sleep would be nice.

[KARSEN]

Sooooo, bedtime around here has been a nightmare to say the least. Kaelas betime is between 8 and 830. We have dinner..she gets play time... a snack if she is hungry(which is a ploy after she goes to bed often..so we eliminate that by giving her a bedtime snack and water)daddy brush's her teeth with her..then books and then tuck her in. Rouhly the same thing everynight.

After putting her to bed she will try the normal get up a few times thing..now, we told her she can stay in her room read to herself or play dolls or whatever if she has to unwind..cause we are DONE fighting her to just shut her eyes and go right to sleep..that just is not her way. We all need to unwind in quiet so she is no different. BUT she MAY NOT come out of her room or bother us unless her head is on fire:lol: I kid..but you know what I mean:lol::joker:
The real issue is it takes her an hour to 2 sometimes 3!! to fall asleep. This is getting VERY old in our house.

Okay next issue..she has recently started to get up in the middle of the night and STAY UP. Be wide awake around 2-4am. LAst night I woke up to her bedroom closet light on and noises in the fron of the house..I came out and she is playing with her toys on the couch. This is common right now, and very frustrating. LAst night she threw a fit because we made her get back in bed..cried for an hour about it and basically none of us slept until 6am. She missed school today cause she was a cranky crying mess when it was time to get ready..so were we for that matter.:lol: So I put here back to bed and she slept some more and is home today.

Anyone go through this? Summer??? Any sleep aid herbs for children you can suggest?

This has really become a problem. She is a very good and sweet kid..but very headstrong and independant..she honeslty sees no problem with her getting up and playing by herself and making a snack even!:lol: at 4am!!! Good grief. IT is a problem though. It is creeping in to messing with her school day now and we are not happy about that obviously. She loves school and does really well and I hate to see her not getting work done or being cranky there from lack of sleep. It hasn't been a real issue there yet..but it is going to be, we can tell. Aside from that it is making us super tired and cranky for work as well as not allowing any one on one time between don and I at all at night..any suggestions woujld be great ladies. You are all so wise I figured this would be the best place to get some feedback.

[Mama Kel]

How old is she?

I'll state the obvious first - I would elimitate any sugar, fruit, juice, etc after 2-3pm. My Catie is very sensitive to sugar & if I even give her juice cut with water or an apple after 2-3pm she's up all night. Also, possibly revamp the bedtime routine - engage her in quiet activities.

You can try deep pressure with her too. Have her lay on the floor on her stomach & roll an exercise ball over her back, legs, arms - put a lot of pressure on the ball. You could use a large playground ball for this too (and can ask mamapj about more deep pressure). Do this just before bed or after 15-20 min of 'wind down' time in her room.

As far as getting up in the middle of the night, I would be really strict about that & do not allow it. It becomes more of a habit than anything. I would tell her that if she gets out of bed before the sun is up to do anything but go to the bathroom then there will be consequences. It will be rough for a few nights, but if you're consistent, it will stop

Good luck:heart:

[KARSEN]

Thanks:) She is five. Her diet has very little sugar in it. Although we do of course bake the occasional cupcakes etc together. She gets water or plain soy milk/rice milk from the time she comes home from school till the morning, very rarely juice..maybe cranberry if there is a illlness or something..before bed it is art or imagination play..we have cut out movie time at night cause we think it makes her brain to active on school nights..

I will DEF try the deep pressure with you, that sounds like a great idea! I will pick up a ball today. Thankyou for that suggestion..she will likely respon to this well.

I should have mentioned, we make it VERY VERY clear the up in the night thing is NOT acceptable. But this alone has not curbed her..she loses the fun stuff everytime she disobeys..music player in her room..dvd's..etc..and bedtime book time with us as well..which def made her unhappy last night so this may be the trick. I am going to start NOT SAYING A WORD to her in the night and just retunring her to her room..no anger..no nice talk..no nothing..just phyically returning her to bed..lights off..no acknowlegdment so as to try not to feed the "attention" part..

Thanks for your help..the last two weeks have been so tough..but we know we have to stick to our guns to make this work out for all of us.

[Mama Kel]

I think not giving her ANY attention at night is a good idea. As far as diet is concerned, things like white flour & food coloring have been known to cause problems.

With my Catie, she has a tendency to stay up late too. I put her to bed around 8 & she'll easily stay up to 9-10 or so (she's 3). So I give her wind down time in her room for 20 min or so, then I turn off the lights, hum a soft tune while I do deep pressure with her. I spend another 5 minutes stroking her hair & humming & I yawn frequently to make her yawn.

