Weighted blanket ?

W&J'sMommy

DS has sleeping issues. He falls asleep fine (15-30 minutes) but he wakes several times throughout the night crying and has a hard time settling back down.

Has anyone had success with a weighted blanket? Where did you get it? Any info would be appreciated.

JenGK

A weighted blanket works to get DS asleep -- but we haven't had issues with waking in the middle of the night.

Our OT recommended this company:  https://www.weightedblanket.net/

Glendi2.0

sorry to hijack the post, but I was wondering about weighted blankets myself... I'm totally ignorant, but what do people mean by "settling down"? Sylvie is def. excitable and can be a bit hyper, but I'm usually able to get her under control when I need to... is it more than this? Also, she almost always sttn and has no problem falling asleep for her naps, but can take up to an hour to fall asleep at night (she doesn't yell or cry or anything, just hangs out in her crib, babbling.) Would a weighted blanket be useful in that context?

(I'll be asking her OT about it next week, but thought I'd take advantage of this discussion as it's happening!)

TIA!

W&J'sMommy

Glendi - It's supposed to help children with sensory issues. DS has had some success focusing at school wearing a weighted vest (and also loves deep pressure rubs), so that's why I'm wondering if a blanket would help him. I don't know what your DD's dx is, but if you think her trouble falling asleep is due to sensory issues then perhaps a blanket could help.

His OT is working on getting me more info about them, suggesting weights.  She has said that it used to be thought that overuse can reduce effectiveness, but that is no longer popular opinion.

JenGK

Zach is a sensory seeker who loves movement, carrying heavy weights, and deep pressure.  Pre-blanket, he  would lay down for bed, and then toss and turn for an hour or more before falling asleep.  Once asleep, he would sleep through the night.  But, he just couldn't seem to settle down and get into sleep mode, even though he fully comprehended that it was night-night time.  With the blanket, he lays down and is asleep within a few minutes.

breezy0629

RE: settling down. DS will toss and turn and move and fidget and wiggle and move some more and bury his face and twist his hair and kick the wall and wiggle some more and toss and flip ===== and then end up getting back out of bed ==== or better yet, just lay there doing THAT for the whole 2 hours. 

With our weighted blanket, I made sure his routine was the way it needed to be, did a couple of things to ensure he was tired/ready, and he LAYS STILL

Until he lays still, he cannot get to sleep.

And THAT is what I think they mean. Or at least it's my definition. 

Glendi2.0

Sylvie doesn't have a sensory diagnosis- her dx is PDD-NOS, but sensory issues are a huge piece of the puzzle for her. Jen, you've described Sylvie to a tee... lots of tossing, turning, bumping around, etc. in her crib, 'til she falls asleep for the night. She's a total sensory-seeker during the day, and we try to incorporate lots of heavy work activities into her day to manage that, but we hadn't tackled bedtime yet... I guess it didn't occur to me that taking a long time to get to sleep could also be a sensory issue (Duh... Guess I'm learning EVERYTHING is a sensory issue!) Looks like I'll be chatting with her OT about a weighted blanket this week.

Thanks, ladies!!