I Just Feel So Overwhelmed!

[StantonHyde]

Liza:

I know someone who has a daughter who was having several issues--sick alot so she got her tonsil and adenoids taken out. When they did that surgery, they discovered she had had severe sleep apnea--which the surgery remedied. They also discovered she had issues with her immune system. Well not sleeping is not good for the immune system and she still wasn't sleeping well, so they gave her melatonin. They had a different child. It has just been awesome for them. And her immune system issues have decreased quite a bit. She has a younger child with possible ADHD issues and they sometimes use it with him and it works fine. There are times when medication is ok. And for little bodies, sleep is a big deal.

[happymomma]

All 3 of my LOs are terrible sleepers as newborns/infants/early toddlers. I can only imagine how you feel after 6 years. It took me a long time to retrain myself how to sleep through the night after DS and DD1 finally started sleeping through on a reliable basis. I hope that you find some answers at the sleep clinic.

DD1 had a frequency of urination issue during a stressful time (DS getting tonsils out). She constantly felt like she had to urinate when there would be at most a few drops. Some children show stress externally, which helps to at least clue you in to the problem. It subsided over a couple of weeks IIRC. We would not make a big deal about it and just tell her that her body was playing a trick on her, encourage her when she held it a long time, etc. It was a long couple of weeks. Has your DS gone through anything stressful lately?

Well for the last 4 nights we've had him sleep in our room. But he moves around so much that we decided to put a mattress on the floor for him. This way if he moves around a lot it doesn't affect our sleep. The first night was terrible. But knock on wood, the last 3 nights have been pretty good. He stopped saying that he needed to pee a lot and has actually slept through the night with the exception of one night in which he woke me to tell me that he was cold. But no screaming. He would talk a bit sometimes but not like nightmares. Also for the past 3 days I've been giving him fish oil, probiotics and a multivitamin that contains magnesium. I had heard that sometimes kids deficient in magnesium also have sleep issues. So at this point I don't know what is working. But so far it has so I'm not pushing my luck. His room is actually on the other end of our house. So I think maybe he is a little scared and as a result he has all these anxieties during the night. We are eventually going to move him to the bedroom next to ours. I think we'll just let him sleep in that room but let him have the other room as his to play.

The only stressor that I can see is that we moved about 1 1/2 month ago. But he was adjusting really well to the house and his new room. Thanks everyone for your words of encouragement and advices.

[kristenk]

In the old house, was his room closer to yours?

[happymomma]

In the old house, was his room closer to yours?

It was closer. In the old house his room was really small. In the new house, it is really big. He seemed fine when we moved.

[sste]

Six years is too long for you to live like this! In your shoes, I would systematically track down any consultant that could help me. I think pediatric sleep specialist is an excellent idea. Also, a child psychologist who specializes in "cognitive behavioral" therapy may be able to give you some tips to modify the behavior and also work with your son to break this pattern (or at least dramatically improve it). Start by calling your pedi to get recs but also ask around among your friends, perhaps the guidance counselor at your son's school - - anyone you think may be in the know about good specialists.

[GlindaGoodWitch]

I was wondering if you had considered looking into a weighted blanket?

My DD NEVER slept through the night until we got one. Now she is like a different child. To be fair, she does have sensory issues, but from my understanding of it, these things can help anyone - even adults.

The drawback is that they are pricey and of course you have no way of knowing if it will work...

This is the website I ordered mine from: http://www.weightedblanket.net/
The lady who runs it helped me figure out the right weight for DD & the blanket is of awesome quality.

6 years of no sleep??? Man I thought we were losing it with 3 because now that DD is sleeping, DS is waking up. (And he's too little to try a blanket out on )

Edited because I forgot to add the website. der.