It seems to help her calm her own system - where if I left her alone, she's been known to stay up till 10 or later:eek:

[KARSEN]

I think not giving her ANY attention at night is a good idea. As far as diet is concerned, things like white flour & food coloring have been known to cause problems.

With my Catie, she has a tendency to stay up late too. I put her to bed around 8 & she'll easily stay up to 9-10 or so (she's 3). So I give her wind down time in her room for 20 min or so, then I turn off the lights, hum a soft tune while I do deep pressure with her. I spend another 5 minutes stroking her hair & humming & I yawn frequently to make her yawn.

It seems to help her calm her own system - where if I left her alone, she's been known to stay up till 10 or later:eek:


yawning! How clever! Yes..our little one is a night owl for sure too. She will EASILY stay up till 11pm or LATER!!!! if we didn't regulate. Crazy. We are going to start the deep pressure tonight. She responds well to the music tht was on when she was born which is so crazy and cool. So I am going to dig out that CD and use it. Ill check back tomorrow and tell how tonight goes.

[sums]

omg, she is *just* like forest was!

i would suggest a strong tea before bed. forest has been drinking (because, at 19, he still has the same problem) traditional medicinals "organic nighty night" tea. make it strong, like steep it 15 or 20 minutes. use a little agave to sweeten it.

right before bed, give her 5 or 6 drops of valerian root tincture in a little water.

when my kids were little they called valerian the "magic herb" because it helped them get to sleep ;)

do a little guided meditation with her right after story time. something where you are going toes up and relaxing the body (if she's into that kind of thing)

good luck, i know how frustrating it can be!!!!

[Erinisme]

soy milk has a ton of sugar in it. I'd be leery of giving it to her if she'a having issues falling asleep.

what time do you eat dinner? what do you eat? If it's a lot of carsb(sugars) this could be playing a role as well.

TV and bright lights have been linked to poor sleeping habits...it acts like sunlight. So maybe limit the tv she watches after dinner. Lower the watage in her bedroom light. If her light is bright and she's playing dolls or reading/coloring/ect it might be keeping her up.

When i taught prek the kids that didn't sleep weren't allowed to leave their cots and i brought and after all the sleepers fell asleep i brought over soft blocks...they usually ended up falling asleep eventually... i think it's becuase they were not allowed to leave ther beds...it might help to keep her confinded to her bed after bed time...allow dolls ect but only in bed.

it sucks when you need quiet time and you can't get any....and even if she's super tired and cranky send her to school...she'll get to bed easier the next night if she's over tired.

[Mama Kel]

Also with Catie, if she doesn't get enough exercise that day, she's up all night.

I try to get outside every day - even for 20 min on really cold days. The cold fresh air helps calm their systems. We also always have a 20-30 minute dancing/jumping session in the late afternoon before dinner.

This is on top of the regular activity we have.

[KARSEN]

Hey Ladies:) We actually had a very good night last night. She was her normal self and went to bed..played in her room for about 30 minutes and got in bed and went to sleep..We had a long chat with her and also took away ALL privelages that will be handed back one at a time daily depending on how each day and night goes. IT was a tough day for her yesterday.The having to miss school, talk and no music in her room really struck her it seems. We will be sticking to our guns and see how it goes..

Erin..you are right about the soy milk..we use plain that has pretty low sugar..the rice milk is better for that actually as well. I kept her from school because I know her personality and it would have been a miserable day for her AND her teachers AND her table mates..she gets very emmotional and does NOT listen when she is sleep deprived. Really would not have been productive all around. But in general yes, school def makes her tired at the end the day..till recently she has always been beat at night..

Mamakel..yes.. we know as well excercise is key..we are very active here and we get her out as much as possible..even time her in races around the house when she has major wiggles. There is an indoor playground here about a minute away that is our haven on freezing days. Kaela will not sleep if she has ad no movement..neither will we for that matter!

Thankyou Summer:) I was wondering about Valerian..I picked some up today and will def use it for her.

I appreciate the feedback..just when ya think you have it down they throw curve balls!

[Mama Kel]

Glad things are looking good :heart:

[KARSEN]

Update.

Kaela is going to bed easier..may get up once just to "check on us";)For the most part she has been going to be d at 8 as usual, big cup of tea and Valerian and self mellowing, going to sleep by 9ish which is fine. We tried putting her to bed earlier to even it out but that just made her play longer, get up more and still go to sleep around 9. 9 has been her time since she was about one on her own setting.

