should I be worried about ds's sleeping habits?

[Mikeal'smom]

Hello ladies!  I am a little concerned about my 4 yr. old's sleeping habits.  I put my little guy down to bed somewhere between 8-8:30pm, but he wakes up 3-4 times during the night and then he is up again between 4-5 am, and doesn't go back to sleep.  There is no night light in his room, he has two layers of curtains to keep the light out, and there is no music playing, as that seems to keep him awake, too.  My son has Pre-school 4 mornings a week, and is always acting tired, wants to be held and carried constantly like he's just too tired to walk. I put him down for a nap everyday, some days he sleeps some days he doesn't, and when he does sleep it's only for an hour and then he's back up again.  Even after he has a nap with-in an hour or two he's acting very tired again. He has a doctor's appointment tomorrow for something unrelated to his sleep habits, and I was just wondering if you ladies think it is something worth mentioning to his doctor, or not.  I will gladly consider any suggestions you have, since he is up 3-4 times a night, so are dh and I.  We are getting desperate for a good night's sleep.  Thank you all so much who take the time to offer any suggestions- take care.

[stephd]

I would mention it to the dr.  Just to be sure.  It sounds kind of off to me for a 4 year old to be sleeping like that.  My DS is 2.5 and sleeps all nite.  9-10 hours.  I would ask them what they think it is.  Good luck and I hope its nothing to be too concerned with!

[wonderme]

My oldest stopped napping at 1 yo.  She doesn't need much sleep although she is older now -- almost 10.  My youngest does require more sleep and gets crabby if he doesn't get it.

I would suggest skipping any daytime napping and try putting him to bed a half hour later.  You can still have bedroom time at 8, but maybe give him 'til 9 for lights out.  And do quiet activities only.

It will likely mean a week or so of irritability, but making these changes may help him stay asleep through the night.

And by all means, discuss it with his pediatrician.  Good luck!

[trekchick]

I have a problem with my 3 year old that I can't seem to crack.  He hasn't taken a nap since he was about 2 but would be in bed NLT 8:30pm and wake up in the middle of the night, crawl into bed with us and sleep until 8:30 am.  This last week or so he will be so tired but not fall asleep until 1:30 am...I don't know what too do!  He eating habits have also changed...meaning that they have decreased.

I have been debating on whether or not I should make him a doctors appointment but I look at it like he's 3 what can they really do for him?

Any ideas would be great!

[Mikeal'smom]

I wish we could spend more time outside, but it is very hard for us to do.  He goes to school from 9-11:30am four mornings a week, when he gets out of school it's time to come home and have lunch and it's naptime (even if he didn't take a nap, I do home daycare so we wouldn't be able to go outside because the other kid's are sleeping), and when naptime's over my son usually has therepy (3-4 days a week)until about 4 or 5 and then it's already dark and cold out, and time for dinner.  On the one day off from school he has therepy while one of the other little boy's I take care of is in school, and right after Mikeal's therepy we have to pick him up from school and have the same schedule as any other day.

I will definately look into the white noise- do you have anything you reccomend?

Thank you for all of your help- have a great one.

[twiceadopt]

my 4-yr-old does this occasionally. its usually related to temperature - either he's too hot or too cold, so he wakes to find more blankets or throw some off. you might try dressing him in warm pajamas, then not so much blankets, or vice versa.

[Mikeal'smom]

I will definately take that into consideration, because there have been times in the past that he has come into bed with me and his little legs or feet are like ice.  When it has been related to temperature though he has fallen right back to sleep.  I will definately try dressing him in his winter pajamas.  Thanks!

[ajemmom]

My 3 yr old has the same problems...I'm beginning to think it is just the age.  I fight to get my dd to sleep by 10:00 and she ALWAYS wakes up a few times a night.  She doesn't take naps and we play harder than anyone I know to try to wear her out, but it's like she just doesn't require that much sleep.  I'm not sure, but I think it may be a phase that we will all just have to live through!

[nalla]

My sister had that problem when she was 3 and she would get up and play and and go into my parents room and wake them up. It ended up that she was actualy sleep walking. My parents had no idea because she was acting normal. I don't remember much but I think they took her to some kind of sleep clinic. My sister is now 26 and still has major issues with sleep walking. Mention it to your DR. You can be sleep walking and have your eyes open and talk and do pretty much normal things. Something to think about.
good luck.
Also, 2 of my kids always had a hard time going to sleep and then waking up. not as bad as yours, but what we did is we stuck to a very strict bedtime routine. About an hour before bed I tell them it's time to get ready for bed, they pick out their jammies, then help me get ready for a bath. I use that lavender bedtime soap and lotion. So they take a bath then get ready for bed. We go into their room and I give them a massage with the lotion. then they get their jammies on and get into bed, they tuck in their bears and we read a book and then sing their choice of song and then their prayers. And instead of water I give them some warm milk, (one of them hates it warm, so I give it cold, it works the same as warm) Milk has something in it that helps you sleep. I can't think of what it is at the moment. But doing all of that has helped them sleep all the way through the night. Getting ready about an hour before bed gets their little minds prepared and them getting involved, like picking out own jammies, helping pour the bubble bath, pick out the song, makes bedtime feel not so bad sinse most kids hate bedtime.
But I would talk to your Dr. and see what he has to say. Just thought I would pass on what has worked for us. Oh yeah, sinse we started all of this, not once have any of my kids complained about bedtime. and I have 4 kids now.
Good luck and hope you can get a good nights sleep soon. (all of you)
and the white noise the above poster mentioned is a great idea too. then every little noise won't wake them up, like maybe a dog barking, the house settling, tv, talking ect. good luck.

