sleep deprivation vs behavioral problem?

KDR1979

I have 32 month old twins. They were born at 36 wks, 1 day and weighed 5lbs and 6lbs 9oz. No NICU time was needed. When DD was 8 hours old, the pediatrician said that she was, "Feisty!" She is SO much harder than her brother. I know some of this is just her personality. She is independent, knows what she wants, a little bossy, etc.

She hates sleep and had a sleep study this Summer. The specialists at Children's Hospital said that sleep deprivation in toddlers shows up as hyperactivity. DD was moving non-stop during the appointment with the specialist. She moves.all.the.time. Even during meals, she will take a bite then go look at a toy then come back for another bite.

 After finding a type of restless leg syndrome associated with low iron from her sleep study, she is sleeping better now on daily iron. But, I think she still sleeps less than other kids her age. When she wakes up at night, she usually cries for me. She doesn't need anything, just wants some mommy snuggles. We're really trying to fix this behavior and teach her to stay in her bed until the sun comes up. She is now sleeping ~9pm-6am on average. I can usually get a 1.5-2 hour nap from her.

She is also a "picker." She will find moles or skin imperfections and will touch them, pick at them. I have a mole on my chest (below my neck). If we are snuggling, she is obsessed with finding it and keeping her hand on it. She will scratch it a little. I will tell her to stop and that it hurts and she will stop for 5 seconds and then put her hand back there. She does this with MH's moles and our part time nanny has one in a similar place as me and she does it to her as well.

 She also has terrible chapped lips and hates chapstick. The other day, we got stuck in traffic and spent 40 minutes in the car trying to get to her brother's haircut appt. She was screaming and crying that she wanted out of her car seat. When we finally parked, I realized that her lips were a bloody mess. I think that she picked at her cracked, dry lips until they bled. It was awful.

I plan on making an appointment with our pediatrician to discuss this, but was just wondering if anyone has any ideas about this behavior?

BBS!

I do Adhd testing. While your child is waaaay to young for a diagnosis, most parents report that they saw hyperactivity very early on. Adhd can also impact sleep. I know this doesn't help your situation much now, but it's good to keep an eye out and potentially have an assessment at age 5 or 6.

ashiscute

How often is she waking at night? My DD goes through phases where she wakes at night and just needs cuddles. She never has a real explanation for it. It's not an every night think but it's not uncommon for it to happen 5 or 6 nights in a row and then not for a couple weeks.

Some of the things you describe seen normal to me. Girls in general are more independent, bossier, pickier than boys. My DD is 3 (will be 4 next month) and DS is 2 and all of those words describe her. If you make her mad she can stay mad for ages where DS is over in a minute.

I would be concerned about her picking at herself to the point of bleeding and at her overall sleep. I think PP made some good points about ADHD. Right now your LO is much too young for a diagnosis like that. But I would make sure I was raising these concerns to my pedi. They might have recommendations on how to approach there behaviors. Or you may even speak to an occupational therapist who can give tips on alternate behaviors in lieu of picking at miles, lips, etc. good luck!

JWest07

Just a couple things to try until you can get in to her pediatrician:
Avoid food dyes, they can cause hyperactivity and aggressive behavior is some people. they can definitely effect sleep.
Try to keep her hydrated. If her lips are that chapped she may not be getting enough water and her electrolytes could be off.
They are hard to find, but they do make dye free versions of pedialite

KDR1979

They eat mostly organic already. They get very little food dyes.

She pretty much only drinks water too! Her Huggies overnight diaper is soaked in the morning. She will maybe drink 1 sippy cup of organic 1% milk, but she doesn't love milk and drinks water all day.

We see the pediatrician in early January.

JWest07

Wow. Make sure to post am update. As far as food dye, "very little" can still be too much. I realized this when I accidentally bought the wrong mulivitamin. Just one a day was enough to majorly impact my son.

JWest07

Plus, the electrolytes thing.

KDR1979

We saw the pediatrician this week and she thinks everything is normal. She said if she is doing some of these things at age 5, it would be a problem. She says "self mutilation" is normal in toddlerhood (IE-picking at chapped lips until they bleed). She said hyperactivity is normal in 2 year olds too

. She is getting enough sleep overall. Right now, she sleeps 9pm-6am and then takes a 1.5-2 hour nap on most days. Right now, she's waking up at night about once/week. She is learning that she can't come to our bed and that she needs to stay in her bed. It can take 5-45 minutes to get her back to her bed and not crying (and waking everyone up). She goes through phases though. We'll get a good month of sleep then 2 months of lots of middle of the night wake ups. Since her sleep study and starting daily iron though, it has been improving!

They do take organic vitamins (I work at a functional medicine doctor office, so have access to good quality supplements).  They take a pediatric version of probiotics, vitamin D, multivitamin and Fish oil every day.

The pediatrician said she would have been concerned if I thought she had signs of anxiety, picked/touched moles on strangers, or if I was staying inside my house b/c she was too difficult to take out.

Thanks for your input everyone!

ashiscute

Glad to hear she's improving and that the doctor isn't worried!