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SN children

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Original poster

Any idea how to get dd to sleep?

15 replies

LesbianMummy1 · 18/12/2012 20:53

We are having our usual bedtime trouble. Dd has been in bed for well over an hour and has not managed to settle she has just been down again saying she just wishes she could sleep she does not respond to reading to sleep, white noises, quiet classical music? Anything else we can try?

OP posts:

endoftherainbow · 18/12/2012 21:49

My ds3 often goes to sleep in my bed. It doesn't always work but seems to give some comfort/benefit. Thankfully he stays asleep when I move him back to his bed!

Mrssh1 · 18/12/2012 21:57

I lay with my son stroke his face or just lay and tell him were going to sleep ... I know it's not much help x

lougle · 18/12/2012 22:04

How old is she? Have you tried the usual routine-based things? At DD1's special school, the community SN nurse did a session on sleep, after going to a conference. It was recommended that the bedtime routine starts 90 minutes before target-sleep-time, with no tv or other high-stimulus activities after that time.

Melatonin can be useful, also, if the issue is getting to sleep, rather than staying asleep.

PolterGoose · 18/12/2012 23:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MummytoMog · 19/12/2012 00:53

DD is allowed to play in her room with the lights out - if she can't sleep she generally spins on her bounce and spin zebra or rocks on her little rocking horse. It's not something that she does during the day at all, but i think she finds if very soothing. If she's had a meltdown at bedtime, the spinning is a guaranteed way to calm her down (once you get her to do it). DD isn't really verbal though.

dairylea4brains · 19/12/2012 11:02

I'm having the same problem with 7yo ds. Got an appointment with gp and hopefully getting psych appt earlier, gp had me stressing after tho as she seemed very worried how many hours sleep ds is getting. His poor little eyes tho...dark circles and just looks unwell. I know that if I lay with him every night and gave him his "strokes" and let him play with my hair I could get him asleep in an hour but I have a 14mo ds too so it's not always possible.

He has a lava lamp and a colour change lamp that gets switched every few days and I've tried letting him read/draw/play lego til he's tired but he still ends up coming down with all kinds of "problems". I want to save for a white noise machine as during the summer he had a fan and he slept so well but obviously it's too cold to have it on now but I'm sure it was the mouse that calmed him. Melatonin may be the option I go for I'd psych brings it up.

Just feel so sorry for him, hope you find some answers as I know how worrying it can be. Good luck xx

dairylea4brains · 19/12/2012 11:03

Noise! Not mouse! Xx

Allonsy · 19/12/2012 11:12

Ds1 nearly 7 has problems settling to sleep too, until the last year he would be up and down constantly we spent over 3 years just constantly putting him back and back every night eventually he started staying in bed but he needs to talk and make little noises to sooth himself to sleep, which wouldnt be a problem if he didnt share with his ds2 15 months as he often wakes him and ds2 is a nightmare to resettle if hes woken. He still has trouble though if he decides there is something in his eye, or a ragged toenail or something and he gets up and down to the toilet frequently. I have no idea how to stop the talking thing though he just dosnt listen.
I like the idea of pp lava lamp, think i will get one for ds

PolterGoose · 19/12/2012 12:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Ilisten2theradio · 19/12/2012 12:51

I know it sounds unlikely, but we have just replaced DS's pillows for an ordinary one and a firm, normal shaped memory foam one.
It seems to have done the trick and he is sleeping more quickly and is impossible to get out of bed in the morning ( OK I knowi it is the end of term and he is tired, and he is beginning to hit puberty) but having struggled to get him to get to sleep for so long, I am shocked that something so simple has helped.
Of course it remains to be seen if it works long term ( 2 weeks so far)

dairylea4brains · 19/12/2012 13:31

Poltergoose that's a good idea, might try that tonight. Also just spoke to my mum who said she read about those noise cd's...cheaper than a white noise machine and apparently a fan is I it as well as hair dryers, hovers etc (tho ds hates hovers!)

dairylea4brains · 19/12/2012 13:31

Stupid iphone!! HOOVERS!

Original poster

LesbianMummy1 · 20/12/2012 05:51

Thank you all dd was 11 yesterday she has lava lamp projector on her ceiling so similar she is in high sleeper so not always practical for laying with her. We do hang her head over side of bed as ot suggested that in her sensory diet. She does not have tv before bed as she is ten times worse if she does. We have not tried a memory foam pillow although we have tried many others. We have has melatonin suggested a few times but gp dismisses it and says use anti histamine but I don't really want to
do that every night as dd becomes dependent on things like that very easily. Can you tell me any more about melatonin please.

OP posts:

lougle · 20/12/2012 06:48

Melatonin is something we all naturally produce as the daylight fades. It is the chemical which tells us it's time to sleep. It is thought that some children do not produce sufficient melatonin to trigger sleepiness.

The half-life of melatonin is tiny (around 45 minutes), so it won't sustain sleep, although there are sustained release formulas available which will release melatonin gradually overnight. In general it is most effective in children who find it hard to get to sleep, rather than children who are wakeful at night.

melatonin isn't licensed for children in the UK, so a paed has to prescribe it, although in the US it is available over the counter. It's special order here if you have liquid form, so takes about 5 days to come in at the chemist.

For the vast majority of children there are no side effects and no hangover the next day.

SallyBear · 20/12/2012 07:03

We adjusted things in the bedroom for my DS which helped a bit. Blackout lining on curtain, feather pillow, mattress topper. This helped a lot, but he was still waking up. We saw a Neuroscientist and used an Actiwatch over two weeks to see how his sleep was. He spent about two hours each night awake before going to sleep then would sleep for about three to four hours, and then be awake again for another two to three hours. The doctor suggested slow release Melatonin, we tried it for a few days but saw a change in him during the day. He became very anxious. I then decided (getting desperate) that I would take him to a McTimoney Chiropractor. We discovered that his pelvis and three vertebrae were out of alignment. They were affecting his sleep as he couldn't get comfortable at night. He slept through the night for the first time in five years. It worked for us and it is something that I would suggest to other parents. The best £90 I have ever spent.

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