[petanka]

I would recomend to cut his naps during the day. My daughter was bad too, but not as bad as your son. We were having really hard time getting her to bed before 10pm and then she would either wake up in the middle of the night or be up again at 6am. I asked her daycare teacher to cut her naps. (they did not like it too much) Anyway, by the time she started pre-school and she was spending plenty of time outside and being busy, she started sleeping throughtout the night no problem.

[Mikeal'smom]

See, that's the thing though- if he doesn't take a nap and is up late (you know if we have something going on) he still does the same thing, up a lot through the night and still up just as early.  I just thought kids his age slept more at night, I guess the getting up early wouldn't be as bad if he slept straight through the night but he just doesn't.  Thank you all for your advice, I will definately take it into consideration.

[wonderme]

Keep it mind it may take a week or two to get him functioning on the right schedule.  It isn't just one night here or there.

The other thing you can try is a warm bath right before bed.  Keep it a quiet bath, skip bath toys just down to business.

The effect of getting warm in the bath and then cooling off when out induces sleep.

I think once he gets on the schedule it will be better -- you just have to stick to it (and the temp. misery it creates) for a while.

Best of luck.  See what your ped. has to offer.

[jd1419]

Another thing to consider--has there been any major changes inhis life receently.  Maybe he is just trying to get the attention he thinks he needs.  Sometimes little guys minds just work in weird ways and it messes there whole system up.  I know once in awhile my boys will do this weere they will not sleep and then the next few nights they will toss and turn and just wake up and come into our room.  See if something is bothering him--you never know he could of overheard someone saying something and it has him worried.

[NataliesMommy]

My daughter sleeps much better if we spent a lot of time outside in the fresh air.  Also, try white noise.  A lot of kids respond to that steady "hum."  My daughter loves it.  Good luck.

[Mikeal'smom]

There hasn't been any changes lately.  My dh and I don't fight, and there hasn't been any changes as far as our living arrangements, or his daily schedule- but that is definately something to keep in mind.  He used to do this on my dh first night home from work ( he's a firefighter and works 2 nights a week)but by the second night he was back on track, but this last month it has been every night, and getting up early every morning.  I just hope whatever it is passes soon, it can't be good for him to be so tired all the time.  Thank you so much for your help.

[lucylocket2]

I would always give my girls a warm bath before bed time. They have all the stuff now you can put in the bath water. Try a humidifier for the steady noise. No nap though. No matter hwo tired he is. I know it may sound harsh, but he will get used to it. They will also get used to you getting them up, when they get up in the middle of the night. Like we get used to getting up at the same time everyday . Then on Sat. when we want to sleep -we're up! Just make him lay in the bed. That way he will know Mommy and Daddy arn't going to get him up.  Just tell him he has to go back to sleep. I hope it works!

[emma10]

What type of therapy is he doing all afternoon? Does he have a physical condition that requires this?  I did think it was a definite doctor's issue (he might be anemic, some cardiac conditions, asthma cause this etc) --- but reading about therapy, I was wondering if there's a missing piece?

[Mikeal'smom]

Hi, sorry I didn't see your post until late.  My son was diagnosed with Hypotonia (which means low muscle tone), and he also has developmental delays.  Every week he has a 1/2 hour of physical therepy, 1/2 hour of occupational therepy, and 2- 1/2 hour sessions of speech therepy in school.  After school (each week) he has 2 one hour sessions of physical therepy, one hour of occupational therepy, and recreational gymnastics, he was also getting speech threrepy after school but we just did our last session.  I think I am definately going to ask the pediatrician tomorrow about it, but I'm not really sure what they are going to be able to do about it- I figure it never hurts to ask.  

The problem with my son is not getting him to sleep, it's him staying asleep.  Many people mentioned taking away his nap time, but if I do this by 7:30 he is so exhausted that he can barely walk without falling down.  With his condidion, the more tired he gets, the weaker his muscles are, and he the more likely he is to get hurt by falling into something.  My son had his first CAT scan before he was 18 mo. old because of falling and hitting his head twice, in the same spot, in the same day. He has also already had stitches more than once on his head/face.  Going without a nap really isn't an option for him.  I'm really hoping the doctor might be able to help us out with this.  

thank you so much for your response- good luck to you.

[ma2isiah]

Can you try putting him to bed earlier?  I know it sounds crazy, but it worked for my son.  Also have you read Healthy Sleep Habit, Healthy Child? I would reccommend it for solving many sleep problems.