[jessi0887]

Something i haven't shared hear yet is my family's common sleeping troubles. Which im worried jaden will have the same in him. First off there is me. I have had insomnia since as far back as i can remember. I even remember laying in bed as a little girl unable to sleep and would cry because i couldn't. I remember struggling to sleep as a teenager and then when i finally got to sleep i may end up waking few times during the night and would wake in the morning exhausted. As an adult i still struggle with this. Some nights are worse then others. Some nights im just soo exhausted i finally crash early. WEll then there is dh. As a child he suffered with night terrors. Im not soo sure how he was in his teen years but he has some insomnia now. His is not nearly as bad as mine so he gets more sleep then i do. Next is seth. Seth has very few times slept through the night. Even at four. After he turned one he started showing signs of night terrors. He would wake up screaming and crying kicking. I would try to calm him down but nothing would work. It would go on for a few minutes then he would slowly go back to bed. This went on for about a year. I even had a sleep study done on him but he wouldnt sleep long enough to get results. But who could sleep with tons of wires hooked to your head. So i never put him through it again. Now seth wakes most nights he will whine a second or so and fall back asleep. He has learned to soothe himself back to sleep. But he still has trouble falling asleep which to me is a sign of him having insomnia. Then i look at jaden both jaden and seth slept through the night at first. Now jaden doesnt. Some nights he wakes once or twice others more. Im just worried jaden is going down the same path seth went. I feel my genes are to blame. I am afraid of handling the night terrors again. It is soo frightening to see your child that way and not know whats wrong or how to comfort them.

Sorry ladies this isn't a topic for advice or answers. I just wanted to get some of this off my chest.

[BigGrin]

Night terrors are actually quite normal in very small children. All the studies I've read show they grow out of them. Sleep is one of those things that can be a mix of nature and nurture. My DH can go to sleep roughly 30 seconds after closing his eyes and not wake till morning. I sort of want to kill him for that occasionally.

I don't think insomnia like you describe is normal and feel they should've done a sleep study on you and find out if there is some disorder at play. I deal with some extremely irritating insomnia and have most of my life, part of it has to do with a rough childhood and racing thoughts as soon as it turns dark. I find if I stick to a very strict schedule (waking at the same time even on the weekends) it helps immensely with my insomnia. I also use a sort of meditation before going to sleep and won't allow my thoughts to dwell on worries. Instead I will try to remember memorized poems, movie dialogs, stuff that has nothing to do with reality. If I am having trouble sleeping I get out of bed so I don't associate insomnia with my bed. I have to program my brain to think bed=sleep. That's all the advice I can offer, insomnia sucks.