Hi. My adopted son has just turned 3 and has been with us since he was 18 months old. His lovely foster carers said that he consistently slept through the night for the 9 months he was with them. He has been with us almost 18 months now and I think he has slept through the night maybe 4 times! He goes to sleep between 6.30pm and 7pm no problem (as long as he doesn't fall asleep in the day - even 5 minutes of sleep in the day and he is awake until 9pm earliest!) but then wakes up around 10pm for a good hour or two, and again for a couple of hours somewhere between 1am - and 4am. EVERY NIGHT!
I feel like we have tried almost everything (short of paying for a sleep consultant which we cant afford). We have had health visitors out, spoken to the post-adoption support team and even the child psychologist within the adoption support team, and they all say we are doing everything right and don't know what to suggest. We have consulted with an OT about sensory issues as well. We both work, and have an 8yo daughter and it is really starting to affect us all. If one more person tells me that is all about having a good routine I may smother them with my unused pillow! LOL.
We have tried room sprays, using my perfume and clothes in his bed, weighted blankets, teddies, kiddie meditation, music, white noise, total blackout, night lights, a memory foam mattress, lavender in his bath, winding down the whole house an hour before bed, magnesium supplements, no late TV, reduced sugar, soothing him, a bit of tough love plus a whole host of other stuff - which sounds like a lot, but this has been over the last 18 months so have given each thing a good few months to work before changing anything. Im at my wits end.
I have considered that he may now feel safe and consequently he is able to start processing his trauma which may be keeping him awake, but Im not sure how to help him with that. He isn't overly upset when he wakes, but he will get frustrated and start to cry out every 15-20 minutes as he seems frustrated he cant sleep. It's like he is waking from a nap and is WIDE awake but knows he should be asleep! He never tries to get out of bed either.
Anyway - if anyone has ANY suggestions, please fire them over. I promise I won't smother you with a pillow!
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3 year old and sleep PLEASE HELP!
21 replies
LuLuDoLoo · 04/02/2020 05:27
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