Has anyone had a nervous breakdown after 6 months of no sleep?

I think this morning was a breaking point for me and DH finally saw it. My first was an awesome sleeper and had no issies but my second was a horrible newborn sleep wise, wakes every 45 minutes to an hour, hard to get back to sleep and then around 4am he is wide awake and won't go back to sleep until somewhere between 8-9am. I have tried everything, cereal in the bottles, bigger bottle, go to bed earlier, go to bed later, his crib, nothing is working, i get maybe 3-4 hours of sleep and sometimes when he decides it time to get up, he will cry and not a bottle or a pacifier will soothe him. This morning was a breaking point, we had DH's 13 year old cousin over and she was sleeping downstairs so when he decided 4am was time to get up i was trapped upstairs and couldn't go down, he wouldn't take anything, bottle or paci, nothing would soothe him and i caught myself picking him up from the crib very harshly and yelling at him in which he screamed worse after, i feel horrible about it, i just snapped and it scared me. He doesn't deserve that, he deserves better than that, im just so damn tired, i think when DH finally came into his room and saw the runny mascara and my face he finally got it because i cried horribly after that happened...DH thinks im having a nervous breakdown, im starting to wonder if i am, i thought by 6 months he would be sleeping better tahn this by now...every freakin' house he is up and every time he shifts or moves i wake up thinking he is awake....im so stressed because im so tired and my terror of a 2.5 year old doesn't help and i have yet to get them to sleep together so i can take a nap, i have tried to sleep during the day, once daylight comes it's impossible for me to sleep.....i don't even know what to do anymore....

had anyone had any experience with this? what happened this morning scared me and i don't want anything else like that happening...

Re: Has anyone had a nervous breakdown after 6 months of no sleep?

First off...
We all have some breaking point at sometime. It's not easy to be a mom. We're always worrying, planning, thinking, etc.
I had a breaking point yesterday morning and posted about it too. It was my toddler. He screamed from the moment he got up till we got in the car. DH had to go to a job super early that day (which he usually leaves after me and helps out). I had to get ready to work, get my screaming toddler dressed, give him breakfast and out the door and get my 7 month old a bottle, dressed and out too. All by myself.
I cried after I dropped off the boys and told DH.
Last night he took the boys and helped out. Let me go on the treadmill and workout for an hour. I totally needed that.
Is there a way someone can help out at night once in a while to help you sleep? Did you speak to your Ped about maybe changing formula or trying something else?
Reflux or something?
Again, I'm sorry. Between Post Partum, hormones, lack of sleep it's bound to happen.

Re: Has anyone had a nervous breakdown after 6 months of no sleep?

First:


A crying baby can be one of the most frustrating things for a new mom. They can't tell you what's wrong and you do everything possible and nothing works. It makes you feel helpless and as if you are a "bad" mother.

I have done the same thing as you, yelled harshly and maybe picked up DD too hard from the crib because I'm just soooo damn tired/frustrated/helpless, etc. That feeling you get when they cry harder is so terrible...you cry with them because your guilt is so heavy you can practically taste it.

When you get to that point, WALK AWAY. Even if your DC has to cry for a few minutes alone, it is for YOU. Don't be afraid to ask for help either! When you lose sleep for so long your judgement can be so compromised. It's so easy to snap and in that ONE second so many things can happen that you regret later.

Don't feel bad about needing a moment to cool down....it's part of being a mom sometimes.

Re: Has anyone had a nervous breakdown after 6 months of no sleep?

I can relate my dd just started sleeping through the night at 17 months old. Everyone I know with little ones were all sttn by 4 months. It's really frustrating and combined with the lack of sleep I can see how you could getb overwhelmed and lose your patients. Ask dh to help out more overnight, take a time out to cool down if you feel yourself getting stressed. Let the baby cry in the crib for a little while and step away into another room, turn on the radio for a few minutes. I would also talk to your pediatrician see if they can suggest some other things you may be able to do to help him sleep. My dd ended up having silent ear infections so once we put tubes in that was the only thing that helped. Best of luck.

