[Joey'smom]

Please help me if you can...
I have a 1 yr old with sleep issues. The short version of the story is that up until 9 months we had worked out his sleeping issues, and he was easily going to sleep on his own. But at 9 mos. he went on strike due to illness and some other stuff (too long of a list) and has not nursed since. This changed our method of putting him down...we started rocking/walking him to sleep and putting him down once he was totally out. And I'm happy to do this except the situation is getting worse.
Basically he is becoming more and more fidgety before going to sleep, he is waking up A LOT more now, and it is taking longer to get him down with every week that goes by. I really don't know what to do any more.
He has reflux so I can't let him CIO (not that I want to, I regret ever doing it in the first place...please no flames, I truly didn't know any better at the time). I have the No Cry Sleep Solution book, but there doesn't seem to be much in there to help our situation. Believe me we've already tried most of her suggestions.
So I guess I'm looking for more alternatives. It's starting to really make me crazy to have to get up every 2 hours all night long and spend 30-45 minutes just to get him back to sleep. I feel like I have a newborn all over again and I'm just as sleep deprived.
Please help me in any way you can. Even if all you can tell me is when this will end?
Thanks.

 

[Mindy70]

Is he getting enough sleep during the day?

Are you co-sleeping? Could you, and would that be easier?

Is his bed time early enough?

Maybe a large snack before bed to keep his tummy full?

 

[0cean]

For night time I think the best bet is a regular bedtime with a routine (usually our best bet is: meal, bath, a little play time, dress in pj's, story, lights out with quiet music and a little quiet talking before drifting to sleep)

We really like a CD playing to keep the peace and I don't always use it but when I feel they/we need extra comfort I do. We use a native american flute CD that has no words or dramatic mood changes. I started using it because I once worked at a school where thei teacher used it every day for naptime (she NEVER alternated) and this huge room full of 3-4 yr olds would be soon be fast asleep and nap for an hour, then wake up cheerfull and refreshed!! Every other classroom would have kids whining, floping around, getting toys off of shelvs ect, it was miserable and then they would be tired and grouchy all afternoon!

Well its not magic but it is really nice. Anyways, I think that if you could change the feeling of "I am putting you to sleep" to "we are going to bed" you might have better luck. At one he is probably kind of confused about what is going on when you "put him to sleep" but if you are "going to sleep" then he sees what you are doing and eventually get the idea. I wouldnt ignore him, but keep going back to the we are going to sleep idea after dealing with his needs. Even if it takes a while to get the message to him I think it is more clear than what happens when you walk him about.

(I am assuming you co sleep so correct me if I am wrong)

SAme thing goes for nightime waking, except sometimes if they are really awake I will walk them around to show them how it's all dark and everyone's asleep. Maybe have a sip of water then back to bed.

Now we have had some problems when I lost my milk due to pregnancies but I think that was a weaning problem.

Is he drinking cow milk? Could that be a problem for him? You mentioned reflux is why I ask....

sorry if this is all over the place !.....

good luck!

 

[mittendrin]

no advise. just hugs

 

[Joey'smom]

Just to answer some questions.
He already has a night-time routine (since 2 months old) We read some books and then turn on our usual CD and rock/walk him to sleep.
His bed time used to be 6:00pm , but is now 6:30pm. I think that's pretty early. He gets up at 6:00am for the day. He takes a morning nap around 8:30/9:00 am and usually sleeps for 45 min to an hour and a half. He usually takes an afternoon nap which is usually 30 min or longer if am nap was shorter. So he gets enough sleep, between 12-14 hrs a day.
We don't co-sleep because he won't sleep in our bed (he thinks it's time to play). I wish we could co-sleep though because I think he'd prefer it if he didn't think it was playtime, and I think he'd sleep better. I also wouldn't know how to put him down at 6:30 without going to sleep then myself, and I'm usually up until 9 or 10.
He is drinking soy milk because we aren't sure if he has any issues with milk due to the reflux. But I don't think he does so we are taking the intro of milk products slowly.
He is on Prevacid 2 times a day now which is keeping the reflux in check.
And our GI doesn't want him to go to bed with a full tummy, so dinner is finished at least an hour before bedtime. And I think she is correct on this one.

I also forgot to mention that he is somewhat of a maniac while we walk or rock him. He is constantly bouncing, kicking, or trying to change positions. It is pretty nonstop until he suddenly falls asleep. So I don't really know how to even get him to calm down so that he can more easily fall asleep.

Thanks for all your help so far.
Please keep the advice coming.

 

[numomnalaska]

Not sure I have much advice, because my almost 13 mo. old dd has serious night waking problems to which I have to nurse all night long. I know right now she's teething, so I'm not as frustrated.

Anyhow, our bed time routine is dinner, little play, dim lights, bath, to the our room for stories, snuggle, lights out ( completely dark ), nurse, 15 min later she's usually asleep.

I know you don't co-sleep because of playing, but my dd used to do the same. In bed she would roll all over the place, and when she learned how to walk, she would get up and walk and fall down in her side car (crib attached to our bed) and think she was so funny. But, what I started doing was once she started to play, I would pick her up and lay her on her back and tell her that it was night night time. I would have to repeat this several times, and then she'd start to get cranky and then finally go to sleep. This took up to 45 min some nights. Now she knows that when the lights go out (and it's really pitch black) that it's time to sleep.

Could you put the crib next to your bed and take the gate off? Not saying this is the solution, but maybe better than your walking him every night, your poor back.

Good luck,

 

[USAmma]

I have a refluxer and it's very normal for them to nightwake. My 10 month old still wakes about 3-4 times a night. She now will pat back down very easily but it took us awhile to get to that stage. Before that she would often wake up and be ready to play. I just sat in the dark with her and once resorted to playing dead with her in bed with us.

Reflux is hard. My dd is on Prilosec and an upper GI has proven that she's no longer in pain or getting tissue inflammation (hearburn) but she can still feel it coming up. There have been studies that suggest that proton pump inhibitors will affect the nervous system a bit, esp. in combination with other meds. It could be throwing his brainwaves off a little.

He might be waking up hungry. With refluxers an empty stomach is not always a good thing, it can cause acid to be produced. Milk and formula are neutral and non-acidid. My oldest dd had reflux and milk helped her to feel better. I nightweaned her early but on her bad days I let her have milk to help her sleep better.

Darshani