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How was last night?
I hope you are managing to see some light at the end of the tunnel
Last night A skipped her afternoon nap- feel asleep 6pm then woke up at 8pm....she was put back to bed at 9pm and slept though until 6am... I know this could just be a 1 off but it was so nice getting a full nights sleep :)
great - I really would miss out the daytime naps if you can and try and get her into bed earlier in the evening - she will naturally drop back off to sleep if she wakes in the evening if she realises there is nothing happening!
stay strong - you are doing great
sorry meant afternoon nap - keep morning one if she needs it
Oh Tinkerbell2 what FAB news, bet you couldn't believe it.
I do agree with LRH that I would be inclined to let her have a morning npa if she needs on but try your level best to phase out the afternoon nap so she is good and ready for the nighttime. Alternatively if she does not need the morning one after a good night's sleep then ok to have it early afternoon as long as it is not for too long, an hour should be enough.
Stick with the plan though, and dont be discouraged if you have another up and down night....last night has shown you that it IS possible. Fingers firmly crossed!
Hi Tinkerbell2, she may just be rebelling! She is fighting against your wishes. She wants to break you!! So is making it especially hard (although she isn't aware of all this, its just her instinct!) This is new to her, so she has to adjust to the new routine too.
You are doing a great job, so many people give up for an easy life and I really hope we will get through this
I know it is easy for me to say, but you know that she needs to sleep through, you are her mum and you know best. Don't let her see/feel that you are anxious about it, just let her see that you have expectations and you will continue until she submits!
Is her night light too bright perhaps, could you change it leaving the hallway light on and the door ajar?
Hi Tinkerbell2, she may just be rebelling! She is fighting against your wishes. She wants to break you!! So is making it especially hard (although she isn't aware of all this, its just her instinct!) This is new to her, so she has to adjust to the new routine too.
You are doing a great job, so many people give up for an easy life and I really hope we will get through this
I know it is easy for me to say, but you know that she needs to sleep through, you are her mum and you know best. Don't let her see/feel that you are anxious about it, just let her see that you have expectations and you will continue until she submits!
Is her night light too bright perhaps, could you change it leaving the hallway light on and the door ajar?
Last night A didn't sleep thou again, I think that 1 full night recharged her batteries for another few months hahaha. She woke up at 1.15am but I left her in her cot with a toy and she fell asleep herself within an hour & a half then woke up at 5am...I've have also started leaving the bedroom door slightly open with the hall way light on as earlier suggested....I won't give up this routine until she is sleeping better or though the nIght , even of it takes months - she Will NOT run this household lol
go Tinkerbell2
keep on keeping on - you are doing great
Good for you Tinkerbell2, I love your determination
As long as you are sure that there is no medical reason why she is not sleeping, you will get this under control and when you do, we will all go out and celebrate with lots of bottles of champagne!!
When you gave her the toy, I hope you kept communication to the minimum. "Its time for you to be asleep" and walking away?
Yes the only thing I say to her is "sleep sleep time" then go into the living room until she is asleep. she has a habit of falling asleep siting up or standing up holding onto the cot bumper so I just gently lay her down then go to bed myself , she's so cute :)
I have been reading along Tinkerbell - no advice though, I had a system that worked for me and the longest waker upper slept through at 3 months.. (No1 son slept from 8 pm till 9 am from 10 days).
But I did want to say you're doing a brilliant job and hang in there! I really admire you - I probably would have cracked up a long time ago! :-) x
Thank you Hopeful, I guess these learning curves are all the joys of being parents.....I bet when A is a teen I will be saying "I remember when you use to keep me up most the night....." lol
Great news Tinkerbell2 sounds like you have been making progress, keep at it and soon you shall get a decent sleep
Hi Tinkerbell2
How is it going? I have been thinking about you and hoping that the hot weather hasn't been too uncomfy for A with her eczema for sleeping.
How are things in general?
Hi Tinkerbell, only just found this thread, haven't been on the website for a while..just wanted to add my own experiences as my little one has bad eczema too. Please think about asking your G.P. or Paediatrician to refer your daughter to an allergy clinic and a dermatologist if you have not already done so, you will need to be persistent some G.P.s will keep trying different creams and meds for years but they are not experts in eczema and they may or may not find what's best for your little one. My daughter was 3 before we got a referral so three years of agony and not knowing what was wrong with her (waking up every night screaming and scratching). With night time scratching and sleeplessness it maybe due to housedustmite allergy (this also would cause asthma attacks).
My daughter has the following routine:
On waking up in morning, daily bath with half capful balneum plus oil (on prescription), only 20 mins in water - temp must be no more than 37 degreesC. I used to give her the weekly bath (G.P. advice) but this makes it worse as eczema skin is more prone to bacterial infection and needs a daily cleanse - but she must have oil in water and NO soap products on skin ever, I don't use anything containing perfume or sodium laurel sulphate (SLS), I actually don't use anything else I just make sure bath water is rinsed all over body with a very soft sponge. After bath I wrap in towel but don't rub her.
Epaderm ointment straight after bath applied in direction of hair growth e.g. shoulder to hand, thigh to toe etc, I never rub cream in or up and down skin, only apply in one direction like stroking a cat.
Epaderm is applied three or four times a day in daytime.
Certrizine Hydrochloride (5ml) e.g. dose for 5 year old. given before bed.
She has a housedustmite allergy so bedding is antidustmite. She has antidustmite mattress cover with zips, washable at 60 degrees C, (bought online), antidustmite pillow (bought in department store), cotton cotbed blankets with the holes in, can't remember what they are called they look like a waffle pattern? No duvet as too hot and not easily washed. All blankets and sheets washed very regularly, not left for more than a week due to build up of dust.
