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margarita
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| Posted: Nov 19 2012 at 6:31pm | IP Logged
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I'm probably going to take my almost 3yo to a naturopath to see if there is some kind of constitutional problem that can be addressed, but figured it wouldn't hurt to check here.
We have a child who, most nights, sleeps only for 45 minutes at a time. Then he wakes up. Getting him to sleep again is usually pretty easy, but then I'm awake, and he wakes up again in 45 minutes anyway. So this happens maybe 6 - 8 times a night, a lot more or a bit less depending on the day.
I don't think it's a behavior problem, or a habit. We night-weaned about a year ago; we weaned fully about 6 months ago.
He was always really active in the womb, day and night non-stop. And the day he was born, he didn't sleep for 24 hours, except for those little cat-naps. He'd doze for 5 or 10 minutes but then he would be awake for 2, 3, 4 hours, as a brand-new newborn!
He's very intense during the day too, he just has a lot of energy, a loud voice, and he's hungry always.
He's on a gluten-free diet which seems to have helped with some of his intensity, but only so far.
I tried putting lavender oil on the soles of his feet, at the suggestion of a friend, didn't help at all.
He hates water (like, fears it) so drawing a hot bath at bedtime won't work.
Any other ideas? We're pretty seasoned parents, I really do think we need professional help at this point.
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Nov 19 2012 at 7:01pm | IP Logged
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A friend has had food luck with magnesium supplements.
I just saw this article recently, which might help.
I would ask your doctor about a sleep study to make sure he's reaching all the sleep stages normally. It seems like a child that age should have longer stretches, even if they stir between cycles.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Nov 19 2012 at 7:53pm | IP Logged
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I agree with Lindsay.. yes I'd want it checked out to find a reason.. for one thing I see that sort of intensity in children who are tired and trying to stay awake.. but it does seem like the cycles should be longer. And I would want to know more about WHAT was happening before using much of anything.
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Betsy
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| Posted: Nov 20 2012 at 8:42am | IP Logged
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I will keep you in my prayers, Margarita!
My first child had no use for sleep (but I don't believe as extreme as yours) and it was very hard on ME!!!!! Being woke up that many times at night makes it almost impossible to get enough sleep.
If everything checks out normal with your son, I will give you some hope. When the teenage hormones start kicking in---they will sleep...a little more! 
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margarita
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| Posted: Nov 20 2012 at 10:23am | IP Logged
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Thank you for the suggestions. I appreciate it.
Betsy, our first child also had very little need for sleep, though not this badly, and now at age 16 she goes to bed around 1am and is up by 6am - even on the weekends! She's incredibly driven and productive AND good natured. Ugh.... Who are these people? lol
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CatholicMommy
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| Posted: Nov 20 2012 at 11:37am | IP Logged
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One of my college professors only slept a couple of hours each night. He also had an extreme weight problem and I am under the impression whatever was going on with him, the two things were related.
He did say in all honesty people his condition tend to live shorter lives, because they are more intense and awake and NOT getting enough recuperation from those sleep cycles.
Not to scare you - just something to consider!
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Erin
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| Posted: Nov 20 2012 at 1:30pm | IP Logged
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Margarita  I'm amazed you are still sane and coherent! Praying the naturopath will quickly find a solution.
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Mimip
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| Posted: Nov 20 2012 at 2:09pm | IP Logged
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Yeah, I'm with Erin, HOW are you still awake every day???? 
No advice here but I'll keep you in prayer.
We struggled with nights with our girls and they now take melatonin every. single. night! This really helps especially my oldest who suffered from what I call "could never get BACk to sleep" syndrome. She had a very hard time transitioning through sleep cycles and so a family friend recommend the melatonin, Worked so well after a few nights I went in to check on her in the middle of the night because I was convinced she wasn't breathing.
Many, many prayers heading your way!
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: Nov 21 2012 at 5:29am | IP Logged
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Praying for you Margarita! I have a 5yo who still wakes up every night. He gets leg pains so when he wakes up I have to get up with him and rub his legs. Then he usually wakes up an hour later and it continues until I finally break down and give him Motrin.
We are actually going to a Naturopath this Friday to see what his problem could be.
My older son has ADHD and is just now sleeping well at night. He is 11. He has a terrible time falling asleep though, so we let him read for 2+ hours at night. Once he's asleep he will stay asleep but he's an early riser. I would say he only sleeps 6-7 hours a night, which is odd for a kid starting into puberty.
Taking milk out of his diet when he was younger did seem to help. He still had trouble falling asleep, but at least he stayed asleep.
I would be interested to hear what the naturopath has to say.
God bless you! It must be very difficult to be up every night!
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Donna Marie
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Vit D helps a lot, most especially Cod Liver Oil...Carlsons has a lightly lemon flavored one that doesn't taste like fish at all. Many of my friends swear that it keeps their kids healthier and helps them sleep better at night. I really LOVE cod liver oil, can you tell?!
