Check, Check…1, 2..1, 2..

I think this is hilarous:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151095136123386&set=a.10150103050563386.275466.190558433385&type=1&theaterReplyCancel

There is this girl I follow on Instagram that I really like (thealisonshow) and she just hosted an IG dance off. Search the #alisondanceoff (only one l) it's hilarious because it's just a bunch of moms dancing like crazy people. I'm glad you and baby are doing well!ReplyCancel

Hi Miggy, I am 8.5 months pregnant and very uncomfortable, so I don't find much funny these days.So I'm no help there. BUT I was having trouble sleeping in about the sixth month and my doctor advised Benadryl (the one for allergies) to help me sleep. She says it is very gentle and is fine for pregnant and nursing mothers. And it worked beautifully. After a few nights of taking it, I started feeling sleepy on my own around 9 p.m. and could sleep until morning without the Benadryl. Maybe ask your doctor about it if you are nervous about trying it.ReplyCancel

Hyland's Calms Forte, is homeopathic, and helpful. My daughter has always been very loud, we found the perfect book for her, " Too Loud Lily", by Sophie Laguna. It's a cute story where she's always getting in trouble for being too loud, but then gets a new teacher that appreciates her loudness. It helped us to address it in a positive way. We still remind her to turn down the volume by saying "Too Loud Lili" and she's 12! ;o)ReplyCancel

check out mandatory.com- then click "awesome"- they have daily funny pics soooo funny!!ReplyCancel

I have a daughter that has no volume control. She is so loud all the time. She is 8 now and we still have to remind her when we are in the car that it is an enclosed space and she needs to bring it down or anywhere else for that matter. Good luck! Maybe her noise will help the baby be less sensitive to every noise 🙂ReplyCancel

About Sleep! I'm your woman! For you I'd say it will probably calm a bit when your medication kicks in. But in the meantime…maybe see a naturopath? They're great about finding herbs and whatnot that are helpful and also safe for breastfeeding (if you're nursing).
In general, the largest thing that has helped is the hardest: letting go of the idea of sleeping. Just let it go completely. It's ok if you don't sleep while she sleeps. You will survive. You WILL sleep eventually. "But what if I don't?!?!" You WILL. "But what if I DON'T?!??!" You WILL. Meanwhile, you might as well entertain yourself with a book or some music. No screens…the blue glare is anti-sleep. Maybe you'll fall asleep with your face in the book. It happens.
I also find it helpful to turn the lights down little by little, over the course of the evening. Sometimes I'll read by headlamp turned on low, rather than ambient light (helpful for bed partners, too). And put a night light or some twinkly lights in your bathroom, so you don't have to turn on the "big" light when you get up to pee, or go in to pee one last time.
Get gentle exercise each day–just a nice walk. It will help you heal your body, and is regulatory to your sensory system and mind, with the "pounding" of your feet into the ground.
Be warm enough to sleep but not too warm. The baby will be warm enough–she has lots of cozy clothes. Also engage the principle of "neutral warmth" i.e. swaddle yourself. If you cuddle with your husband, that sensation of being wrapped up works. Otherwise a smallish blanket just over your trunk, or even just wrapped around your torso snugly, can work. It's another sensory regulation trick. And because it's a small blanket, you can get out of it easily to nurse.
I like "calming" or "stress relieving" teas, but I'm not sure what's safe for nursing–chamomile isn't, I don't think, but you should get a more informed opinion on that one!
Massages produce endorphins that last for hours, which can help sleep.
And lastly, I have loved meditation since I started it a few months ago. LOVED. I noticed a change in the quality of my sleep right away. I have the biggest problem in falling asleep–I can get up and go right back down again, but it's the initial falling asleep that produces anxiety. Clearly, anxiety is my main thing, but meditation has been proven to work well, even better, for depression too. I read the book "Mindfulness" by Mark Williams, which comes with an eight-week guided meditation series. Fantastic. There are free guided meditations everywhere online, but that can be overwhelming, which is why I mentioned that book specifically. It has a website with the meditation tracks, too, which can be loaded into iTunes. There are a couple episodes of OnBeing that are meditation specific–if you're interested, email me, and I'll be happy to pass on links. I found it helpful just knowing the resource was out there and had worked really well for others, so even though the radio programs weren't meditations per se, they were calming. And just because, this is my favorite meditation I've found: http://www.onbeing.org/program/what-we-nurture/feature/lovingkindness-metta-meditation/337
All the best to you and your beautiful family! ReplyCancel

Rod Stryker meditation CDs… Have chronic illness which forces me to ingest steroids at times. Steroids keep me up and make me anxious… I love his CDs, they help, they really do! Congrats on your doll baby!ReplyCancel

Here are my two favorite jokes for you, in no particular order 🙂

1. I was walking on the beach the other day and I was shocked to hear a man in the water yelling, "HELP, SHARK!!!!"

It really upset me because I knew the shark wouldn't help him.

