Sleep challenges throughout my life

My mom says I didn't sleep for the first 3 months of my life except when my dad would let me snuggle on his chest.  Fortunately, he was able to fall asleep in the recliner with me all warm and cozy on him.  Mom says that the first night I slept through the night, she and my dad both sat up in bed at the same time in the morning.  Mom asked, "Did you get up with her?," and Dad replied, "No, did you get up with her?"  Then they ran to my room because they knew I was dead.  Or at least that is how the story goes almost 40 years later.  

I guess I slept ok for some of my childhood, although I clearly remember the period of my life when the OCD started kicking in gear.  I remember checking the doors to ensure they were locked, checking windows, checking the basement, trying to push the anxiety of the night and the quiet away.  I remember when I could only sleep if I had the sheet pulled up over my ear.  I remember how I loved the attic fan because it made a terrible racket that I found quite soothing because it drowned out the silence of the house and the worry of my head.  

Eventually my sleep pattern settled down or the anxiety abated a bit and I slept well.

Since becoming a mom, my sleep has been shit.  I have been taking a half Unisom for years, every single night.  G still wakes me at least once a night, religiously.  The Unisom helps keep me drowsy enough that I can deal with him and fall back asleep.  Of course if I am experiencing stress, like the Girl Scout saga, my brain picks right back up as soon as it is awakened and I lay in bed for at least an hour just letting the ruminations do their thing.  I have stopped worrying about going back to sleep.....When will I fall back asleep? Will I ever fall back asleep?  

As I lay there, I have what amounts to a smallish panic attack.  My heart races, and I have trouble slowing down my breathing.  But I seem to have finally managed the anxiety of not sleeping.  I know that the panic will subside, and I will doze off again although it is entirely likely that soon after I fall back asleep someone will wake me again.  

When I feel especially run-down I take a whole Unisom.  Even though I sleep great, I am groggy and in a pretty terrible mood upon waking until I get 2 cups of coffee in me.  

I keep some prescription sleeping pills on stand-by mostly for when I have a bad cold.  I have found that if I take Unisom when I have a cold, it dries up my nose wonderfully but does nothing to help me fall  and stay asleep.  I guess the antihistamine is working so much on my sinus cavity it can't also do what it needs to for my brain.  

Eventually my children will stop waking me through the night and I will hopefully enjoy a few restful years before they begin dating and driving and I am back to sleeping poorly until I hear them come through the front door.