Son Sleep Issues, #2 On The Way - HELP!!!

oursong611

My son is 2 and a half. We cannot get him to sleep through the night. We've tried cry it out methods (which work great until he hits a new developmental milestone and stops sleeping again), and least cry/no cry methods that have bits and pieces of success here and there, but nothing lasting. He has a ton of stuffed animals he sleeps with, a dim night light, and a fan for white noise. He also sleeps sucking his thumb and has to wear 2 piece pajamas so he can rub his belly. We've tried music/no music but it doesn't seem to make a difference. He starts out sleeping in his bed (bedtime is 7:30 and one of us has to sit with him til he falls asleep), but every time he hits the REM stage of sleep, he wakes up screaming and terrified. We have no idea what's scaring him. If we're still awake, one of us takes him to the bathroom, gets him a drink of water, and soothes him back to sleep. In the middle of the night, he jumps in bed with us. Once he's in our bed, he sleeps ok for the most part and usually lets us sleep (until 6-6:30).
I love snuggling him, but want him to sleep in his own space so we can all sleep better. Additionally, our second son is due in May, and I'm worried that when the baby wakes in the middle of the night it will wake up my toddler too, and then he won't go back to sleep because he'll be worried about his brother. Then we'll all be doubly exhausted. He plays hard during the day and is frequently outside. I make him walk as often as possible. He's always tired at bedtime. He doesn't watch a ton of TV (usually in the morning) and we always turn it off a minimum of 2 hours before bedtime. We're also super picky about what he watches, to try to keep him from seeing scary stuff. His diet sucks, but he's awful about trying new foods. I can't get him to eat vegetables, regardless of when and how they're presented. He'd rather starve. He drinks water most of the time, so at least that's good. I just don't know what to do to get him to sleep anymore and it's wearing me out. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

jaztastic

That sounds rough. I'm a big fan of CIO, but it looks like that isn't working for you. Have you talked with a dr?

oursong611

Yeah. She recommended Melatonin and epsom salt baths, which have not helped. The Melatonin helps him calm to sleep, but then makes him really hyper from 2-4 a.m. After that, she recommended magnesium. We've been doing that for a few days, but haven't seen a change yet. At this point we're thinking about seeing a sleep specialist. He's at the point now where once he goes down, he's typically up at 12:30 (to pee and go right back to bed), then from 2-4ish, then he wakes up at 5 ready for breakfast and won't go back to sleep!

mayapple44

Do you really think he is having night terrors? If so they have a smart pad that you place under mattress that vibrates at different points in childs sleep cycle to prevent the nightmare. Its called lullys sleep gaurdian. I think its expensive but ive heard great things about it.

iceandsnowflakes29

If it persists consult a ENT. My son was a terrible sleeper. It turned out to be obstructive sleep apnea. He had his tonsils and adenoids removed and now he sleeps all night.