2. Baby brother snake slithered up to big brother snake and asked with his little voice trembling and sad snake tears forming in his little eyes, "Big brother snake *sniff*…are we the poisonous kinds of snakes? *sniff*"

Big brother snake turned to baby brother snake and replied, "I dunno…why?"

Baby brother snake responded tearily, " 'Cause I just bit my tongue…"

Thank you, thank you…I'll be here all week 😉
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No…I really will be here all week…my kids are sick again…like, seriously…ReplyCancel

I have anxiety issues and thyroid probs that make it extremely difficult for me to sleep. My doc recommended melatonin (even when I was BFing, but ask your doc to be sure). It's helped a lot. There's also benadryl (which *may* affect milk supply–so again ask your doc). And lastly, white noise. With my 3rd (and latest) babe I said, "screw trying to hear for them. I NEED my big ole fan. When he's really awake I will hear him, but I don't need to hear every fart, sigh, etc each night." I also suffer from severe PPD–way to go for you to be proactive with the meds. I def noticed a difference this time around because I did the same thing (meds right away with #3). ReplyCancel

A little funny…I teach kindergarten. Around the second day or so, I finally had them all busy and quiet at their seats while I snuck across the room to put some notes in their mailboxes. No sooner had a started and a little girl came running to me to tell me "Chad said the F word". I wasn't alarmed, the F word in Kindergarten is fart and the S word is always stupid or shut up. Before I could even respond, Chad stood up and yelled across the room, "UH UH, *UCK does not start with F!". Yes it does. Sit down. Note to self, Chad does not know the F sound.ReplyCancel

Hope you're still checking for funnies, because this is a good one. Audio of a dad interviewing his two young daughters about an unfortunate haircut the older sister gave to the younger one. (You might want to listen to this without Lamp and PSP in the room first. Don't want to give them any ideas!)

http://www.prx.org/pieces/73865-two-little-girls-explain-the-worst-haircut-ever

Best part – – – the story is being made into a book! Hope it turns into college funds for these girls. 🙂
http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/books/Worst-Haircut-EverReplyCancel

Hi Anon,
The very first thing you should do is see your health care provider–PCP, naturopath, whatever. NOT chiropractor; they don't have the training. If your HCP is unhelpful, find another one. If that is overwhelming, ask Facebook, and people will tell you who to go to. I don't feel like I can guide you through step by step because I don't know your specific issues–mine is anxiety, and after X pattern, and the sum total of my knowledge is specialized to me–I'm not a professional in this area. My dad's is anxiety too, but after Y pattern. My maternal grandma's was anxiety too, but after Z pattern. You see what I mean? You will do best with help that is specialized to you. 🙂
I didn't say give up on sleep. You will sleep, promise. There are infinity drugs to help with that, if it comes to that (and it might, temporarily or semi-permanently. And that's a-ok).
What I did say was let go of the idea of sleeping. It is unhelpful for anyone to lie in bed and dwell on how they are not sleeping, and how that will wreck their day, and possibly their life, and in fact this may be a sign of the End of Times. Like I said, you might as well distract yourself–read, write (no screen; longhand), listen to music, count sheep, do a breathing program, meditate, etc. And know that you will survive, regardless of the number of hours of sleep you get. There are professionals to help you handle this.

You will be tired. You will want to worry about the next night. That's how anxiety works. It's a vicious cycle–a terribly vicious cycle that sucks your mind in. It will be like this for awhile–until it isn't. You WILL sleep. Even on nights you think you don't, I bet you did–maybe not very much, but you did. You're going to be tired for awhile. That's how it will be. It won't be like that forever. That was/is my biggest fear–that it will always be like the worst of times. It never has been. I will also say that I've been working on this for 11 years in April–oy, that was sobering. There was a stretch of years in the middle that were nearly symptom-free, and then things flared up again. Now, however, I feel better than ever. I have strategies in place, and I know what I will do next if this doesn't work. I also know I still take a medication as a baseline, that I would like to not take anymore, but haven't been able to get away from due to "rebound" panic effects when I try to get off it. So, we shall see. That will be rough, when I do it. It won't be forever.

You might not be able to get out of the cycle by yourself–but there ARE people who can help you get out. That's why I recommended seeing your HCP right away–see above for that stepwise recommendation. 🙂 You can do it. It will be hard. You can do it.

The book I mentioned in the original commend, "Mindfulness" by Mark Williams, had a really concise description of anxiety and how it works in your brain, which is honestly what sold me on the book. I can't recommend this book enough. My mom the social worker is a big proponent of the "Anxiety of and Phobia Workbook", which I own but is in my emergency stash of Things I Will Do Next Time. The list of things I have tried is loooooong, and includes almost everything anyone might mention. The most compelling to me is what helps me understand the brain process. It might not be the most compelling to others. You'll find what is.

Off you pop to talk to your HCP. 🙂 Counseling is often helpful, too. You might have to try multiple counselors (I've tried 3 or 4 over the years, none of which was the magic bullet, and I'd try more).

So much love…this is a hard road to walk. ReplyCancel