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Children's health

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Original poster

what do you think about paed's answer to 12 month old sleep problem?

57 replies

mad4myboys · 09/12/2009 14:48

ds2 has been poorley since he was born, bad reflux and digestion problems that they still dont know what it is but cant be anything bad as he is getting better. Anyway he has always woken average 3 times a night after going down around 7pm. I knew this was always down to the reflux and his tummy problems and a sleep study with lh study showed night wakings were down to refluxing. Amyway he is getting alot better and i dont think his reflux is causing him to wake. The paed said he thinks it is a behaviour problem that is common in children with these problems as the body is used to waking up in the night and he cant help it. Despite me doing controlled crying etc (something i cant carry on with as causing probs with ds1 sleep who is on melatonin at mo) i cant get him to sleep through. Paed said to not let him nap in the day but i see that as cruel as he obv still needs to nap.

Anyone??

OP posts:

Original poster

mad4myboys · 19/12/2009 09:33

hi nightcat, he has blackout curtains but there is an orange nightlight on the intercom....not really sure what you are saying?

OP posts:

longlady · 02/01/2010 20:03

Hi mad4myboys, hope you're not feeling too ragged. Waking up several times during the night is very normal for babies and toddlers, reflux or no reflux. My nearly 3 year old dd still needs reassuring back to sleep at least once a night. You know your son and if you think it's cruel not to let him sleep in the day when he's tired then I'd say you were right!

DaftApeth · 02/01/2010 21:50

A friend of mine had a sleep specialist come for a long weekend when her child was little (about 6 months, I think).

This nanny looked at what settled her dd, as well as the bedtime routine and 'sorted' the problem in a couple of days.

Does your ds settle himself to sleep when he naps or when he first goes down?

It sounds as though he needs you to settle him during the night. I think it is normal to wake at points during the night but most dcs at some point learn to re-settle themselves.

So, maybe have a look at what he does before he goes to sleep (with my friend's child, it was to have her special blanket close to her cheek) so that you can help create that for him during the night and gradually withdraw so he learns to do it himself.

Not sure if that is any help, or not!

Original poster

mad4myboys · 03/01/2010 14:20

thanks but this is a health prob not a sleep problem. When he wakes it is because he is in pain

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DaftApeth · 03/01/2010 17:13

Sorry, your op seemed to say that he was not waking because of his reflux anymore.

If you think it is still the reflux, ask the paeds (or whoever is still in charge of him) to review his meds. Was his ph study done recently?

I'm sure you have already tried lifting the head end of his bed/cot onto blocks or telephone directories to see if that helps at all?

morningpaper · 03/01/2010 17:19

I am a bit confused by this thread.

As longlady says, lots of young children wake during the night. My eldest didn't sleep through until she was at school, and my youngest is now 4 and usually wakes once a night or early in the morning and needs a cuddle. I think that for lots of children this is quite normal behaviour.

As your children are/have been poorly, can you perhaps try to find ways of getting more sleep yourself, so that you can deal with it better, rather than focusing on your children having 'a problem'?

Apologies if I have completely misunderstood the thread!

morningpaper · 03/01/2010 17:23

Aha here it is:

In a recent study of children between the ages of 2 - 6 on Mumsnet, 38% of children woke once or more, on average, every night.

Original poster

mad4myboys · 03/01/2010 20:25

maybe i wasnt very clear sorry. There is quite a history with his health and didnt want to bore anyone else with it. I obviously started this thread quite a few weeks ago and things are abit different. I KNOW that he wakes in pain, but i dont believe it to be the reflux that is waking him anymore. I have spoken to the specialist and they dont know what is wrong with him/his digestion.

sorry i havent been very clear, this isnt just a 'why wont my baby sleep through' problem, its health really and very sleep deprived

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DaftApeth · 03/01/2010 22:13

Might be a stupid question but have you tried calpol or neurofen before he goes down?

Has he got oesophagitis, do you think? Does he have any meds for that?

Original poster

mad4myboys · 04/01/2010 09:57

yes heave tried calpol and doesnt do anything. They dont think he has osophagitus, he has had cameras all the way down and up him

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DaftApeth · 04/01/2010 16:22

Poor little mite

Could the medics suggest any other pain killers to try?

Isn't it very surprising that there is not some level of oesophagitis after suffering reflux for so long?

Is his bed lifted up at the head end?

I'm sure you have thought of all these things and are much more expert than me but you never know!

As a last resort, you could always seek a second ent opinion.

Original poster

mad4myboys · 04/01/2010 18:29

no, they dont believe pain killers is the answer! When he had his first lot of cameras done he had damage to the osophagus, was put back on omperazole and doesage upped then when he had the second lot of cameras done it showed that it had healed...

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Original poster

mad4myboys · 04/01/2010 18:30

oh and yes his cot has been elevated since birth

i dont think we will need second opinion on the ENT side of things, he has always been helpful plus things are a bit different as havent seen him for 7 months.

