5 year old DS keeping me up ALL night!

[flowertot19]

for about a year and a half my 5 year old son wakes around 2/3 times a week with a painful arm. He lays on it until blood circulation cuts off, and then I’m assuming the pain he’s experiencing is pins and needles. I try and force him to stay off his arm, but he cries hysterically and begs me to let him lay back onto his arm, almost like it’s a relief. This cycle continues throughout the night, and it gets to a point where I’m angry because I can’t get him to stay off his arm and I can’t sleep because he’s up and down and in complete pain. I’m currently in the middle of an episode with him, have work in 5 hours and not a wink of sleep for either of us again. Sometimes he can go weeks with no issues, and then it happens a few times in a week. It’s always the left arm, never the right arm. Someone has suggested to me that it could be broken and not been picked up on by myself, but during the day, I can fully move his arm in every position and he doesn’t experience any pain whatsoever. I’m ringing the doctors first thing but I’m not sure they’ll know what to do.

i have caught his hand once or twice totally change colour when the blood can’t each his hand as his arm is tucked under his body. I will insert photo of this below!

any advice welcome!

That sounds horrible for you both. No idea what that could be but definitely ring your doctor first thing. That amount of redness in the photo is concerning.

That is not normal. Not for just laying on it, he is five, how heavy can he be? He needs to see a doctor.

So he's lying on his front with left arm underneath him? Would an extra pillow help? To try and encourage him to sleep on his side. Or a pillow underneath him that he could wrap his arms around and reduce the pressure.

I'm routinely cutting off the circulation in my right arm where I have to rock DS to sleep. Its horrible but really hoping it won't last much longer. Extra padding usually helps.

Make an appointment with GP and they will advise. This is affecting his and your quality of life and needs addressing asap

Looks painful

He needs to move position. Why his arm so tucked in. I used to have somethings similar but grow out of it

I wonder if a weighted blanket would help him not sleep on the arm? If he needs that pressure to fall asleep I mean.

Once he’s asleep can you move him to a better position.
You have my sympathy though I am frequently up in the night with my 7 year old and I have only had 3 hours sleep tonight

It’s more on his side with his arm tucked right under his body. I’ve tried pregnancy pillows, regular cushions, but he usually pushes them away in his sleep and ends up back in his usual position! 😭

I attempt to move him and many times as I can before I go to sleep myself, but more often than not he will instantly move it back under his body in his sleep 😢 it’s awful isn’t it? He was off and on until about 7am!

I wish it was that simple but he won’t move position, this is the issue. I spend hours battling with him to stop laying on his arm but nothing seems to help or convince him that he can’t do it. I’ve shown him photos of his hand etc but nothing tends to help

Just wonder if there's a reason he prefers lying on that side. Does he like facing the wall? Or away from the wall? Could you put his pillow at the other end of the bed to try and encourage switching sides. Or rearrange the room to make it more fun 🤔

Try tying a dressing gown belt round the side of the bed and making a big loop then when you reposition him just tuck his arm through the loop. Obviously he can just as easily lift his arm out if he woke up and he wanted to but if he's doing it in his sleep it might just stop him tucking it back under himself long enough to retrain his body to stay asleep without doing it.

I did it when I had chronic heartburn and kept rolling onto my back. It just reminded me to stay on my side and I made it a big loop so I could easily slip it off if I needed to get up.

Or maybe resting a weighted pillow on his arm to give him the pressure but not heavy enough to cut of circulation.

I think you need to take him to the doctor there could be something else going on. He shouldn't be in that sort of pain. Many children sleep on their arms but don't have that level of pain.
Sorry I have just seen that you are going to see the doctor today. Good luck I hope they can help

I just experimented. I went for a sleep as I had a headache and slept on my stomach with my left arm under me just like him. I am a good deal heavier at 16 stone. Woke up after 3 hours, had numbness then mild pins and needles but no change in colour. I really think he needs to see a doctor and show him that photo.

I also think you should take him to Dr's, show them the pics, that looks sore, no wonder he's upset.
I would also try the weighted blanket.
Good luck, keep us posted

Just to elaborate on my first comment, when I first started losing the circulation in my arm it wasn't too bad, and feeling would come back pretty quickly, but the more it happened over time to more painful it was, more of a shooting pain that lasts for a while after the feeling had come back.
So it could be more painful for him because it happens so often.

Still good to see GP though and try and get to the bottom of it.