars!

Hi! I am a 29 year old mom of a 9.5 year old daughter, 16 month old son and we are pregnant with #3. I think many of the issues you have mentioned stem from your postpartum issues. I suffered from severe PPD after the birth of my last child, and was on medication and in a support group until he was 1 year old. I have done and still so much research on this,as until I was diagnosed, I never really knew much about it. I now speak very openly about it, as I believe more people need to be aware of it. We stopped meds when we decided to try for this last one,(with dr. support of course) but will start them back up again immediatly after delivery to help manage PPD this time also. Are you on any anxiety meds? It sounds like you really need soemthing just to calm yourself down. I would call or make an appointment with either your OB or the babys' Ped, for some support. They can help you deal with all of this. Your not crazy though, it is part of PP. Good luck.

i know how you feel, when my baby was born , i did the same thing - checked on her 100000 times a day. newborns sleep with such silence sometimes, that makes you wonder if they are breathing. and your first week of postpartum are very emotional and worrisome but DON't worry! your baby is fine! it seems like you take great care of your baby, so nothing will happen to her!! and as she grows up she'll breath more like us and you'll get used to her and you won't be so paranoid. my baby is now 10months, i check on her breathing occasionally.
also SIDS happen very rare - usually when you neglecting your baby, put her to sleep on her stomach before she can actually turn to her stomach herself, smoke and drink (while breastfeeding) etc...
as i heard from many new mom's - they all check on their babies but eventually realize the they are fine! enjoy your baby and don't worry so much, babies are not as fragile as we think! please relax, after a few more weeks you'll sleep better, i couldn't sleep either, just wait and you hormones will straighten out soon and you both will sleep peacfully (seems like you baby already does) good luck , relax , the fear will pass!!! Y.

A., I have four children and I guess I had some of those kinds of feelings when they were born I think it is a normal but after my son was born he spent 5 weeks in the hospital because he would stop breathing and they could not find a reason for this. So when he finally stopped I had to bring him home. I was checking on him every second driving myself crazy. But I did start to feel better as the weeks went bye. You should speak to your doctor about your feelings because it has been 13 weeks. Also, I found taking a deep breath and telling myself that he is fine would help....

Hi,
I have 4 weeks old son and even i get up in the night to check if he is breathing.So many times he will be sleeping but i will get up to check if everything is fine.I think as a mother we r overprotected.

hi, I just read your old request and read throuh the responses. everyone seems to give great advice, but the one thing that i did not see and would suggest is that if you have the money to get a monitor called The angel care monitor. its a senor pad placed under the mattress and detects movment. when the baby is breathing you can hear a tick for each breath she takes. which may calm your nerves to actually hear her breathing but you can also turn off the ticking. when no movement is detected for 20 seconds an alarm goes off.(whether you keep the ticking on or off,but in your case as well as mine it might help you to sleep better knowing that she is constantly being monitored. my daughter was born 3 weeks early plus was 3 weeks behind gestationaly, so was born at only 4lbs. so you can imagine mine and my husbands fears of her being so tiny and premature. we are both emergency medical techs and know what to do but it lets us both sleep better. when she was only a couple weeks old she was put back in the hosp for an infection and the whole night my husband and i took shifts to stay awake and hold her so we knew that she was still breathing. this thing is the greatest thing, or so i think. its about $100 but worth every penny and it works well after they are out of the SIDS scare. A friend of mine uses it on her toddler when he gets out of bed the alarm goes off and wakes her so he is not roaming the house unattended and getting into trouble or hurt. if you have any questions feel free to write back. my daughter is around the same age as yours. she was born on 9/12. good luck hope this helps and i can almost garuntee you will get a better nights sleep.
T.

A.,
There are TONS of things that you can do to help these feelings. Increase your Omegas (omega 6 & 9) - these can be found in flax, various fishes, Borage and Primrose oils. These can help with the post partum and the anxiety. There is a wonderful oil that Young Living has called Peace and Calming. This helps to calm your anxiety. Educate yourself as to the cause of SIDS. I will not go into my belief of the cause as I do not want to cause a debate but feel free to contact me privately. I hope this helps.
-Dr. Heather

Don't worry it's totally normal to have such fear... I have a 1 1/2 month old here, and 4 babies before her! By now I just about drop kick her into her bassinet and walk away, waiting for the inevitable wail of her cry to wake me up LOL (totally kidding about the drop kick, but you get my point! LOL) I totally can remember me doing that though with my firstborn, cause they're just so small and sometimes you can't tell just by peeking at them if they're breathing, since their breathing's so shallow... I mean, their lungs are probalby the size of walnuts, how much could that possibly make their chest rise and fall for you to see, ya know? Don't forget, new moms have hormones racing thru their bodies, and those hormones are probably keeping you awake, too, and sending your brain signals that make you worry about your newborn even more, making you check on her religiously when she's asleep. SIDS exists, but is just SO rare... face it, the likelihood of your baby dying of SIDS is fantastically slim, given that I'm sure you're not having her sleep on her stomach.... even knowing that, you're going to worry... this is your firstborn, and your hormones are making you worry. Maybe try some relaxing meditation (it really works!) or if you're not breastfeeding, maybe a glass of wine (though I don't suggest making this a habit!) before bed, just to relax you a bit? Good luck!

i got 4 kids myself & i still check on them a cpl times a nite.But its great to chat with other moms & get the support in time it will all get better (((hugs))))

That post pardum stuff is rubbish, I don't believe that for a sec.

It's ok for you to be that afraid, I was too, with my first son. All I can say is, try not to drive other people crazy with it, but don't ignore that mommy feeling. It's your job to worry and make sure that the baby's okay.

A. I know How you feel I am a new mom too my daughter is now 5 months old and she still sleeps in our room in her crib but in our room I was just like you checking her all the time to make sure she was breathing I even woke up my Fiance one night cause I had a nightmare that someone came and took her away so its really pretty normal I think for new moms and first time moms to feel this way if you really feel anxious about it talk to your pedi and have them reasure you that the baby is fine nothing is wrong with her and also you can check her breathing without disrupting her sleep just lightly place a finger under her nose and if you feel air you will Know she is breathing it will soon change and you just need to relax yourself before you go to bed take a bath read a book not about babies either if you want to talk further e-mail me at ____@____.com ok