I have a 22mth old bad sleeper, some issues; club foot, recurrent ear infections, etc need help?

Question

My 22mth old has always been a bad sleeper, we cant seem to get more than 4 or 5 nights (max) of full night of sleep then we start the waking up several times per night all over again. Standing up and crying or screaming in his crib. Routine is very consistent here and with daycare so that shouldn't be the problem. As an infant he had reflux which seems to now be resolved, he has a club foot (Shriners patient) and sleeps with shoes & a brace to straighten out the club foot, has had recurring ear infections also but when there is no 'sickness' whats the problem? I am a single 40 hr/wk working Mom, need my sleep and its hard to be patient @ 1, 2, and 3 a.m........ Any suggestions (serious ones please) will do. I'm kind of sick of hearing that same old "well some kids are just bad sleepers" from the pediatrician........

I actually take the shoes off when he's sick, I feel that sick is bad enough, nevermind not being able to move a foot without the whole bottom half of his body moving and crashing into the side of the crib as well. As for water, I have done that occasionally - a sippy cup in the crib, actually have been doing that often lately. I will not put goldfish or food in there, don't want to encourage eating in bed or making that a habit, he has slept with me occasionally when he's ill but I am also very aware not to create a habit there so thats likely not the problem either. He is well outgrown the pacifiers also. I think I've tried everything except taking him out coctailing with me.. (JUST KIDDING)... In fact I could use one of those nights.

Answer 1

Poor baby. It sounds like he may often be in pain. Outside of a pain reliever, I'm not sure what other help to offer.

I know how to train infants to sleep - you let them make noise in their crib if they wake and only go to them when they call you (loud screaming..well heck, you know when he needs you).

But with a toddler it may be hard to retrain him. The "let him cry" may do it, but with my kids all that did was make them upset enough to vomit! Needless to say, after trying that once, I didn't do it again.

Is he still in his crib? You may be able to put a sippy cup of water, some goldfish, and/or some pacifiers into the cup holders that attach to strollers - attach the to the crib. I used to keep one full of pacifiers for my girls so I didn't have to crawl under the crib if she dropped one.

And then just let him play. Go in if you have to and say, "nighttime is for sleeping and mommy is tired" and walk out. He WILL yell and the first night will be horrible, but after a night or two, he should learn how to put himself back to sleep.

Basically he has not learned how to comfort himself and put himself back to sleep, so now he has to learn it and he won't like it much I suspect.

I've seen this done on the nanny shows.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Is there any possibility that he has a food sensitivity? It really sounds to me like he could be just reacting to a food. Many foods that are very common in the average diet cause sensitivities for children (and adults for that matter). Wheat and dairy are often the culprits, but there are many others - and they can very easily affect his sleeping patterns.

If you have a naturopath in your area (most yellow pages will have them you can look it up and see if it's in there) it could be a good idea to take him to one and see if they can help with some dietary recommendations and maybe other suggestions based on his particular situation. If you can't find info about them, if you have a health food store near you then they may have information as well.

Good luck, I know this must be really difficult for you. I am a stay at home mom and my daughter sleeps okay now but we have gone through phases where she was up 8-9 times per night!

Answer 3

My son started this recently, waking up every few hours. We got a spongebob nightlight and cut out all daytime naps, that really helped. My son also has a lot of ear infections too. Do you go for follow up appointments on those ear infections, if you don't they could be coming back and not fully cured. My son usually has a one week treatment of ear drops and 14 days of antibiotics. Oh and BTW I don't know if you smoke or if he is around smokers but that will greatly increase the ear infections. My son is very sensitive to smoke, if we walk out of a store where someone has been smoking he gets and ear infection. Also the sippy cup in the bed is a bad idea especially if he has the ear infections, if he lays down and drinks the fluid will go into his ear and cause and infection. Also they recently done a study on Benedryl and babies and it makes 7 out of 10 hyper. My best advice for the sleeping problem is to put him in bed at the same time every night and don't go back in his room when he cries. He knows you will come to him, he needs to learn to calm himself down and not to depend on you. A week of this should help you out, even though listening to the screaming gets old I know. When my son wakes up now he cries for about 5 min. and goes back to bed on his own. Try a nightlight in his favorite cartoon character and not going to him when he cries. I know the brace is probably uncofortable, but don't take it off it will just delay him getting better and he needs to get used to it. My son went through physical therapy as well, no brace but other things, and he just had to get used to it. Toddlers are creatures of habit, taking the brace off a few nights and putting back on will get him out of the routine of using it and it will be like having to get used to it all over again. Good Luck...I've been there its rough.

Answer 4

i also had same exper... single mom, bad bad ear infections and terrible sleeper. but no club foot although my friends son went through it & to say he is 10 now & doing wonderful the suggestion i can make about the ear infections is please make an appointment with an ear nose & throat spec ask about having tubes placed in ur baby's ears & possibling removing tonsils & adnoids at same time ill tell u my 2 & half yr old just had it done about a month ago although it was horrifying for me she bounced back wonderfully the very next day she wanted to go outside & ride her bike... Shes a trooper this may help also with the sleep problem ggod luck any other questions feel free to email me!

Answer 5

I agree I think that peds don't have normal kids. I think that he honestly is having pain. Those braces have to be uncomfortable besides the fact that straighting his foot has to hurt like braces on your teeth. I don't like to give medication but i would find something to give him. It's worth a try. I had a friend who's 2 year old never slept more than 4 hours a night and her ped put her a on a med to make her sleep. Maybe children's Benydryl. I would also massage him with lavender and chamomile lotion *(huggies, Baby Magic) to relax him.

Answer 6

Could it be possible that there is pressure in his ears (fluid) causing some pain and making him right himself to relieve it? My daughter had that, and we raised the head of her crib slightly, making sure to place her head at that end when she slept. It helped relieve the pressure, allowing her to sleep, and us as well.

I would also say the brace and shoes might be bothering him, but he stands up in his crib. I am more prone to thinking that it might be the ear pressure.

Hope this helps!

Answer 7

he's probably just really uncomfortable. i would be in the shoes, but there's nothing you can do about it. props to you for being such a devoted mom. my son is really active (8 months) and we have pretty much cut out naps (only about 2 hours total) so that he sleeps at night. I honestly have no suggestions. i'm thinking that once he gets the shoes off he'll be fine.

Answer 8

Do you sleep with him, when he is sick? If so, maybe he is used to it since he has been sick alot. He may be spoiled and wants to sleep with you. You may have to let him cry himself to sleep a couple of nights to get used to it or just let him sleep with you so you can get some rest. I feel for you.

Answer 9

it sounds like hes very uncomfortable my sis goes on the net and types in stuff like earache and things and it usuall takes her to a site try american baby