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BoysAreLikeDogs · 04/01/2010 18:36

The thing with the nightlight, earlier up the thread:

Isn't there a link between melatonin production being inhibited when nightlights are used?

I'll have a dig for you

BoysAreLikeDogs · 04/01/2010 18:47

a tiny bit here

DaftApeth · 04/01/2010 18:58

When he was on Omeprazole, did it help his sleeping?

Does he get constipated? Could this be causing him pain?

[racks brains] Teething?!

Original poster

mad4myboys · 04/01/2010 19:15

he is still on omeperazole, has never made any difference to him what so ever, he is only on it now to prevent damage to the osophagus, teething, well no not anymore often than normal, he has most of his teeth!

He doesnt have the nightlight on at all anymore....

erm what else..oh has been constipated since birth , had blockage which went by time he was 9 months, is on sennakot to keep it soft....

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lizziemun · 04/01/2010 19:41

Is he over tired.

I found with dd1 if she is/was tired she would sleep badly at night.

So I would have to make sure she had her afternoon nap 12.30pm to 2.30/3pm everyday just so she would sleep properly at night.

Even now at nearly 6yrs she will still sleep badly when she tired so I still make her have at least a 2 hour nap one day at the weekend.

Original poster

mad4myboys · 04/01/2010 19:46

yes he is over tired but that has been a problem since day one. As he has broken sleep he obviously doesnt get quality sleep so he is then tired.

There isnt anything i can really do as he does sleep in the day but all the while he is in pain i cant help him unless the doctors find out what is wrong with him

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DaftApeth · 05/01/2010 09:00

I thought that sennokot just made the peristalsis action stronger rather than softening the stools? Perhaps that is something to look at.

Having had senokot in the past, it can cause lots of pain whilst working!

What is it that makes you certain he is in pain rather than the waking being behavioural/developmental/normal (whatever you want to call it)

kayjayel · 05/01/2010 09:25

I really sympathise. I would start by accepting that he won't sleep through and then look at compensation strategies - For him, structure in some quiet times in the day if possible for him to rest, to cope with being tired, good food for energy, low stimulation times and lots of cuddles, and thinking that this stage will pass, eventually. For you, making sure you get extra sleep you need - eitehr regular catch up naps when you have help, bed early, co-sleeping if it helps. Lots of care and looking after for you, and its really hard to neglect this, but if you don't get looked after its hard to do all the caring mother side. I found that when I accepted the wakings and did something to cope with it that helped (e.g. I put DS in adult single bed, so I could join him in night, so at least I had duvet, was comfy and had space, with minimal waking. Also alternated nights with DP.

It sounds like you have a more complicated situation with the health side of things, it probably means that all the usual sleep strategies won't work because he's not waking from habit. My problem with DS was that it was usually pain/distress from teething, that then became habit later, so we waited til we were sure pain wasn't the problem before doing very gentle training - rapid return- (but he was 26 mths then), worked very quickly.

jellybeans · 05/01/2010 09:48

Hi we are in simelar situation, I remember we spoke on some older reflux threads, sorry to hear your issues ongoing. My almost 14 month old still has severe silent reflux, on Omeprazole. Still choking episodes and often sleeps only an hour or so some nights. Wakes screaming with audible reflux and violent splashing noises from his tummy. Oral aversions too, still on 4 month stage food mainly. We are lucky he has never lost weight but getting him to eat/drink is a battle. Paed doubled his Omeprazole but we rarely get sleep, it's so hard.

Original poster

mad4myboys · 05/01/2010 11:42

hi jellybean, i remember! Im very sad we (and you) are still in this situation. You put so much hope in the '1 year' milestone thinking they MUST grow out of it and then they dont....

We are still on stage 1 foods too so your not alone! He is 13 1/2 months now. He is ok eating finger food but refuses to eat his porrige now (always was fine) as he always gags on it. Have a very restricted diet esp with all this wierd issue with the protein foods.

Its wierd as his adenoids issue is still as bad, really praying our appointment on thursday goes in our favour and the specialist will agree to take them out. We are forecast snow tomorrow and really hope that doesnt affect us getting to the hospital!

Oh and i know it is pain as i can hear his belly making horrendous noises. Sometimes i hear it and then he wakes crying, sometimes it happens at same time. His breathing also wakes him up hence the plead to the ent on thursday!

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DaftApeth · 05/01/2010 12:01

Luckily with my 2 dcs, they dd outgrow it but the months that it lasted were dreadful even though they were never as bad as you describe.

Has he been allergy tested?

Is he seen by a multidisciplinary feeding team, where all the professionals can see him and discuss his case? - this often really helps in management of complex feeding cases. As he (and your dc too, jellybean) is still only on soft, pureed food, this could cause issues later on.

I'm an slt, btw, who used to specialise in feeding problems. I'm no longer working but had involvment in many complex cases over the years.

I expect you never get into a deep sleep yourself if you are on gurgle alert all night.

Original poster

mad4myboys · 05/01/2010 12:05

whats an slt daft?

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