Sleep issues in preschool age children

boo-bitz

I write this as my 3 year old is passed out on the couch finally - she has been up since 3 am

Does anyone know what can cause constant night wakings at this age? For the last week and a half Madi has been up every night between 2 and 5am. She comes into our room to wake us and if we are lucky we can get her back to sleep after at least an hour... last night was not that night though as you can tell.

It is really hard on our family as a whole as both me and hubs work full time and we are seriously lacking sleep. I have to leave for work in an hour and a half and am just dreading it... I have to get her up in an hour to get her dressed and brush her hair/teeth to get her ready for the day.

I just don;t know what to do... Whether she goes back to her own bed, cuddles in ours - doesn't matter.She has trouble falling asleep because she, like PP's son, is going through the monster phase and then she is up every night. We put her to bed at a reasonable time (between 7:30 and 8pm and she is up around 7am.), she still takes naps during the day because she definately needs them. I know sleep apnea is not the problem (tonsils and adenoids removed to solve that issue back in April as she was suffering with severe sleep apnea).

Is this something you would talk to her Dr about? I am just at a brick wall and don't know where to turn and what to do...

Brewtowngrl

Have you asked her why she is getting up?  DS will tell us if it is to potty, nightmare or just wants us.  Then we can break it down and figure out how to get it to stop. 

KathrynMD

ditto PP - have you tried talking to her about it?

Have you tried some monster spray?  Water and some vinegar in spray bottle before bedtime?

When DD had some sleep issues last year - when she was clearly EXHAUSTED - after a few horrendous days of me crying in frustration too - I ended up "swaddling" her in her blanket - and she was out like a light.  We did the "swaddling" for a few more weeks and I even rocked her a few times - she loved it and it helped kinda "reset" her I think.

jewelbug79

Oh my gosh, I am so with you!  My 4 year old son does this all the time too, and we also spent almost two hours in the middle of the night battling last night....I too woke up this morning (also work full-time) not knowing what to do next!  I feel like I should start sleep training again and let him cry it out for a few nights, but that is so hard, especially when he truly seems to be scared of something in his room. I hope others continue to respond with more ideas! 

tqsbride

Wish I could tell you what works but we're still seeking solutions.  Our biggest issue is getting DS to calm down in the evening.  We cut out all media after dinner (no music, television, computer), dim the lights, allow him quiet play before bedtime. 

We've also tried night lights in his room, the hallway and our bedroom, changing the bulb in his room to a dim wattage setting, and bedroom passes.  I would paste pictures on index cards of potties or people drinking water and DS would receive 2 cards each.  He traded in these cards in order to have potty privileges or drinks of water in the middle of the night.  That worked for a while.  Now he just runs screaming into our room (between midnight and 5 am) and can't or won't tell us why he's there. 

Our pediatrician suggested Melatonin which we tried for a month and he was able to fall asleep but would wake up and freak out in the middle of the night.  Sleep study centers in our area have told us that he's too young to be a candidate for their analysis. 

I'm currently reading The No Cry Sleep Solution to find more tips.

 

tqsbride

 I've sent most of my friends the CDC link to the 2011 influenza shot, but I have plenty of friends/family who are dead set about what that shot can do.  There's the old saying that you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.  That really applies to this situation.

franciscaz

Talk to your child first.  If she doesn't know than I would talk with your pedi.  I've always had just base insomnia, even as a child.  My son Harmon suffers from sleep terrors.  There are treatments if it is something like that.  The main thing is to get to the bottom of it.