Will not go to sleep!

[Anonymous]

I posted in another thread about Seth being sick but I don’t think that is the problem since this has happened on and off for a while now but Seth will not go to bed at a decent hour no matter what we do. Sometimes, I kid you not, he will be up to midnight! He has always went to bed late but it used to be more around 9:00 but the time keeps getting later and later. I wonder if he is ready to drop his nap but if he does not get one, he is more prone to get overtired and overstimulated and then he will have night terrors/reflux flare ups. Plus, they still take a long nap at daycare so even if I cut them at home, he will still be napping there. Does anyone have any suggestions? He is killing me with these late nights!

[Anonymous]

I think that many kiddos will drop their nap between ages 3-4 so he is definatly at the age. Is there a way that you could wake him up from his nap earlier or put him down earlier to see if that helps. Or try cutting it out and see what happens and then see if daycare will cut it out. I am not sure how daycare works, but not all babies need naps. I remember when I was I think in Kindergarten and we had nap/quite time, I would always do a project while the other kids napped. I think it was kindergarten, but it may have been daycare. I am not sure, I just remember doing that.

[Anonymous]

I would give it a try on weekends and see how he does without a nap. I fianlly stopped Eliana’s nap a few months ago because it was taking her hours to fall asleep at night. Now she goes to bed at 7:30 and she’s out like a light in only minutes! ndrose2008-01-22 14:43:36

[Anonymous]

Hi,

It definitely could just be that in-between phase where one nap is too much and no nap is too little. But I also wanted to ask if Seth is lactose intolerant? I don’t know his history but I see from your signature that he’s eating some dairy. I’ve read that lactose intolerance can cause insomnia (trouble falling asleep and trouble staying asleep), and this is definitely true with my oldest (2 1/2 yrs). It’s subtle….I might let him have a tiny bit of cheese here, a taste of yogurt there, and then it starts to build up and he’s back to taking FOREVER to fall asleep at naptime and bedtime. But when I crack down on it again, within a couple of days he’s doing great. I see this symptom with him before I see the tummy troubles that go along with larger doses of dairy.

Just a thought….

[Anonymous]

Thanks, Beth and Christine (nice to hear from you BTW!).

Paula, it is very interesting that you said that. I have wondered if he is lactose intolerant and just read elsewhere that food intolerances can make you not want to sleep. Definitely something to consider…

[Anonymous]

Tiffany, I would definitely try and either shorten the nap, or cut it out and see if that makes a difference. When does he go down and how long is the nap? If he has to nap at daycare, maybe you can ask them to wake him up after 45-60 minutes instead of letting him go for 2 hrs. Sarah cut out her nap just before age 3. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

We had a lot of the same issues with Kaelyn recently. She’s never been a great sleeper, but it got to the point where it was just ridiculous. She gave up her nap at daycare a while ago and we decided to give up trying to force the issue at home. Now we have quiet play time instead of nap. (She stays in her room with the door closed and plays while Alex naps.) Giving up the nap made a definite difference in night time sleeping, although, as you mentioned, we have had lots of cranky, irritable evenings in return.

We still were having issues though. We ended up at the ped for a check up. He talked to her for a while and then told me that he was pretty sure that it had become a power play “game” for her. So, we had to get tough on her and try some sleep training techniques. Fortunately they seem to have worked and we’ve only had a few nights with issues in the last three weeks.

I also think that the allergy/intolerance thing is a definite possibility. Good luck.

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