new born sleeps- 3yo, not so much « Back to Group Discussions

[Anilia]

Hi ladies, I am looking for advice (or sympathy maybe, lol!)

My son, who will be 4 in april, is not sleeping very well.  He wakes up at 5am or earlier and complains of being hungry.  (it was 3:30 this morning.) He then wakes everyone in the house to get breakfast.  We can sometimes get him back to bed, but mostly it is all over at this point.  We started putting together food in the fridge that he can get out and eat himself but he still demands that someone help and sit with him.  He has been super fragile since the baby came and we are trying to be very sensitive to his needs but my husband (who mostly deals with this) is really getting to the end of his patience.  Really.  And I'm no super star.  5am is not my most sensitive and loving hour.  

One of the problems is my son is not eating dinner.  He is suddenly picky about everything and most days would rather go without than actually eat something at dinner.  I have never made him separate food for dinner and it used to be most times he ate what we were having.  Should I back down on this or ride it out?  I keep thinking if I could just get a protein shake in him he would sleep better and be less cranky waking up.  I'm torn.

We have tried talking about how he can only come in after a certain time, how he has to be quiet until people get up, how he has to be nicer in the way he asks for things... blah, blah, blah.  Nothing works.  If you aren't sitting with him he is loud and destructive until you are.

Thank god the baby sleeps!!

Help!

[AnahataChakra]

My son (3 and a 1/2) is doing the same and we still haven't had the baby yet.  we feed him dinner of what we are eating and then give him yogurt and stevia(as much as he wants right before bed)  I remember my dd going through it too.  And then we would have something non crumby by the bed like almonds or something...he will out grow it and then you can go back to what you want the norm to be.  He might just be needing you guys to "prove" that his needs still matter...good luck
 

[Tbutton]

I would definitely be giving him a bedtime snack or something after your dinner, that way he still is able to eat the same food you do for dinner but whether he does or not, he goes to bed fuller. We have certain food that we allow my daughter to eat in her bed. She knows that only certain food is allowed. This is something we do right before sleep, if she asks for a snack while we're getting her in bed or while reading books in bed. I learned with my DD that she is not actually trying to stall going to bed, she's just hungry, so we continue with our bedtime routine while she eats something. Anyway, I hope you can figure something out soon! That's so tough!

[Anilia]

Thanks ladies- apple sauce and yogurt it is for dinner!