BUT..she is still getting up brteen 4 and 5 and being wide awake..so it seems a NEW sleeping pattern/rythm is happening right now. It happens every night and at the same time. WIDE AWAKE mind you. So we made the rule that she can turn her classical music on but she has to stay in bed...I leave water in her room if she is thirsty..so this worked a few nights just fine but the problem is that she is falling back to sleep right around the time we get up for school:( THIS is a problem..so I have just been getting up with her at 530..ugh..if she wakes up at 430 I make her stay in bed and my alarm is set for 530 and we get up. IF she has fallen back to sleep by them I let her stay that way and dont wake her till 730-8am and this seems to be fine. Today we got up. She is wide awake..we have low lights on and I made her breakfast, breakfast number one that is..since I have to feed her again bafore she gets on the bus so she does not run out of fuel...read to her and she is coloring quietly here on the couch..I am TIRED..I dont go to bed at 8 so this is an adjustment for me that is rough. Daddy is asleep in the bed:):( hahaaha...

[Misha]

Sorry to hyjack your thread Karsen (and it's a great thread--so educational!) but what age is it safe to give a child valerian tincture? Jude's gotten into the horrific habit of falling asleep at 4 or 5 pm for an hour or two and then he's up until 1 or 2am!!:eek: If I force him to stay away in the late afternoon, he's an insufferable BEAST!

[Mama Kel]

Sorry to hyjack your thread Karsen (and it's a great thread--so educational!) but what age is it safe to give a child valerian tincture? Jude's gotten into the horrific habit of falling asleep at 4 or 5 pm for an hour or two and then he's up until 1 or 2am!!:eek: If I force him to stay away in the late afternoon, he's an insufferable BEAST!


Jess is going through this because she's starting to do away with naps. Catie did the same as well. I let her sleep for about 15-20 minutes only & then wake her.

It's rough until they fully adjust to no naps :heart:

PS I think I saw Summer suggest the valerian for kids?

[wabbit]

insufferable BEAST

Love it.... I had a little taste of that last night.. Gabe was up at 5am this morning I guessing because he wouldn't eat dinner last night..

[Lemireacle]

((((((KARSEN))))))

Good to hear the situation has gotten a bit easier with the peapod. :)


On a lighter note, the random middle of the night texts do make a little more sense now!! :lol:

[sums]

you can give kids valerian root although you will read in places that you shouldn't but i don't believe everything i read ;) an herbalist i trust told me many, many years ago that it was perfectly safe in the right dosage which is aprox 1 drop per year of age until they are about 9 or 10, then you can give them 1/2 the adult dose.

i gave it to both my kids starting around age 3 or 4.

[KARSEN]

Sorry to hyjack your thread Karsen (and it's a great thread--so educational!) but what age is it safe to give a child valerian tincture? Jude's gotten into the horrific habit of falling asleep at 4 or 5 pm for an hour or two and then he's up until 1 or 2am!!:eek: If I force him to stay away in the late afternoon, he's an insufferable BEAST!


Hijack away lady! This is a thread for all of us really..to get informed and hear new stuff to try..cause they are always pulling fast ones and changing on us.:lol::lol:

Sounds like jude is in that between stage going towards not napping..kaela was a BEAST too until we got through it. GOOD LUCK. I am rooting for you. We have been doing the Valerian all week..last night was the first night I really saw the calming effect SURELY..nice cup of tea and 4 drops for kaela (she is 5). She was definatly relaxed and layed in bed listening to music..read one book to herself and went to sleep..still her little ritual but muc hless agitated going about it.

[sums]

yay :)

[Misha]

Yay is right!! I'm glad to hear you had a good night last night Karsen!

hmm, now where are my keys so I can run out and get some tincture??:lol:

[Mama Kel]

Great news! :)

[RedSquirrel]

Sorry to hyjack your thread Karsen (and it's a great thread--so educational!) but what age is it safe to give a child valerian tincture? Jude's gotten into the horrific habit of falling asleep at 4 or 5 pm for an hour or two and then he's up until 1 or 2am!!:eek: If I force him to stay away in the late afternoon, he's an insufferable BEAST!

I am so glad I am not alone! Lucas does this to me ALL THE TIME!!! Grrrrr. He will pass out around 4:30-5pm, if I wake him, he turns into Evil Luke, if I let him sleep, he is up all night. I can't win some days!

great thread too!! Very helpful!

Glad to hear things are going better for you karsen!!

[Mama Kel]

Just wondering how it's going? I'm going out to buy Valerian root today. Catie has been staying up later & later all week & last night they both decided to have a party at 4am:rolleyes: