"Help 30 Month Old Won't Sleep at Night

When I first read your post, my first thought is that the whole adenoid surgery was very traumatic for him and now he might be having nightmares from it. Do you have a routine at night for him? Like, bath, brush teeth, read a book, snuggle and then leave the room for sleep. It might be beneficial to consider putting together a routine for him to follow and doing it every night. By doing this you are establishing a bedtime pattern or routine and he will know what to expect every night.

Dear J.,
I can relate to what you are going through. My son had his adenoids and tonsils removed at 21 months old. He had constant ear infections, fluid in his ears, and sleep apnea. Because of the sleep apnea, he did not sleep well and woke up a lot during the night. Naptime was always fine though. After the surgery, it took him a long time before he started sleeping through the night again. He is now 2 1/2 yrs old and sleeps through the night about 80%-90% of the time now. I think, first of all, the trauma of the surgery was great. I will never forget his face when I saw him in the post op room.
Remember, that his hearing is now better, so he could be more sensative to sound now.
I would speak to your pediatrcian to see if he has any suggestions. Ours made some that seemed to be helpful for us.
Good luck!!
S.

He very well could have post traumatic stress from the surgery. Try talking to him about that and see if he ends up pouring out what ever he can about it. Reassure him that he is ok and is safe. Just a thougth, hope it helps.

God bless

L.

Hi there J.,

I'm so sorry! It must be so hard for you and your husband to be going through this with him. The worst thing in the whole world is to not be able to console your little one. My heart is with you!

This may not have anything to do with anything, I just thought I'd throw in my suggestion. My daughter sleeps better if she eats something very filling before bed. I give her a banana or some oatmeal usually. That usually makes it a little a longer before she wakes in the night.

Also, you may want to try co-sleeping for a while. I know that it's not for everybody, but it may give you have a full night of rest. :)

Good luck to you!

C.
www.EnhanceYourWayOfLife.com

My daughter (now 4 1/2) has never been a great sleeper either. Better since she was about 3, but still wakes occasionally, takes a specific routine to get to sleep, etc. She has also had night terrors at times. That sounds a bit like what you are describing with the waking in the middle of the night screaming, disoriented. Maybe talk to you ped or read up on that to see if that could be what is going on for the night wakings because they actually say that even though it's hard to do, not to wake them from them fully (it's actually hard to get them to wake from them- they seem awake, but aren't. Sometimes they talk to you, but they don't make sense, etc.) My daughter has had bouts of night terrors after stressful situations (we moved twice within 6 months, etc.) but they went away within say a month or so of the event). Regarding the night routine taking 2 hours, I've been there, too. Try to cut back by 15 minutes per night. Build a few visits back to the room into the "routine"- like plan on getting a cup of water for your son or tell him your leaving but will be back in a few minutes and return as planned. Your son may feel like it's not so final, but you know there's a routine with an end. Just some ideas. I've read every sleep book out there. Some of them have other good suggestions, too. Good luck!

We chose the family bed after trying to get our son to sleep in a crib or bassinet, but he would still scream at night sometimes and we also went thru what you are going thu. Our peditrician called it "night terrors". all you can really do is talk softly and calmly to him and try to sooth him. He's seven now but every once in awhile when he is extremely overtired he will have a night terror. This is just one opinion. I will pray for your son and you to be able to rest.

L.

J., I have a 14 year old son that spent the first 4 years of his life taking 2 hours to go to sleep and whenever he woke up it took another 2 hours to get him back to sleep. I can relate. Here are some things that helped our situation.....the big boy bed really helped, plus I could lie with him in the bed and fall asleep (helps on your sleep situation). We transitioned slowly - first I fell asleep with him in the bed, then I sat on the floor while he went to sleep, then in the hallway (there was light there so I could read a good book), finally I stayed upstairs in my own room.....eventually he learned to sleep on his own. During that time we really did stick to a good bedtime routine. Bath, pjs, reading a good book...I have to say to this day, no matter what time my teenage son goes to sleep, he still does his bedtime routine. Just remember everything is in phases and this too will pass! In the meantime, while you are sleep deprived, do not put extra expectations on yourself.