Question: I had never experienced an episode of sleep paralysis until I had my first child. After the birth, it started in the hospital. After about a week or two, it stopped. After the birth of my second child, it came back. This time, it started again in the hospital and continued for almost a month.
Each time this happened, it scare the heck out of me! I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, and the entire time, I felt like something bad was waiting just right out of sight, on the other side of the door or hallway, just waiting to hurt me. Upon the birth of my third son, I knew it was coming, and tried to prepare myself for it. This time around, because I was prepared, it wasn’t as scary. I found that when it happens, if I try to wiggle my fingers and toes, it goes away, and I either fall back asleep fully or wake up.However, after my third child, the sleep paralysis continued for almost six months. I was already exhausted from getting up and nursing my baby, taking care of two kids, ushering the kids off to the school bus everyday, and eventually working full time forty hours a week.I would be like a zombie, with little to no sleep, and even more so when the episodes lasted several times in one night. I would forget my car keys, the diaper bag, my wallet – things I really needed. Until it finally ended, it was a nightmare.Even occasionally, now, since the worst of it ended, it still happens every now and again. Still sucks, but until I have another child, it’s only an occasional nuisance. I recommend to those suffering to try this technique of wiggling fingers and toes. For me, at least, it works.