Won't Sleep All Night

My son used to do the same thing. He has night terrors and sleep walks a little still but in the beginning to keep him in bed we invented the nap fairy! Girls will love this. I did this for 5 years! Every night that my son would stay in his bed, in the morning there would be something small present under his pillow from the nap fairy. If he would get up in the middle of the night and come to my bed or end up anywhere else then the nap fairy would not come. the nap fairy would leave anything from stickers to a Hershey kiss. Anything small! My son loved every minute of it. Since my son has night terrors and can't stay asleep his pediatrician and Doctor also told me to give him Melatonin. It isn't habit forming and it is sold at GNC and at Walmart in the vitamin section. At GNC they have sublingual ones that disolve. It would help my son get to sleep. He doesn't take them any more. The nap fairy also moved on because he is 8 now and he knows he is too big, But he still believes in the Nap Fairy!

If she's going through a fearful time-- why not let her sleep in your room for a while. Put a little mattress on the floor for when she feels anxious?

Then she could get sleep and not be afraid.

A., I would definitely ask your pediatrician! When I first started reading your concern, I thought it was talking about a five month old until you said she walks in your room and wakes you up, then I realized it had said a five year old. I do not think this is normal sleep behavior for a five year old at all. I only think this because I have a five year old little girl as well, and she sleeps fine. Sure it's normal for her to still want to do monster checks or wake up from a loud thunder storm, but that's pretty much it.
I would also get rid of that tv. All doctors and experts would probably say the tv is a big no no. Also, try lots of encouragement to get her to sleep through the night. For example, if she stays in her room all night sleeping, the next day she will be well rested enough for the two of you to do something special after school.
It can be so tough getting children to sleep through the night! Best of luck!

I would try to get her to take a nice warm bath. Let her play for a little bit in there, then try to give her one of her favorite stuff animals to slep with then you sleep with that same stuff animal so it can smell like you.then she would want to do the same. try that out and let me know if that works.Or even one of your shirts put on her to sleep in or your pillow case. some kids cant sleep without the scent of thier mommy. my nephew is like that with my sister. and it works for him.

Try lavender oil (as long as it is a natural oil, this will not cause her any harm!! Lavender and Ginger are natural soothers and calmer), place a small amount on the very top of her head, on her temples and if worse comes to worse under her nose. She may not like the smell of it, but it's just like Johnson & Johnson's sleepy time bath stuff, just slightly more concentrated. My daughter has had this problem since she was one, she wouldn't go to bed until 2:30 a.m. and be bright eyed and bushy tailed by 7:30 a.m. So I can understand where you are coming from, I've been sleepless for almost 7 years, she still to this day has a hard time going to bed. Also, there is an Organic tea called Nighty Night. You can find it on www.tealand.com, which is not too expensive and they offer other natural teas to help with sore throats and colds, or some Dominick's do also carry this brand.

But most importantly check with your Pediatrician. My daughter was on steroid for her asthma since she was 6 months until she was 3, and I am now finding out this may have caused her sleepless nights and her hyperactivity.

Good luck!

Oh, I feel for you. Our daughter is in all-day kindergarten and just turned 6. We have always had sleeping problems with her.

I have a couple suggestions that have worked for us, and even though our daughter still occasionally yells out in the middle of the night and wakes us up, she sleeps through most nights now.

First, have her go to bed earlier. I know this sounds crazy, but our daughter is in bed between 7:30 and 8:00. She wakes up around 7:45 (school starts at 9), so I know it's not too early. For years she would not fall asleep until 9:30, 10, sometimes 11. When we first started having her go to bed early (we started with 8), she would lay in bed for sometimes up to 2 1/2 hours before falling asleep. Now she is usually asleep within an hour. Sometimes it's within 1/2 an hour, sometimes 1 1/2. But she is consistently in bed within that half hour.

Next, don't let her get out of bed. This is tough and now if she needs a drink at night, she wakes us up yelling, but like I said before, her sleep is so much better than it used to be. We make sure that she goes potty and gets a drink before going to bed. Then we stay within ear shot and she gets in trouble if she is out of bed. Our most effective punishment is taking away stuffed animals because she loves them. She can sleep with stuffed animals in the bed, but if she gets out of bed or yells, we take one off the bed and keep it in our room.

Finally, I would make her be quiet at night. In years past, we have tried the t.v., music and other noise to get her to sleep. We took that all away and found her singing to herself to stay awake. She still whispers, but if she is talking, she gets in trouble. She would literally do just about anything to try and keep herself away. She still spins around in her bed, saying she can't get comfortable, which is why she is in a bunk bed with wooden side bars.

These are not fool-proof. With Halloween, she was waking up in the middle of the night seeing a green face, so now we leave the fish light on all night and the hall light on until she falls asleep. But overall, she is in a good sleep routine. And they are somewhat labor intensive because while you are awake you have to be on constant vigil, but it worked for us.

Good luck! We're trying to sleep-train our 8-month old daughter now and this time we have a lot more tricks to try.

I agree with the earlier bedtime suggestion. My dd is a bit younger, but we had the same troubles up until about 2 months ago. She usually didn't go to bed til 8 or 9 but was up and down until 11. then she'd be up again at 2, then 5. She was so overtired she could not settle herself, she would do everything she could to stay awake. It was maddening! Then one day when she was in a "me first" kind of mood, she wanted to know why her baby brother got to go to bed first. I asked if she wanted to be first that night, she said "yes". My dh tried to explain that going to bed first wasn't necessarily a "good" thing, I shut him up as fast as I could and took her to bed. It was only 6:45pm!! She was asleep before 7:30!!!! UNHEARD OF!!! Her bedtime routine now regularly starts at 6:45 with a warm bath, book, then lights out, a little snuggle time, then I'm out of there and she is asleep by 7:30 maybe 8 if she is a little wound up. She now sleeps through most of the time. She gets up at 6:45 usually, but snuggles in bed with me until her brother wakes up and we start the day. Usually around 7am so she can go to school.

Anyway, I'm suggesting an earlier bedtime, even though it may sound crazy :) I never thought it would help!

Hi A.:

My son had similar sleep issues. He is now six and sleeping through the night in his own room.... didnt think he ever would.

The major improvement for us came after our son had his adenoids (and they took his tonsils too). When your daughter does sleep does she snore or have her mouth open when sleeping? If so, there is a possibility she has apnea and once she wakes up has difficulty relaxing again to go back to sleep. Our son doesnt appear to have any issues now after having the T&A surgery.

I definitely would have her evaluated. When we used to tell our physician our son didnt sleep, she used to tell us to not worry that maybe he just didnt require that much sleep. Yeah right.... Kids need sleep, parents need sleep!

Sorry not more help but this was our situation and every child is so different.

Hi A.- If I were you I would take the TV out of her room, none of my 4 kids have access to TV at night (and not even close to bedtime, it is a stimulus) and all sleep well. I did have a problem with my 4 year old daughter, I started a sticker chart. after 5 stickers (a sticker was for her staying in her bed and not waking me up unless it eas for the bathroom, she got a small prize at the dollar stor. She used it for about 2 weeks then we phased it out.
Good Luck!
B.
PS The hyper behavior could be related to her being so overtired.