My son is 17 months old. He is my 4th child and all of my kids were/are excellent sleepers and he was no exception.
This past month, he got croup AND a really bad ear infection, while we were on vacation, causing his white blood cell count to soar and TERRIFYING Mommy and Daddy.
The first night we spent in the ER because the hospital we were being transferred to didn't have any beds. When we got to the hospital we were put in the PICU for about 8 hours and he couldn't get down to walk because of all the monitors so we held him, or he was napping the whole 8 hours. We got transferred out of the PICU and there weren't so many monitors BUT he had a stiff cover on his left arm to keep him from pulling his IV out. He didn't nap AT ALL that day because his left hand is the thumb he sucks.
Now, it's been almost 2 weeks and he won't go down for bed or a nap without screaming. Before the hospital stay, he used to tell us when it was time for nap or bed.
When my husband is here at bed time, he will rock him to sleep while I get the other kids ready for bed. I won't do that. I do comfort/hold him at bedtime more than we used to, but I don't want to get into the habit of rocking him all the way to sleep. My husband is in the military and doesn't know his schedule until the night before so it's hard to get him BACK on a schedule. Any ideas??
Rock him to sleep. In less than 6 months he will likely not fit comfortably on your lap anymore and will ask to be laid in bed (that was the experience with all 3 of mine). Please comfort him during his road back to health and don't be afraid that he will need you forever....trust me he won't. I don't know of any Jr High kids who need to be rocked to sleep.
I took my son a good 3-4 weeks to fully recover after his hospital stay. He probably isn't feeling 100% yet. Give it another week or two and I'm sure he will be back to his old self again. Good Luck with everything!
A technique I often employed with my own daughter, my grandson, and kids I've occasionally worked with over the years is role-playing and puppet shows. These can reach kids in a gentle and supportive way that no amount of verbal instruction can touch.
You might have his toys act out a getting sick / going to hospital / getting helped by doctors / coming home to his safe house scenario. Go lightly on the parts that would have been most frightening or unsettling to him, but do acknowledge them. Pretending that's all over and meant nothing just won't work – it probably all left very deep impressions on your son's sense of security.
But stress the parts where he gets better and comes home to his own safe and cuddly bed. You'll be able to see the parts of the story that calm him, perhaps make him smile or giggle. His responses will help guide you to the language that works best for him. Have his toys lie down after some good snuggles to a soothing lullaby. (It doesn't matter if you can't sing – my grandson loves our lullaby tradition when I spend an evening with him, and my voice sucks.) Kids need and like lots of repetition, so take advantage of that and repeat your plays at least once a day.
And start using that lullaby at night after cuddles. You may need to sit by his crib, patting him and singing to him for a week or three as he processes memories that are probably traumatizing to him. By doing so, you may be able to help him establish a new pattern of happier, more relaxed feelings and thoughts.
It also took my son a couple months to recover from noise sensitivity that developed from a hospital stay. Love the roleplaying, we did that a lot but not sure how it will work for a younger child. Don't underestimate how traumatic hospitals can be for the little ones...good luck!
