Any SPD mommas who can give advice on sleep

[Momma Aimee]

we are woking on a dx for Theodore -- leaning towards SPD right now, ASD not really fitting.

at 4 months past 3 ... he still has to have be get him to sleep -- lay with him, rock him, hold him ...

he still wakes, now only 3 or 4 times a night. : it was every 45 minutes for over 2 years.

he can NOT go back to sleep without help.

nightmares, nightmares, nightmares, nightmares ....

He sleeps with me. things are better than they were -- i'd be dead if not --- LOL

but i am wondering if anyone with expereince with SPD can offer any suggestings we have not tried ...

AImee

[umami_mommy]

we use melatonin to get DS to fall asleep. otherwise it takes 2 to 2.5 hours for him to fall asleep. i did a bunch of research and basically it's approved for this use with kids. the doc at the sleep clinic said it's safe and probably the best thing to use.

i would get a sleep study done at a pediatric sleep clinic. (ignore their conventional cry it out bullsh$t advice on how to get your kid to sleep, since they don't really understand how SPD affects the central nervous system) this will rule out any other problems like sleep apnea, etc.

as far as staying alseep you want to A.) find some "heavy work" that you can do with your DS that will calm him during the day... it carries over to the night also. (it's swimming for my DS) B. make sure that your DS is eating a diet that is nourishing to his adrenals. check out this site: www.adrenalfatigue.com


GL and feel free to PM me.

[Momma Aimee]

thanks

We do use Meltion -- it is the only way we get to bed in less than 3 or 4 hours ... i kid you not. But he still needs help.

I will check out the diet, i am getting ready to do-vamp the household diet, so that is timely.

they refused to do a sleep study on him -- children's hopstial -- when he was 20 months -- suggested CIO and i told them to take a hike. We will see what they say at teh eval .. our Ped assurse me that this group that will be doing the full eval for SPD or ASD or ??? (though we all think SPD) won't do that.

Aimee

[umami_mommy]

i don't know where you are, but the sensory specialist recommended a sleep study to rule out anything organic. we reported this to the family doc who ordered a sleep study. done deal.

if it is still taking you 3-4 hours to get him to sleep, up his dosage of melatonin. how much are you giving him? we started when DS was 4 and weighed 40 pounds. we started with one mg of melatonin. this knocked him out in 45 minutes. now he is 60 pounds and he takes 1.5 mg and it takes an hour for him to fall asleep.

i would get going on the heavy work if he is so hard to get to sleep. the more he does, the better he will feel and the more sleep he will get. DS basically played outside all day today and tonight he took his M watched "good eats" with me and went to sleep. this is fairly amazing for this kid.

get and read "sensational kids" by lucy jane miller. also there are good ideas in "the out of sync child has fun"

[lotusdebi]

My son takes 1 mg of melatonin every night before bed. We've also found that putting a weighted blanket on him while he sleeps helps him stay asleep through the night. They can be a little pricey, though.

[Momma Aimee]

theo is taking 3 mg and THAT gets him to sleep in about 30 to 45 minutes ...

what heavy work do you mean -- just running hard, or something else? I am glad for summer -- we will be at the pool and he will be runnign outside adn pl,aying hard -- winter has been hard, he loves to play outside but as much as that helps him, he can't do it enough, yk?

Thanks for teh book suggesting.

I have Out of Sync waiting IIL for me to go get.

Aimee

[Momma Aimee]

i have a big old quilt that is really heavy -- i am going to pull that out and try that. i have looked at weighted blankets, DH will flip unless a professional suggest it -- $$ -- so we will have to wait on that.

Thans for the additional book

[woodsymommyof3]

For my DS (7), it is an anxiety thing. Co-sleeping helps some. But he has no self soothing ability what so ever. We couldn't sleep well any longer with him in bed with us, he's too big and too restless. We put a twin mattress in our room for him and that seems to be working. He still cannot soothe himself to sleep without someone in there reading him a story, singing to him, something. His P-Doc is not sure if he ever will be able to soothe himself to sleep. But, right now, this is working. Most nights, he even makes it all the way through until morning sleeping in his own bed. But, generally if something wakes him up (potty break, bad dream, etc.) he winds up getting into bed with us.

As far as the heavy work goes... That means doing things like taking the trash out, carrying a laundry basket of clothes, carrying a heavy box, a heavy book, etc. Something that takes effort to move from point A to point B. We have our son do that before starting homework or some other activity that requires a lot from him. I'll have to try it before bedtime, that is something we haven't done.

