sleepwalking

[Anonymous]

i was going to post this under sleeping, but it really doesn’t have to do with reflux.

about 1 month ago we grudgingly made the switch to toddler beds for the boys. jack started jumping out of his crib and so kindly showed matthew how to get out. (i am being sarcastic.)

since then sleeping in this house has become a nightmare. trying to get them to stay in their beds (they were great crib sleepers once their reflux was under control) looks like a comedy clip from america’s funniest home videos- except i am not laughing.

in the past week jack has had several night terrors again and last night matthew was sleepwalking. he was sound asleep walking into jack’s bed. he was walking in place b/c the bed was in his way. then later on in the night he too had a night terror- just screaming and thrashing about- but he was sound asleep.

the past several nights we have been awake with either jack or matthew- and sometimes both from 1 am until either 3 or 4 am. i am tired. once you start to sleep again your body really remembers how much you like it!

anyone have a similar experience or advice to share? i never had this problem with julianna so this is all new to me.

aside from the last round of ear infections they seem to be ok. i have been having to give mylanta more often lately, but not enough i think to put them back on prevacid. they have been med free for about 2 months now.

thanks!

[Anonymous]

OK, Laurie, Here’s my tough love answer. Now mind you, I don’t think Dylan sleep walks, so not sure if you will want to try this, but we emptied Dylan’s room so it was completely baby proof. We moved the dresser in the closet and then put the things on the closet so Dylan couldn’t open the door. His room only had a bed and the shades on the window to have it completely safe. Then we put the safety handle on the inside of the door so that he couldn’t get out, and then we did CIO. It was a couple of days and then it was over.

It is so hard when you are used to sleeping again! Hopefully someone else will have better suggestions, but we were desperate at a few points!

Hang in there!

Ann Marie

[Anonymous]

From what I’ve learned from others with older kids, night terrors are
very often caused by overtiredness – for example, one of my friends who
has 4 kids sometimes sees them when naps are missed. She always tells
me that during night terrors not to hold them – she will often pick
them up and lay them on her bed or the floor and it helps them come out
of it more quickly. Not sure with sleepwalking though!

[Anonymous]

Hi Laurie – the night terrors and sleepwalking are related – both sleep disturbances that can be provoked by overtiredness or a particularly stimulating day or event right before bed…some kids are prone to them, others not. Could be that since moving to the beds and resisting sleeping they’ve become overtired enough to set off the terrors…I was in the same boat with my second – she learned how to climb out of the crib before she was 2, and unfortunately that’s too young to understand about staying in bed. I assume the boys share a room – I was recently re-reading the Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child book and saw a story similar to yours – that family’s solution was to separate them – they put one twin (the one who was less compliant) to bed in his own bed (similar to what Ann Marie describes) and the other to bed in their bed. Then they would transfer him back to his own bed when they went to sleep. This way, they couldn’t rile each other up and “perform” for each other – but these boys were close to 3. Personally, if there was any way you could safely get them to sleep in their cribs again – maybe separate rooms – I would try it. They are really young to be in beds – and I’m not criticizing you, I was in the same boat – but my daughter didn’t really start to stay upt until closer to 3. And my oldest stayed happily in his crib until 3.5, and never got out of bed once he moved to the bed. Good luck – I feel your pain!

[Anonymous]

We just had this conversation with our Ped because Hailey is having a lot of night terrors. She went through a string of waking nightly thrashing around like that (yet she was still asleep when this happens) for probably a month and just this last week it seems to have settled down. His EXACT comments were that she will probably have a sleepwalking problem because he sees that in babies who wake with night terrors. Apparently, it’s pretty common and they don’t know why. His suggestion was to keep Hailey in her crib as long as possible. Lucky for us, she hasn’t tried to climb out yet. I agree with Tricia, can you try and get them back in the crib? Hope you guys get some sleep soon!

[Anonymous]

I kept my oldest in her crib until she was three and my 2 1/2 year old is still in a crib. I do think the longer they are in a crib the better and I agree with Tricia that they may be keeping each other up to the point of over tiredness.

I’ve had a plan in mind for years in case one of mine started climbing out of the crib too early. One Step Ahead makes a crib tent that completely covers the top of the crib with a mesh like material. It keeps them from climbing out but is safe and allows perfect air flow.

http://www.onestepahead.com/jump.jsp?lGen=detail&itemID= 309775&itemType=PRODUCT&iProductID=309775&change =117

ndrose2006-4-13 21:27:0

[Anonymous]

thanks so much for all of your replies!

i agree that the shortened or lack of nap time creates two cranky, overtired, overstimulated little boys who can’t settle down to sleep. the day that i posted this the boys took a 2 1/2 hour nap and then slept through the night w/out any problems. and last night again!

maybe they are getting used to their new beds- finally!? dh already got rid of their cribs (he is mr. anti clutter) so please keep your fingers crossed for me that this continues. nap time is really the worst b/c dh is home at bedtime and then i have some backup at least. but i am completely outnumbered during the day!

tricia- i cracked up when i read “perform” for eachother. that is exactly what they do. matthew will stand in the middle of the room (there are only their little toddler racecar beds and a dresser in their room) and he will jump up and down yelling, “jack sleep. sssshhhhhh” then jack will start laughing and ssshhhhing matthew. then they will both stand up and get right in eachother’s faces and start talking. what they are saying, we are not so sure, but they crack up.

anyway thanks again!

[Anonymous]

Laurie, I have absolutely no advice, but your story is providing me with even more ammunition for a crib tent versus switching Kaelyn to a bed right now. Kaelyn has tried to climb out of her crib a few times, so several people are pushing us to switch her to a bed. With a new baby coming in just a couple of months, I have absolutely no desire to deal with any additional sleep issues.

[hellbennt]

I would have kept jonah in his crib for much longer, but I had to vacate him out of it so that he wouldn’t get all freaky about the baby having HIS crib…my friend used the crib tent & swore by it…it’s been hard for jonah to settle into his bed- lots of nightwakings, etc and if they worsen I think we’d head towards the ‘ann marie’ path…

anyway, this isn’t helping you, Lori, but I just wanted to chime in– good luck!! and, I so WISH that dh (& ME!!) was anti clutter and not a pack rat!!!

[Author]

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