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margarita
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| Posted: Nov 21 2012 at 3:25pm | IP Logged
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I never said I was sane. I never said I was awake, either. I live in a constant fog, with a very, very short fuse!
BUT now of course the kiddo has slept "well" for a couple of nights in a row, meaning only waking a few times, and settling quickly. HUGE improvement. We worked pretty diligently on the hypnotherapy approach ie, "you can stay asleep all night long and not wake up until morning!" types of conversations. We'll keep that up and maybe call the naturopath next week if things derail again.
You know what worked once before, incredibly well: PRAYER from a bunch of friends! Big surprise, huh?
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Mary Anne L.
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| Posted: Nov 21 2012 at 10:33pm | IP Logged
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Mimip wrote:
Yeah, I'm with Erin, HOW are you still awake every day????
No advice here but I'll keep you in prayer.
We struggled with nights with our girls and they now take melatonin every. single. night! This really helps especially my oldest who suffered from what I call "could never get BACk to sleep" syndrome. She had a very hard time transitioning through sleep cycles and so a family friend recommend the melatonin, Worked so well after a few nights I went in to check on her in the middle of the night because I was convinced she wasn't breathing.
Many, many prayers heading your way!
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Dear Mimi,
I had to resort to melatonin when my 5-year old started the constant waking up all night again, which he did from infancy through about 3, another bout when he was about 3 1/2 to 4. I could not take it. I weaned him off it when he was about 5 years 9 months out of fear that he would never sleep without it. He sleeps well now without it. Is there a fear of being dependent on melatonin?
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Pilgrim
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| Posted: Nov 22 2012 at 8:26am | IP Logged
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Just a note on melatonin. We used to use it with our oldest when she was 5-6, and it did work to get her to sleep, but it was causing intense scary dreams in the middle of the night. We weaned her off of it, and she did sleep better after that. Just wanted to throw that in there, esp. for those who may be using it, if they are experiencing this so you could maybe put 2 and 2 together and determine whether to wean off it. I found out that melatonin was the cause through reading up on it(sorry, don't know where I read it). It was nice to get her TO sleep at night, but very hard to deal with the extremely scary dreams, and having to stay up an hour with her to get her comforted and able to sleep again.
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Servant2theKing
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Margarita, you may want to ask the advice of the naturopath about using remedies. As an adult with longterm insomnia I've learned that I need to rotate remedies, so they don't build up in my system, causing worse symptoms. Using remedies for a 3yo might be an even more delicate balance. Praying you and your ds will soon be blessed with sweet holy dreams!  
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BlessedBGod
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Oh you poor darling. I have one like that and it's a struggle. The tooth fairy had such a time getting the tooth last week when she wakes at the slightest noise. :) We have used vitamins in the past. I like vitamins B-6 and magnesium. I've heard good things about calcium added to that. I've used the grocery stores herbal capsules with valerian. We've used the Walmart brand of chewable melatonin. Now, we use a prescription blood pressure medicine which is for ADHD since she cannot tolerate stimulants. It makes her sleep at night. Go figure. It's called Intuniv. We've tried various prescriptions for her. We've used Benadryl the most though at the pediatrician's advice. It works the best but I'm not comfortable with red dye so we don't use it anymore. God bless you with this struggle. There is help out there.
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margarita
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| Posted: Nov 23 2012 at 9:36am | IP Logged
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This has become a great thread full of great advice. I didn't realize remedies could build up in your system, Servant2theKing! I guess I was thinking of homeopathy, which might be a one-time thing, or a three-time thing maybe.
So this kid slept in his own bed from 8:30 until 5:00 without waking up. When he woke I went to lie down with him for a little bit, then went back to my bed. Had to go back again around 6:30, and then we got up for the day around 7am.
Are you kidding me??? I don't know how this is possible. Why is it that, when I finally reach the breaking point, finally have friends telling me they are gravely concerned, finally ready to pick up that phone to call in professional help.... the problem goes away???? Well, I will be sitting on my hands and holding my breath to see what happens next.
Maybe the solution is just over-stuffing a kid with carbs and sugars (Thanksgiving). 
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Betsy
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| Posted: Nov 23 2012 at 11:12am | IP Logged
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margarita wrote:
| Well, I will be sitting on my hands and holding my breath to see what happens next. |
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NO, NO, NO.....don't do this, GO AND TAKE A NAP!!!!!!!
margarita wrote:
| Maybe the solution is just over-stuffing a kid with carbs and sugars (Thanksgiving). |
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Hey, whatever works....right! 
In all seriousness, I hope that this last! I will keep praying! 
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4Real Forums : Our Lady of Good Remedy and Care
Topic: Child who has never slept! (is sleeping!)