The Out Of Sync Child Has Fun is a great book, too.

Debbi

[jilly]

Heavy work = physical work that involves a lot of muscle groups and pushing or pulling -- swimming, pushing things around, shovelling . . .and also things like chewing hard food or gum. Also, make sure he is getting down time, and not watching anything he might find scary or overstimulating.

I know that we have had night wakings because of pyjamas pulling up on his legs in the past, so that might be something to observe as well. Have you tried a fan or white noise to block out sounds that go on and off? My son always wakes when the furnace turns on for about the first month of winter . . .

Hope something here helps.

[NamastePlatypus]

It is so nice to know when you are not the only one. The best thing that made the biggest difference for us was therapy. He goes to OT and PT and speech 10 hours a week. That made a BIG difference for us. Swim lessons have been a lifesaver as well.
Our bedtime routine would take forever to lay out here! There are alot of perfecting of the 7 layers of covers, cherry pits, bert, beaver, baby, poppy.... 5 nightlights, and so on and so forth! He had two sleep studies so we knew that it was more than a bad habit or babying from sleeping with me. His brain can't transition the differnent sleep stages so every stage ( 20-45 min all night) he wakes up fight or flight. Around 3 and a half it is getting better but still awakes 3 times anight at least. Nothing I can do about it but go in love him and talk him back down. Wish I was more help.

[straighthaircurly]

DS has SPD (diagnosed at age 3, he is now 5.5yo) and has often had trouble falling asleep though no problems with waking up during the night. For getting to sleep, it really helps to "push" him into bed. I start at his head and press down on his forehead with the heel of my hand. I hold steady downward pressure for 10-15 seconds. Then I move to his shoulders (using both hands), his elbows, his hands, his hips, his thighs, his ankles, his feet. Then I work my way back up until I reach his forehead (his favorite). Sometimes I go through the cycle 2-3 times. Very calming and it gives him the heavy feeling he needs to get his body relaxed in bed. He also likes being buried under all his stuffed animals, but not all kids would be comfortable with that.

[umami_mommy]

Originally Posted by Momma Aimee

theo is taking 3 mg and THAT gets him to sleep in about 30 to 45 minutes ...

what heavy work do you mean -- just running hard, or something else? I am glad for summer -- we will be at the pool and he will be runnign outside adn pl,aying hard -- winter has been hard, he loves to play outside but as much as that helps him, he can't do it enough, yk?

Thanks for teh book suggesting.

I have Out of Sync waiting IIL for me to go get.

Aimee

i would absolutely not take no for an answer with a sleep test. i would DEMAND that one be done ASAP. something serious is going on with your kid and while it's likely SPD, you need to have him looked at. (PS are you sure it's 3 mg and not 3 ml? the natrol melatonin is 4 ml = 1 mg. source natural melatonin is 1 ml = 1 mg)

the "out of sync child" and the "out of sync child has fun" are different books.

i would recommend "sensational kids" over the "out of sync child." esp in the area of over-responsive children. it' a much better and up to date book. there is a section in the back on actual clinical research that was done on over-responsive children that is really invaluable reading. (since not much research has been done)


also, you need to make sure that the person evaluating DS is a "sensory specialist." a run of the mill OT doesn't actually know that much about SPD unless she/he choose to do special work in that area. we had to go to a different city to find one.

GL.

[umami_mommy]

heavy work

http://www.sensory-processing-disord...ctivities.html

http://specialneedsparenting.suite10...ork_activities

http://www.spdconnection.com/printab...ork%20home.htm

[Momma Aimee]

we will be seeing a team at teh children's hoptial (at the U) -- Dev ped and whoever else.

[LauraLoo]

Some quick ideas while you are waiting for your app't --

Consider a body pillow or placing two pillows in an inverted "V" so that it cradles his body.

We used a table top fan for a long time for white noise. DS would often wake up when the AC or furnace would kick on -- he'd hear weird noises and then couldn't get back to sleep.

We never tried melatonin, but adding magnesium supplement was the thing that helped ds. We use Natural Calm. You may want to hit the allergy forum -- while your dc might not have allergies, that forum is abounding with ideas on supplement ideas.

