My experience with sleep deprivation & poor mental health

Becoming a new mum has to be the biggest shock to the system, of course it is a time of amazement that you created this tiny human who is everything to you! But let’s not sugar coat that it is a really tough time!

You may be in the early days of motherhood, dealing with constant night feeds, or have a toddler who is still waking every couple of hours, and ready to start the day at 5am, you may have a baby and toddler. Where ever you are in your journey it’s tough!

I want to share my personal experience with you, to help normalise that sleep deprivation is tough, and it does affect mental health, but we really can do things to help this.

My Story

My second baby was born with cows milk protein allergy & severe reflux, we were in and out of hospital constantly for the first 2 years. When we weaned her we discovered several further allergies, she developed bronchitis numerous times and was in hospital a lot with breathing issues. Her broken sleep went on for years, around 2.5 her reflux was resolved, and yet the hourly waking continued... I was at crisis point, on the verge of a breakdown. My mental health was at its lowest, my marriage was breaking down, I was a shell of my former self, and I couldn’t see a way forwards. The problem was I wasn’t doing any self care, I wasn’t being honest with friends and family about how bad things had got. I wasn’t getting support of any kind, just “powering through”, sound familiar?

So what changed?

I broke down, and was honest with my husband about how fragile I was feeling, and he helped me see that I needed help. I saw the GP, and got some anxiety medication. Once I was feeling more stable, I hired a sleep consultant a friend recommended, she helped me improve Lottie’s sleep. It was at this point I realised, it didn’t need to be this way, being a mum doesn’t mean living is sleep deprived hell. There are responsive gentle ways to improve sleep & your mental health.

What is the one thing I would go back & say to me?

Being a mum doesn’t mean living in sleep deprived hell, until the point your whole life is feeling fraught. You can and should get support, your mental health really does matter, it is important to prioritise it. You cannot be a good mum if you are unwell.

Final few words

Working with a sleep consultant was life changing for me and led to my passion and drive to help others with sleep and postpartum mental health. I want to highlight you can work on sleep without sleep training. So if you feel torn between wanting to support your family to better sleep, but not at the cost of sleep training your child. Then be rest assured, you can work on sleep with no sleep training. This is something I am very passionate about and advocate. If this is something you would like to learn more about you can book a free call in with me or drop me a message.