Sleep Deprived now!
Lately I have tried everything to get Olivia to go to bed early. I've cut out her sugar all together at night time and have even switched to Decaffinated Tea only sweetened with Splenda. Gosh. There is no end to the light at the end of that tunnel. She is full of energy and will only sleep a couple of hours before waking back up. She keeps me up half of the night now and instead wants to play. I just wish in a way we were back to her being an infant to where she slept all night long and such. I don't know what else to do. I normally give her a nice warm bath with the Johnson & johnson bubble bath, read to her and then put her down with some soothing music. Trust me I'm ready to fall asleep before she is. Plus she's not taking any naps what so ever and I'm completely worn out. I just want to go to bed now and it's only 6pm! Argh! I'm out of options on how to get her down. Please help if you can. I've got to make an appointment to have her stomach checked out because she's complaining that her stomach hurts all the time and also I'm going to check with the doctor in having her checked out for ADHD. I don't want to but I have also found out she doesn't take naps at school either on most days. So I don't know how in the world she can keep going without taking a rest. But she is like the energizer bunny for sure. If you have any advice I'm open to hear from you on it. Please leave us a comment :)
I have one of those active children who require very little sleep. Have you tried Sleepytime Extra (with Valerian)? It's a Celestial Seasons tea and it's a nice gentle calming method for my daughter. I make it warm, not hot, obviously. Also I use something from the whole foods stores called Super Calm (I think) it has chamomile, lavender, and catnip (weird, I know, but it works well). It's a liquid tincture, so I put it in her tea usually. Doesn't taste all that great on its own, but is fine in tea or a strong juice (like orange.) Try cutting out as much sugar and high fructose corn syrup as you can throughout the day and no television in the evening, it over-stimulates children and disrupts sleep. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteOh, one more thing...For what it's worth, my 4yo gave up her nap around 2 1/2 years, so not all children need a nap, as crazy as that may seem. My daughter also complains about stomach aches. She's prone to anxiety and worry, so ask Livy if there's something that she needs to talk about. Developmentally, saying that the stomach hurts is specifically the first fib that children learn to tell. She may just be craving the extra TLC that she gets if she says her stomach hurts. Without mentioning doubt about whether her stomach really hurts, make sure that she KNOWS that she can get cuddle time for a few minutes just by asking, no matter what else you're doing.
ReplyDeleteTry getting into a routine that She will find fun. This will help her acknowledge that even if she is not tired, it is time to rest.
ReplyDeleteExample -
When it is time, I ask my daughter to put on her Pj's since she is a big girl and wants to do everything herself.
Next we use the restroom and wash hands and face with a lavendar soap we use for bedtime only.
Then we collect which animals she wants to use and off to the bedroom. We either read a quick book or we talk about what we will dream about.
Finally, hugs and kisses then I press play on her CD player and close the bedroom door. She has recently been listening to a read along CD of disney stories, but sometimes it is music.
Note - She does not sleep thru the night. I will hear her talking to herself or pressing play on the CD plater again. But she knows she is to stay in her room and let Mommy and Daddy sleep.
Hopefully this will help. The only other thing I can think of os to have her run around the back yard for at least one hour before dinner. This will help burn off some energy and bu the time she is done with dinner, she should show signs of sleepyness. However if she is like my daughter, she will fight it as hard as she can.
Talk to yo soon.