[queencarr]

Hi Aimee! Long time no see Did I ever mention that Jimmy had/has sensory issues in addition to all our speech stuff? Anyway, a couple of things that worked for us--we never had a weighted blanket, but he LOVES to sleep in a sleeping bag at night, sometimes with a heavy mink blanket on tp of that. He got a sleeping bag as a birthday present when he was about 5, and it made a huge difference in his sleep. He still sleeps in one now, even cosleeping with Connor. He also needed a long transition time to bed, if bedtime was 10, TV was off and house was calm by 6 pm if at all possible. No rough play after that, quiet music maybe, but sitting, snuggling, reading, coloring--quiet activities. He can watch TV in the evenings now, but I keep the volume extremely low, and it is better if it not too chaotic a show (think cooking shows, Bizarre Foods, classic cartoons like the old Tome and Jerry). Bath/showers are morning things for him--too stimulating. Even now, he goes to bed at 8 with Connor and I try to have the house calm for a while before that. They read and talk together for at least an hour before they both go to sleep, and he stays in his sleeping bag for that hour or so before sleep. Also, he rarely sleeps in PJs at all--they are uncomfortable to him at night.

One other thing, JIC you haven't ,is reflux. Jimmy woke very 1 1/2 hours until he was three and we were able to get it treated. An easy way to check is try some tums at night before bed and when he wakes up and see if that improves how long he sleeps. Jimmy didn't know that he wasn't supposed to be hurting, because he had always hurt--it was normal to him. So asking the right questions can be helpful, too. He started reflux meds in the moning, and he slept a 4 hour stretch that night.

[karne]

No dx., but one of my kids is very "sensory". Melatonin has been so helpful-really. it's changed everything because you can't function if you're sleep deprived! Also, big, long body pillows on either side with my child in between for a "nest" works really well. Currently ds is using a child-sized sleeping bag which is lightweight yet provides that nice cocooning feeling. Routine, routine...it created a safe feeling at bedtime. And no videos, tv, low lights, etc.

[momfosampson]

My guy has SPD. We used Melatonin for him even at age 2 to help him get to sleep. Once he gets to sleep, he will sleep a good 10-12 hours.

If he isn't staying asleep, then you have other issues than just getting to sleep.

[Momma Aimee]

Originally Posted by queencarr

Hi Aimee! Long time no see Did I ever mention that Jimmy had/has sensory issues in addition to all our speech stuff? Anyway, a couple of things that worked for us--we never had a weighted blanket, but he LOVES to sleep in a sleeping bag at night, sometimes with a heavy mink blanket on tp of that. He got a sleeping bag as a birthday present when he was about 5, and it made a huge difference in his sleep. He still sleeps in one now, even cosleeping with Connor. He also needed a long transition time to bed, if bedtime was 10, TV was off and house was calm by 6 pm if at all possible. No rough play after that, quiet music maybe, but sitting, snuggling, reading, coloring--quiet activities. He can watch TV in the evenings now, but I keep the volume extremely low, and it is better if it not too chaotic a show (think cooking shows, Bizarre Foods, classic cartoons like the old Tome and Jerry). Bath/showers are morning things for him--too stimulating. Even now, he goes to bed at 8 with Connor and I try to have the house calm for a while before that. They read and talk together for at least an hour before they both go to sleep, and he stays in his sleeping bag for that hour or so before sleep. Also, he rarely sleeps in PJs at all--they are uncomfortable to him at night.

One other thing, JIC you haven't ,is reflux. Jimmy woke very 1 1/2 hours until he was three and we were able to get it treated. An easy way to check is try some tums at night before bed and when he wakes up and see if that improves how long he sleeps. Jimmy didn't know that he wasn't supposed to be hurting, because he had always hurt--it was normal to him. So asking the right questions can be helpful, too. He started reflux meds in the moning, and he slept a 4 hour stretch that night.

theo has reflux. treating it is helping him eat more -- while he is still unwilling to try tooo much new. (THAT is still a big big struggle) but he is willing to eat MOFRE of waht he eats ... but as you say -- he didn't know he was hurting, cuz that is jsut how he always felt.

I suspect we have more than one issue -- anxiety may be part of it (nightmares) also he can not transition sleep cycles on his won, he wakes each time, thogh now for less and less and less time .....

[umami_mommy]

yeah, DS had a horrible time between 18 months and 3 years with night terrors and nightmares. it was hell 3-5 times per night.

now he wakes almost every night at 3:25. so strange.

i stumbled across this last week and it interested me, because i believe people who are over responsive have adrenal issues from all the stress hormones.

http://metabolichealing.nourishedmag...over-adrenals/