Sleepless in Spoken

[Sally Spoken]

Dear Sally,

My son called today wanting advice for his 15 month old son that won't sleep through the night on any kind of regular basis....they are up off and on all night sometimes with him......me being the Grandma is supposed to have all the answers ! But my son didn't sleep through the night until he was almost 5 years old !!! So....not feeling like I have any answers. My grandson is teething and not eating well also. He only naps for 1/2 to 1 hour each nap and at most 2 times a day. Otherwise very healthy and mostly happy child.

Help!

Sincerely,
Sleepless in Spoken

[Sally Spoken]

Dear Sleepless,

What a wonderful question!

First of all, Sally would counsel your son to be sure he has spoken with your grandson's pediatrician to be sure there are no medical issues that could be causing the little one not to sleep or eat well. Assuming there are no medical issues...then we can move on to other solutions!

Sally must wonder if your grandson has become very comfortable asking for his parents at any time he wishes! Sally must ask if your children come running to the room every time little one starts to whimper or cry. Perhaps little one needs to learn to soothe himself! While it is nerve-wracking at best to let any small child 'cry it out', sometimes it is the only way to show small children that they CAN soothe themselves!

Also, when little one DOES wake up in the middle of the night, what is the response of your children? Sally wonders if they go in and start talking, and picking him up, and playing...rather than checking to see if there are any needs (diaper change, etc) and then leaving, without interacting.

There is no reason that a 15 month old child shouldn't be able to reasonably sleep through the night, with the occasional issue due to issues such as teething or mild illness. Sally must say that she thinks it is time for some tough love to see if the child has merely become used to asking for attention in the middle of the night and always getting it.

Again, Sally must stress that she is NOT a pediatrician, and it is always important to first discuss issues of this nature with a medical professional.

As always....Sally certainly appreciates everyone else's feedback to this wonderful question...

Regards,
Sally Spoken

[Evil95GT]

Sleepless,
I'm far from a professional, but I can relate to your issue. Like Sally said, the first thing your son should do is take the little guy in to see the pediatrician.

I actually had this issue with my middle kid. She would take 2-3 VERY short (maybe 30 minute) naps each day. With each short nap, she would awaken with what seemed like endless energy..........almost like she was on a sugar rush! When I would get her to sleep by 10 PM, she'd be up and raring to go at 2 am......wanting to drink, play, and have little hyper fits. My mistake was taking her OUT of that crib, allowing her to run a bit (made sense...........I thought she'd run a little bit of that energy out), then putting her back in MY bed. In the end (after about 6 weeks), I began to see that she was using thjis skill as a tool. She was a crafty little gal!

Our pediatrician suggested that we cut her down to ONE nap, between 2 and 3 pm. He said that even if it was hard to do and she'd get cranky, to try and keep her awake. He guessed that she was getting quick recharges, and that she would even treat her "bedtime" as a "naptime".

It was a rough week. The baby was crabby by 7 pm, and when she would have been napping on her previous schedule, we'd have to make a TRUE effort to keep her awake.

By the 8th or 9th night, she was going to sleep at 10 pm, waking a few times to babble to herself, and she'd go right back to sleep. She would sleep through till at LEAST 9 am!

:thumbsup:

[cadzilla74]

Before I'd let the pediatrician start a child on a lifetime rollercoaster of prescription drugs to cure his "humanity" I'd make sure the house is conducive to letting a child sleep through the night ...

What seems a normal environment and noise level to you may be quite frightening or disturbing to a child. I'd definitely ask the Sawbones about the teething pain which could be the main problem ... my grandparents used to put a little whiskey on our gums when we were teething (NO do not pour the kid a shot of Jack!) and it would numb the pain for hours ...

[Dr. HEMIwoman]

Yeah right Art......you wanted the shot at 6 mos old....admit it! :)

[cadzilla74]

^^^ LOL ... may not have wanted it then, but making up for lost time now ...