To give my child medised because I need some sleep!

[Neighboursfan]

I'm not used to ds waking up - he's 16 months and pretty much slept through the night since he was 12 weeks.

His molars are coming through - that and he's just started walking so he's too excited to sleep - and he's up twice a night. I give him milk the first time he wakes but the second time I've had enough and dope him up.

I'm not a good sleeper and when he wakes (even if he goes straight back down), I'm awake for the next hour at least paranoid that he's going to wake again.

I don't think he's particularly in pain, and he doesn't have a fever, so AIBU to give him medised so I can sleep? Please tell me I'm not alone! Obviously it is not happening every night.... but is it wrong to say that medised rocks?

BCIWI, paracetamol is NOT banned in the USA! It has a different name there; acetaminophen (more commonly known by its brand name, Tylenol). I think medicine might grind to a halt if paracetamol was banned.....it's a brilliant drug when used in safe doses.

YABU.

I do give mine Piriton or Medised, which they hate.

When they are so poorly they cannot get the sleep they need to heal.

As for me, well, being an insomniac has its advantages!

Paracetamol is extremely safe as long as taken in the recommended dose.( ie massive overdose is toxic to the liver)

sheesh, it has no side effects that I can think of.
teething is painful
give your poor Dcs pain relief if they are in pain

I was about to say the same thing Shergar, there's no ban on paracetamol in the USA, they just use a different name.

Sorry - I stand corrected - I was told this by a poster on another site. I always wondered why, given how useful it is as a drug!

I could only think it was because of the dangers of overdosing.

I don't think paracetemol is banned in the US, is it?

Bad luck re your boy waking up, nf. Do think you need to find a way through without doping him back to sleep though. It's not very good for him long term and he needs to learn to settle himself eventually, I guess. Good luck.

no, it's not banned. it's just called by a different name.

Absolutely, you are being unreasonable and selfish. They don't sleep well when they're teething - fact. By all means give Calpol, but it's not about your needs! I reckon, I had about 3 years of broken nights in total with both kids, but it passes and it's part of the deal.

@AbschaumMutter
I take it you are German, or living in Germany? I did a double take at your name!

We live in Germany and I always buy a big bottle of Medised when we visit UK. I use it when the DCs have a cold, but only if necessary. When they were teething I found that Bonjella was often enough, or if not, then a dose of Calpol. (Import that too, the salesstaff in Boots do give me funny looks when I buy in bulk!)

If you're drugging him purely to make him sleep, YABU, no doubt about it.

However, if he's teething and you think that discomfort is keeping him awake, give him Calpol or calprofen for the pain.

Also, stop giving him a bottle at night time, is my DS wakes up, he doesn't get a bottle, he gets one of his stuffies and to sit in my lap until he falls back to sleep, even if it takes 3 hours, i refuse to give in and give him a bottle before 5am.

like someone else said, i'd cut the milk (he could be waking up for that! and at 16 months, he probably do not need milk at night, maybe let him have a snack with his bedtime bottle?)

giving him medised so you can sleep, well; i am no one to judge that. (not my place.) giving him medised to help HIM sleep because of teething pain, is, i think, okay. but not every night.

another thing, you might want to rethink his daytime napping schedule (presuming he naps during the day?) or make his bedtime a bit later so he sleeps thru.

or talk to your HV or GP for more advice.

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yes you are

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I did it

Don't forget 'teething' lasts about 2 yrs!

Most things people put down to teething are your compliant baby turning into a fiesty toddler (and theres no drugs for that).

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Giving any medication without just cause is unreasonable, if he is teething fine, but not just because he won't sleep. You need to deal with the reason, not just mask the problem with drugs.

Well in the good old days we gave them guinness and abroad they would give them pouches of poppy seed to help them through.

But I'd stick to plain paracetamol. If he's in pain, painkillers is what he needs.

americantrish I second that about the milk. At 16mths he doesn't need a night feed and it will become a habit to need it.

Sometimes there isn't a reason for a young child not to sleep through the night. Only parents of bad sleepers know this. Some children just don't sleep very well. I'm not justifying medicating your small child...but I do think, unless you have had a terrible sleeper, you just don't know the torture.

children wake up in the night for a variety of reasons. Giving them medised to sleep is not the right thing to do obviously. And yes, I my ds was for the first year a terrible sleeper so i do know what it is like.

If you feel that he's waking, not because he has had enough sleep, but because he is in pain or discomfort then I see nothing wrong in giving him whichever brand of childrens painkiller you so choose.

well as someone mentioned teething can go on for 2 years so medised is not really the answer. Unless you want to keep giving it every night.