So my 4 yr. old daughter Haley is seriously throwing a party in her room every night between 2 - 4am. I'm not kidding... have you got an invitation, because I'm pretty sure all of her friends are invited?
I have no idea what is going on. It started harmless enough as her just getting up to go to the bathroom. But that was 2 months ago. IT WON'T end. We have tried everything...no drinks after 7. No naps in the afternoon. 2 nights ago, I told her she can get up, but mommy is not tucking her in anymore. She has to take care of that herself. IT DOESN'T MATTER - she's still raging in the middle of the night.
She gets up, Goes to the bathroom. Blows her nose for half an hour. And then she is WIRED!
2 nights ago, she woke up saying "I can't sleep...there are commercials in my eyes." Last night she was crazy in her head and started crying because she doesn't want her Grandmas to have old hands. "They are wrinkly and I want them to soft like mine." WHAT THE? I could speak no sense into her.
I have not slept through the night in 2 months....I'm SO exhausted. Need an IV of caffeine and someone to help.
Any ideas?
Hello world!
3 years ago
20 comments:
Unfortunately, I have absolutely no advice, but I'm sitting here laughing out loud about the old hands comment. It won't help your sleep issues any, but you need to install a motion-sensitive video cam in her room. The footage would be priceless in 15 years!
Maybe instead of no drinks after 7, it should be no TV after supper. (I know that would be tough on Lexi, but you could try it for a day or two to see if it made any difference.)
Heavy sedatives or tranquilizers.
John always has the good ideas.
Aaron occasionally does the same thing. He gets up in the middle of the night due to: thirst, scarey dream or my favorite..."I can't get to sleep!". We used to sit up with him and try to get him back to sleep. Now we tell him to turn the bathroom light on so it's not so scarey and read till he falls back asleep--that works most of the time. He does wander around the house a bit, which can really freak out a mom in the middle of the night!
So, sorry no real solutions for you. Just alot of words. One question though, does she still take naps?
sometimes she naps - sometimes she doesn't...she wakes up either way.
Hey, saw your title post on Jen's blog page. I can totally relate to those frustrations with our first born. We had a tough time a couple of years ago and it was exhausting. Besides rewarding YOURSELF with a daily latte, maybe some positive reinforcement for Haley? A friend suggested that for us and because of Elisha's personality, it worked great. Rather than taking stuff away we told her we'd reward her if she stayed in her bed all night. She didn't have to be asleep, but she had to stay there (quietly!)...a morning jellybean, a sticker on a chart to earn a special date out or new toy...don't know if that helps!
My child has many sleep problems, including lots of night-waking, so I'm never one to give advice on this issue. However, I AM a little offended because, no, I didn't receive an invitation to Haley's party. And also, I haven't slept through the night in 2 months, either, so I do empathize. However, my main stayer-upper is a newborn, so, it's a little more acceptable! ;)
i want an invitation!
i like the idea of setting rules that if she wakes up and can't get to sleep she can read a book.
Hey there sleepy head. I bet supernanny wouldn't stand for letting her roam the house in the middle of the night, let alone party (still waiting for my invitation too). But, since your little ones are not the terrors she usually deals with, maybe having a heart and some lenience is good.
So, on to advice. Does she have a favorite video you could throw in for her in case she wakes up @ 3am. Of course, that assumes a tv/vcr in her room. I like the reading idea above. I know some great psychology textbooks that have been great for getting me to sleep!
Both of our kids have a sound spa in their room. Hope's plays white noise and Jack's plays rain. The work beautifully... And they're not dependent on them either. Jack takes a nap at daycare every day without a sound spa; Hope sleeps without it at night sometimes, so it's not they can't get to sleep without them. Maybe you have a neighbor that keeps weird hours and they're waking Haley up. If she had a sound spa she wouldn't hear them. I would suggest buying one of those.
Or maybe some soft classical music or something...
I think the book idea is good as well.
Good luck girl!
That's a toughie!! In my house, I'd definately make a rule that she can't leave her bed, no light on etc. If there is a nightlight she can probably see enough to look at a book or play with small toys in bed. Whatever you do, limit your interaction with her and stay really consistent and hopefully in a few weeks she'll be back to sleeping!
Thanks for your comments everyone! :o)
Woosterweester... When we first put Haley in her "big girl bed" at age 3...we couldn't get her to stay in bed. It just so happened that at the same time she was a FREAK about band-aids. A friend of mine gave me chocolate band-aids, and an idea was born. THE BAND-AID FAIRY!!! You never know when she will show up! But she will come occasionally if you stay in bed ALL through the night. AND SHE DID! She doesn't come every night...but occasionally she will show up, so you must be consistent! Maybe I should go back to that. She came a couple weeks ago...I should remind Haley she's still out there flying around somewhere...waiting for her to sleep through the night again!
Had to check back cause I know everyone leaves great comments and advice on these issues and I never know when I might need it myself! I LOVE the fairy idea--too cute!:) Most of all, just know you're not alone. It can be SOOOOOOO frustrating when kids depart from "normalcy". Our girls are close in age--mine are four and almost two, so I'm right there with ya! I'll be thinking of you next time I'm downing a latte!:)
Try some Benadryl. Seriously. When we moved into this house, there was a lock on the door on the outside of the room. Seriously. They locked the kin in her room. ????? I don't know what to tell you. I'd probably ignore it and try to get some sleep.
I forgot to mention the error of the Band Aid Fairy.
Apparently she writes in the same handwriting as me. So, once Haley started finding notes around the house and was thinking the band-aid fairy left her all kinds of letters....so I took a breather from that. Oh - and also, she told me once "the Band-Aid Fairy has LOST her MIND!...she forgot to leave me Chocolate Band-Aids and just left me regular ones"....the band-aid fairy ran out. My bad.
HEIDI - we used the sound spas. Don't you remember? Haley would only set hers to the AMAZON BIRDS...and for 2 years it sounded like a Tropical Rain Forest in our house at night. So sadly, we will have to bypass that suggestion.
I so wish I had a useful suggestion. But, nope, nada. Good luck! I wanna see those chocolate bandages.
Yes love, I remember the birds.
And I still think they should make a triumphant return.
:)
UGH! I have no great advice that hasn't already been suggested (and probably tried) ... just here to offer empathy (I'm half convinced that consistent sleeping thru the night is a thing of the past!).
I'd probably try for the bribing (er, I mean positive reinforcement) ideas (chocolate band aids, sticker chart, whatever works!!). She's old enough to reason with ... and to have such great ideas at 2 AM (Grandma's hands?!! You have to write that one down!)
I'll be praying for you during my next 3 AM party!!
Have you tried Ambien? It works for her father. Just don't give it to her before she goes to the bathroom!
I have no advice. I am like Haley, once I am awake for any reason, it is impossible to go back to sleep. Last night hubby woke me from my spot on the bed where I had fallen into a nice nap like mode...I was a bear because now it meant not getting to sleep at a decent hour. And this morning when he woke me at 4:30 AM to say I'm sorry for last night...well let's jut say that by 6:00 I had folded all the laundry, gotten dressed, updated my blog, returned many e-mails, and was ready to start the day! it is a curse!
I'm so sorry to say it was I who traumatized your daughter about Grandma's hands. When we were having dinner Tuesday night, I looked at my hands next to Lexi's and noticed how old and wrinkly my hands looked next to her beautiful skin. I never dreamed Haley would wake up in the middle of the night concerned about Grandma's hands. Guess I'd better get some good hand cream!
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