Re: Has anyone had a nervous breakdown after 6 months of no sleep?

I can totally symathize with you...I have 3 kids who did not sleep as infants and STILL do not sleep.....My oldest is 6 and this week alone he has gotten up twice..Couple that with my 3yo and 11mo old who wake up just about every night ...Its a goat rodeo here because one wakes up, and in turn wakes the others....

Sleep deprivation is a very real thing and unless you have experienced it, you just don't know just how much it can affect a person...I have many friends whos DC's have SSTN since a very early age and they cannot relate...I think some kids are sleepers, others are not...

I don't have any good solid advice as I myself am still experiencing it , but I keep telling myself that it will not last forever ..If you feel yourself getting short with him, put him down and get out for air-Its ok at that age if they cry for a bit...

I just wanted you to know that you are not alone...

Re: Has anyone had a nervous breakdown after 6 months of no sleep?

I've reached that point before too. When DS was a few months old he slept horribly, cried non stop, etc. I was a walking zombie for the first 5 months of his life. I was essentially a single mother (my then-DH was deployed) and I just couldnt handle it all on my own. I remember once or twice yelling harshly or handling him a little too hard...I had just reached my breaking point. I learned to just walk away. They're okay in the crib. I would put him back in his crib and close the door and walk away for a few minutes to re-group. If I needed to, I would ask my mother to come over and take care of him for an hour or so while I calmed down a bit.

I remember it being so overwhelming and in reality all I needed was a little bit of sleep. Maybe your DH can watch the baby while you nap for a bit?

Re: Has anyone had a nervous breakdown after 6 months of no sleep?

Posted by Bops




I don't have any good solid advice as I myself am still experiencing it , but I keep telling myself that it will not last forever ..If you feel yourself getting short with him, put him down and get out for air-Its ok at that age if they cry for a bit...

I just wanted you to know that you are not alone...

Re: Has anyone had a nervous breakdown after 6 months of no sleep?

We just went thorugh the same thing a few weeks ago. I could have written your post word for word. My guy is 8 months old though. I finally called the pediatrician and he said to bring him in to make sure nothing is wrong. So we went in and he was perfectly healthy so the doc said to let him cry it out, it is most likely separation anxiety. I asked even for an hour? and he said if you want to sleep... then yes. Check to see if he's wet or needs somethng first. So I hesitated for a week then bought a video monitor and went for it. He would get up, cry and then stop to look around to see if anyone was coming, so I knew he was ok and just looking for someone. So sad and the hardest thing I ever did but we NEEDED sleep for our sanity. It lasted on and off for 1 hour and he put himself to sleep. He has been sleeping through the night since.(with an occasional waking but he will lay back down himself after a few.) Maybe bring him to the ped just to check and see what they say. I never thought I wouldbe able to do CIO but I hit my breaking point and felt it was necessary for me to be a better mother. Hope you get some rest soon. I agree with others, can someone take him for a bit so you can get a good stretch of sleep?

Re: Has anyone had a nervous breakdown after 6 months of no sleep?

aww, I know how you feel , my DD was exactly that way , she NEVER slept and then she would wake up at 4 am every morning, this went on for exactly 22 months the day she got had back teeth she was sleeping through the night , not all the time , but so much better. Even now at 4.5 she sometimes wakes up in the middle of the night and she wakes up really early, like 5 -5:30 .
I didn't have a nervous breakdown , but I thought I was going to. I think this is one of the biggest reasons we waited so long (4+yrs) to TTC again, I just couldn't imagine dealing with any more sleepless nights for a while.
I rally have no advice, unless you want to try CIO I don't know what you could do . I never did CIO, not my thing, so I just dealt with it- by not sleeping
I remember constantly telling myself "keep calm T, just keep calm, it will get better " If I got really frustrated I would just walk away for a minute or two, take few deep breaths, calm myself down and the go back in and take care of DD.
I really had to work on myself to not lose it

Good luck to you, I hope things get better soon