Would you have woken your child in this situation?

[glober]

My son ( 2 ) recently started having a fever during the night. He woke up and came to my bed at around 3 am. I gave him some calpol and he went back to sleep. The fever was late 38.5 or so.

The next day he seemed completely fine. Then he totally crashed at around 12. I gave him some more calpol just before he crashed. He fell asleep on the sofa for over 5 hours..

I sporadically roused him to give him sips of water during that time. I was getting anxious, as it's unusual for him to sleep that long, even when he's ill. His temperature did go down a little with the calpol and was hovering at 37.8 to 38.

Eventually I had enough and woke up him, to make sure he was responding / ok and gave him more water to drink/ checked if he wanted to eat anything etc.

He did get up, a bit grouchy at first but soon after he had more water he perked up and was playing a little bit, which reassured me. I gave him some more medicine and he then even ate a bit of dinner. We then had bed time at normal time.

Was I overreacting to his long sleep ? Or would you also have woken your child to make sure they're ok and responsive / alert ?

I wouldn't even give it another thought. Some people would wake to check. Some people would let them sleep it off. In a year it'll be a distant insignificant memory.

I'd have done the same as you op

I know it's super silly to think white about it but there were some people there who I felt were judging my actions. Which made me doubt myself as being OTT. That's why I asked here, to get others thoughts on it.

He would never just conk out like that for 5 hours plus during the day. And he's been sick A LOT. With very high fevers. This fever wasn't even that high compared to what he's had in the past.

Yeah I would. Especially for calpol. But DS is prone to febrile seizures so I'm shit scared of fevers now.

I don't think you overreacted at all, you know your little one best and if it's unusual for him to sleep that long then you did the right thing making sure he was okay. If my little one slept for 5 hours during the day I'd have done exactly the same. Don't let others judge, you're his mum so trust your instincts :) I hope he's feeling better too x

Yes I think I would have done the same as you.

Thank you ! He recovered. I think he had another fever during that night and then the next day maybe one more and then he was ok. Just the usual viral illness they get. I had seen a video of him a few days before from nursery being coughed all over by another child haha.. so I guess he caught it..

People kept saying ' let him sleep, he just needs to sleep ' and sort of feeling sorry for him when I woke him and it made me question myself but my instinct to wake him and check he's ok was very strong, so I did what I thought was best.

You did nothing wrong, but it's common for children to sleep more when they are fighting a virus. It's often the first sign, I've found; massive sleep, cold next day.

I would have probably taken temp in their sleep with an ear probe but I think it was good you kept up fluids. I'd probably give water at the same time as Calpol, which I think you were right to give regularly.

I think you did the right thing. Hope he’s fully better now.

I was worrying about this at the weekend when my 5 year old fell asleep for hours during the day when he had a fever. Most of what I read was that you should wake them to give them water every 2-3 hours because of the risk of them getting dehydrated

That was a perfectly okay thing to do as you were worried . It's not like you made him actually get up and about , you were just checking on him. I totally get it I remember having a hospital appointment when pregnant on DC3 and my mum was minding DC1 and 2 who had flu. I came home about three hours later and DD was still fast asleep(she'd been asleep when I left). She was like someone who was unconscious I got an awful fright I've never known her to sleep like that. It really unsettled me.

I've always done the same as you OP. You know whats usual or not for your child.

I wouldn't be comfortable leaving them to sleep for 5 hours if it wasn't normal for them.

Yes mainly so he wouldn't be awake all night!! (Parent of three plus 20 years childcare exp)

I think what you did is perfectly normal and sensible. I probably would have woken my son at that age but not my daughter who has been much less prone to getting seriously ill. As a mother just do what you feel is right for your child, your instincts will rarely be far off and what anyone else thinks is irrelevant.

I would have woken up and have done the same. My 4yo tends to sleep off any virus or bug he gets. He will literally sleep for hours and hours in the day after sleeping all night. Once had the paramedics out as he I was struggling to wake him. A child sleeping very heavily for a long time is definitely scary and I think you did the right thing! I also worry about dehydration when mine does it. You were not overreacting imo.

I think you did the right thing, you were monitoring his temperature while he was sleeping. He probably really needed to sleep it off

I wouldn't have but I think it's fine.
When my DD was like this it was tonsillitis.

You did fine OP. It’s not like you made him get up and dressed and run around the park! I think trusting your instincts is a good thing, you handled this well, and you sound like a good mum 👍🏻 hope he’s feeling better.

Waking him to get fluids into him was very important. You did the right thing op. Hope he's feeling better

100% would have done the same. Calpol used make my DD sleepy though- maybe that contributed to the big sleep. You know your child best and acted like most mums would.

I think you woke him at about the right point tbh. Let him sleep if he needs it but dehydration will always make you feel more shit so at some point you have to get him to take on some fluids and more medicine.