3 Am and Both of My Children Are Awake, Screaming, Again...

They are both at a prime developmental period. Both will settle down in a few weeks, but until then, there is just too much going on. your 19 month old is getting ready to turn into a preschooler, talking, jumping, etc. your 3 year old is entering a fear stage.

Keep the habits good, don't take them out of their bed, just make it clear it's bed time, sooth them as you can, but don't set yourself up for really bad habits. Just tell them to go back to sleep, and then leave it be.

My two boys also had problems with sleeping all night, and like you one is "normal", one is autistic.
One thing that really, really helped us all sleep was to put a radio in the bedroom with just static all night. It is the white noise that calms babies down, so I figured I would try it. Thank God it works like a charm for the most part. It may be that one of your kids is waking the other up with either moaning or snoring, you know?
Also, make sure that the temp in the house is not too warm. 68 degrees works well for us.
Good luck to you. I hope everything works out.

Yikes, I can feel the agony in your post. I know it completely sucks now and is driving you crazy, but it will change...it just has to, right :) I agree with the white noise in the background. We have a Honeywell air filter from Home Depot and it has the perfect noise output for good sleeping. It works for us, and as soon as I turn it off they wake up. It's like the button of that thing puts them in a little sleep coma! (eta: My sister has a small white air filter from Walmart that was very in expensive. I think the one we have is $100.

My best friends son is almost 7 and has PDD-NOS and I think it has everything to do with that. She has been dealing with many behavioral challenges and sensory issues. The biggest challenge is sibling rivalry. Does your daughter have any issues there? Maybe she doesn't want the baby in the room...? With ALOT of structure and love, they are seeing great results. It has been the biggest test of her patience that she doesn't even have :)

Good luck tou you!

For your daughter get her into a swim class at the Y. A child on the autism spectrum has so many fears and disconnects. Water takes away fear and relaxes a child. Building physical skills is essential for her development.
As for your son he needs alot more holding and cuddling during the day so he can fall asleep.
When you put your kids down for a nap do not do housework. Take a nap you need the rest to cope with your family and to problems solve. They will go back to sleeping again once you are more relaxed. You cannot relax when you are so sleep deprived.

CVS carries their own brand of a mineral bath that is made of lavender and menthol. You can find it in the bubble bath section. It's purple and costs $4.99. It is suppose to relax your muscles and help you sleep better. My friend swears it really works and helps 4 year old sleep better. She lets her bathe in it for about 10 minutes just before bedtime. Maybe this would help you. I'm sorry, I feel for you. I wish I had some better suggestions:(

My son started having nightmares at 2 1/2.
They're making a mental leap at that time and their minds/imaginations are so busy they don't stop for long at night.
Nightmares can be scary.
I'd make sure they get some good exercise early in the afternoon.
Settle down for bed and if a nightmare happens, break out the monster spray (a water mister spray will do) and tell them it's all gone now.
My son likes a dream catcher in his room - it's a comfort to him to think the bad dreams would be caught before they got to him.
A night light might help, too.
This is just a stage a lot of kids go through.
It's exhausting for the parents, but it's perfectly normal.

You need to learn Masgutova Method and RMT methods to get the kids in a calm, relaxed state. Give a sensory diet of activities throughout the day so their brains can remain optimally processing incoming information. Heavy pressure, heavy work, and very very physical activites will do the trick. Someone in GA that can help with a sensory diet is Kim Wing in Smyrna. If your daughter is on the spectrum, your son has a high chance of being there too so you might at well intervene now. Many children with delays do not sleep so you have to give thier bodies what it needs. I would also separate them so tehy don't feed off each other. I know parents who have cleared out closets and bathrooms for the younger child to sleep. Anything to get some sleep! Also try GFCF diet.

I have been going through the same situation for quite some time now. My oldest who is now 6 gave me that problem and I am now encountering it with my 3 yr old. My three year old would wake up uncontrollably crying, kicking, and making it difficult for me to console him back to bed (i think he is on the spectrum). From what I have read, kids on the spectrum do tend to have this problem.

With my first one I ended up with a load of bad habits in his routine until he began school. With my 3 yr old I have taken a different route. I've tried several things that work. I have given him a natural supplement called calms forte for children. It worked for a while. Now that it doesn't, I have begun playing Mozart to get us to sleep and it works but on top of that I changed his daily routine. He may only watch Tv early in the day but not after 5. I noticed this also helped tremendously with his behavior (cutting out the tv). If he does watch television its only an hour or less.

I hope you find some relief, even if it's temporary. I know how difficult this is. If I can remember anything else I have tried I will come back and post.

could it be that they are scared in their room.. I don't know what PDD-NOS is but around the age of 3 is when my daughter was becoming afraid of the dark.. We got a fun nightlight that projects pictures up on the wall we even had a sparkly lava lamp for awhile.. something to make the dark not so scary.. It became quite light in the room but it didnt seem to bother their sleeping at all and she was much more comfortable being able to see... Just a suggestion if you have not already tried it.. Try to talk to your daughter about why she is crying at night.. If she is able to express herself you might find out the problem.. I would do like someone else said try to seperate them for a little while and work individually to get them back to sleeping.. One is probably affecting the other, it only has to be temporary so if you can set up a bed in the living room or a closet (with the door open for good ventilation) just to get them back on track and then move them back together.. definitely try to get some sleep when possible..

Issues associated with PDD may be contributing, and as you said, they may be feeding off each other. I agree with others that they are at prime developmental stages and just be very very very consistent with their routine and them not leaving the room, but they must go back to sleep.

Things that may help are keeping the room pleasantly cool, white noise, enough DARKNESS (no blue or white lights, if you need some small amount of light, look into orange), if your 3 year-old wants water at night, have a sippy cup with some water available for her to drink by herself. Here are other ideas (some are for older kids), but always ask your pediatrician: http://itsnotmental.blogspot.com/2009/01/sleep-timing-of-...

Make sure gut health is fine, as this is often and issue in PDD/autistic-spectrum children. Oh, and then there are allergies to consider- both environmental and to foods http://itsnotmental.blogspot.com/2011/05/allergies-asthma... but, I am coming from an experience with one of my children having some MAJOR, persistent issues with sleep and that contributing to a host of issues (although it is hard to say what caused what).

Growth spurts? Try feeding them a large snack around 1/2 hour before bedtime. One that is high is carbs. Sugar does not make kids hyper by the way. It is often what else is in the sweet treat that gives the boost of energy, like caffeine, most chocolate contains that.

Try bumping bedtime to half hour later too. They may just be reaching a point where they don't need as much sleep.

My heart goes out to you guys! Can you afford to get a babysitter - at their house - for the day and sleep? Sounds like your best bet right now. And yes, I would definitely try moving the baby out of the room to elsewhere - even if its just a random closet for now. Sounds like you guys may be stuck in our situation - no family to help. Our biggest help has come from our church family. It's a great place to start for a sitter, if nothing else, even if you don't currently attend anywhere. also, is there a couple friend in your lives you could switch babysitting with so there's no monetary exchange?

On a level, it sounds like it has become a habit for your DD, and once that's established so late in age, it's very difficult to break. I'm not sure what PDD is but given the first comment, I suspect high functioning autism? My sister was diagnosed as such at 19. Her biggest help with sleep issues has been a magnetic mattress. I kno - it sounds total baloney to me. but it has worked miracles for her. You may wish to see if you can borrow one from somewhere - if you spend money I'd spend it on a babysitter first! :)