Need Help Getting Out of Bad Sleep Cycle!

We had trouble with my daughter from birth to recently and she is now 4. A year ago, we started her on Melatonin. We found one at Fred Meyer that is low dose and chewable. It is only 500 mcg. This is much less than the 3 mg one someone else recommended and it is chewable.

My daughter is very petite and this seems to be a good dose for her.

We noticed her sleep patterns improving within a couple of days after starting the melatonin. She also started sleeping through the night after a couple of weeks. This was huge, since she hadn't slept through the night (except maybe once or twice when she was real tiny).

D.

I had a similiar situation and my son is now 5 1/2 and we still have problems periodically. We did try Melatonin though at night before bed and that has worked wonders at falling asleep faster. It won't keep him asleep and they don't wake up groggy from it. so it may not help the waking up during the night (trust me I tried). I would start off with the 3mg tablet that you can buy in the store (they are really cheap) and split it into 4th's with a pill cutter. I know some parents give their kids the whole pill but I think that is too much for a little guy, and I found that 1/2 or 1/4 is plenty and still works. Hope you get it figured out soon. I know how tough it is. Thankfully I got lucky and when I had my second (when my first was 20 months) he is the best sleeper ever so I only have to deal with it with one. GOOD LUCK!

Previous posters had great ideas. Here are some other ideas I have, in regards to things you didn't mention that might or might not apply. If possible, keep eating at minimum 3 hours or more before bedtime. Food makes the body think it's time to stay up. If you use them, keep tv and computer out off in the 3 hours before bedtime. These are very stimulating due to the high amounts of blue light used to make the pictures (same part of the spectrum involved in sunrise), and will tell the brain it's wake up time. Try dimming the lights a few hours before bedtime (same issues as computers and tv). Some white noise might help him to hit "zen mode" so to speak, mayhap a fish tank, white noise machine, or cd with nature sounds. Hope this helps!

Hi R.

We just went through a similar situation with our 2 1/2 year old daughter. What seemed to help was 1. playing outside as much as possible in the daytime/early evening to wear her out; 2. no sugar at all if possible, certainly no sweet treats or juice after 3 p.m.; and 3. bribery. I got so desperate for an uninterrupted night's sleep, after trying and failing at various other methods, that I told her I would give her a jellybean in bed in the morning if she stayed in bed all night and didn't wake mommy up. It didn't work perfectly, but it helped. Now, after two months, she's finally gone to bed at a decent hour (8 or 9) and stayed in her room until 6 or 7 without waking for 7 nights out of 9. She naps about an hour or so, when she naps.

On occasion, we do use an herbal tincture from our local co-op designed to help kids sleep, but I am always afraid that then she will become dependent on that. My advice is save that for the times you are absolutely desperate.

Good luck!

best
K.

Megan gave great advice! My only thoughts would be along the lines of keeping the room dark and cool so he'll fall asleep easily. I worked graveyard for 9 years and HAD to keep the room dark and cool in order to sleep during warmer weather. (We just used a really dark sheet--don't know if foil might warm up the room?). Maybe if it's really hot a cool shower before bedtime might help. My children tend to eat less during warmer weather also. I try to offer them a lot more grapes, apples, melons--things that will keep them hydrated but are light enough for them to want to eat. Hopefully he's going through a growth spurt and he'll return to his normal cycle. The only other thing I can think of if this persists is asking the daycare not to let him nap or to let him nap earlier. Good luck!

I totally understand how he feels, I have been doing the same thing myself! I a sure that a lot of it has to do with the light and the heat. Try closing up all the windows in the main part of the house so that the light isn't coming in so it is darker and feels more like "bed time" like he is used to. Also, he is probably too hot. Does he have an air conditioner in his room? It will help a lot! both for the noise to drown out outside people who are still very awake and active, and to make it more comfortable to sleep. I seriously doubt that any type of sleeping aid will work as I have not had any success with those myself. I hope this helps!

Wow, what a tough situation to be in! I feel for you!

My first suggestion would be to go back and talk to the day care. Explain the situation to them again, in a calm, non confrontational manner, and ask them for their support and advice. It seems to me that they really need to be supporting you in this and not letting him sleep so long. I've worked in day care, and we never let kids sleep for 3 hours at that age, ever. 2 hours was about the limit, no more than 2 1/2 hours because the other kids were up, and we had a schedule and routine. If we let a child sleep that long, we ALWAYS got complaints from the parents. Part of the job of the childcare is to work WITH the family, not against them; it's their job to support you.

Also, if you think part of the problem is the light, maybe you could darken his room somehow. Could you get heavy blinds or curtains to make his room very dark so maybe it's easier to sleep, and not so bright? I know kids at that age can be afraid of the dark, so you could invest in a nightlight if you don't have on already to help ease any lingering fears. Maybe adding a small fan would help with heat.

About dinner, I wouldn't worry to much if I were you. My appetite goes down in the heat too, so no worries. He'll eat when he's ready. He won't starve himself. Just continue to offer him food at regular intervals and he'll be fine.

He may be going through a growth spurt and his sleep needs may be changing, so as odd as this may seem, maybe you could try shifting bedtime a bit earlier instead. He may be overtired by the time you are getting him to bed, hence too overstimulated to sleep, so maybe shifting bedtime 15 minutes to half an hour earlier might do the trick.

I hope this helps. As my mom always says, This Too Shall Pass! and he'll be on to another phase. Just remember to breathe, take a step back and relax. Hang in there mama! :)

My 2 1/2 year old little guy is doing the same thing! I can't figure it out myself. I just thought I'd let you know that you are not alone. Good luck!

Hi R.. There's some great advice already given, but I'll just say what worked for my 21 mo daughter. She was having the same problem with the heat and not sleeping. We finally ended up putting her to sleep at her normal time (8pm) with 1) a fan in the room, 2) a single paper-thin blanket, 3) wearing in a tank top and diaper, & 4)with a sippy cup of ice water. All these things help, but it's the ice water that really gets her to sleep. She has never slept with a bottle or sippy cup before. I think the ice water helps her regulate her temperature. She insists on a blanket so I found the thinnest one. Good luck!