Washing powder - Fairy non-Bio, NO fabric conditioner.
After this routine sleeping pattern improved immediately - no waking in night screaming, no bleeding skin.
Hope that any of this is helpful to you, good luck.
Brilliant, englishrose, you have come up with some excellent suggestions, thank you
I've kept up with the routine but since end of last weEk her sleeping has reverted back to how it was before, don't think this weather is helping and as much as I'm creaming her it's still drying out her skin (sun) hello English Rose, A is under an skin specialist who she see's every two months...she has a bath twice a week, on steroid Hydrocortisone cream for face applied twice a day, Elocon ointment for body applied three times a day, Emolliement cream applied three times a day, Epaderm ointment applied twice a day as a barrier cream , Allerief med (anti ich) in morning and at night (this is strongest anti ich that can be used on a baby under one) and bathed in Oilatum twice a week...I do give her naked time a lot to air her skin aswell...as u can see its alot of creams to help and don't get me wrong they have helped loads but her skin is still a terrible problem and makes her so ichy and sad :( I also wash clothes in non bio and no conditioner
Bless her, I feel sure that the weather is to blame for both the sleep disruption and extra skin irritation, be patient, keep to the routine as much as possible, even if you have a tough time the first week of cooler nights until her skin settles a little.
Hi Tinkerbell2,
Great that you have the skin specialist and so frequently too. Has A had a RAST blood test for allergies? My daughter had the test and housedustmite was scored at 4 which is quite high. My daughter had a skin prick test and she is allergic to cow's milk and egg. She has to avoid strawberries and tomatoes and any red fruit or veg as apparently they have high levels of histamines (I was told this by the allergy nurse).
I empathise with you about the weather, my daughter has had a similar problem with the heat, daughter not sleeping until 9.30pm, normal bed time is about 7.30-8.00pm, I have to get her up at 7.00am so we have time to do her routine before school. At least we have half-term now so we can relax. I have been putting her in bed at 8.00pm and staying in her room until she falls asleep, tonight she was asleep at 9.45pm.
Has anyone suggested wet wraps for your daughter? They do work really well, except when the child is older the child might pull them off in order to scratch, which is why I don't usually bother unless the eczema is really bad, as my daughter always pulls them off eventually.
Just a thought, how is A's eczema after her bath, does it look more inflamed or the same? My daughter used to have Oilatum but she was sensitive to it so we changed her bath oil, have a look at the ingredients does it contain perfume? If so that might cause a problem. I just want to help you, please don't think I'm nagging! I have a lot of empathy for you as I have a similar situation both with daughter and the ex.
Hope things get better with change in weather soon. X
Oh I don't think your nagging at all haha, to be honest I've never met anyone else who's child has eczema & allergies so I'm so greatful of all the advice and info you are giving me....I did suggest wraps at the very start of her skin problems but doctor and hospital dismissed it and said they wasn't needed, I thought this was strange but can't force them to give me them lol....for A's dairy allergy I have to use Nutramigan AA milk, I don't think there is a follow on milk though...for her Allergies she had a blood test and it all showed she was 70% and higher allergic...I was told she can't have the skin tests etc until she was over one years old, same with her asthma, she can't be tested for it until she is over two years old, but because they know she has it I have a blue pump for her
Hello Tinkerbell2,
I agree that is strange they didn't think wet wraps were needed, they are so effective. Mind you I only got them for my daughter because the health visitor arranged for me to have a home visit from a child community nurse and she wrote to my G.P. requesting them on prescription, that was maybe two years ago when daughter was about 3. I found the child community nurse was excellent, she explained everything and gave lots of advice, the home visit lasted about an hour, she visited about three times then said if I need anything to call but three visits was sufficient really. I have signed up to the national eczema society so I get four magazines a year from them, and they have a website and a facebook page. Sorry I don't know about dairy free follow on milk, I only found out about the dairy allergy when daughter was 3 so she started having Soya milk then (but i think i read in another thread that your daughter is soya allergic too) so sorry I can't help with that. There is a national helpline for the national eczema society - they might be able to advise you. I won't post it here in case it is against the rules, but it is easy to find on internet. Good luck x
Hi english rose,
It is great that you are able to share your experiences with Tinkerbell2, that is what this site is all about, helping each other along. High five to both of you!
Hi Tinkerbell2
The National Eczema Society website is here. Hope A is sleeping a bit better now it has cooled down?
how is the sleep pattern going tinkerbell2
She slept though for about a week but now wakes up 2-3 times during the night again, i have stuck to the routine since I first wrote this post, when she wakes up at night I just go up to her and remind her it's night night time and then walk away and leave her...half the time I can't get back to sleep either but now she knows that she won't get picked up and drops off to sleep about an hour to two hours later. However she now wakes up at 4am athese thinks that's the start of the day haha & She now has a habit of headbutting the top of her cot and laughing her head off for ages :)
She sounds such a sweetie My eldest used to love "chatting" to himself when he woke up. It gives them a chance to practise all their sounds, even though they have no words.
Although her sleeping is not perfect it does sound as if the whole situation is generally better. Hope you are feeling less tired too.
You have mentioned that she didn't used to nap but now she is napping during the day and not sleeping too well at night - was there a reason you felt she needed to nap during the day?
She may well not need as much sleep but I think I would concentrate on the night time sleeping but it is really difficult to comment when I don't really know what you have already tried.
Was it the books that suggested day time naps?
I also think you do need to stick with a routine once you have started but I am just not sure about her needing naps during the day if you think she is sleeping less at night.
What do the books suggest you do?
It took me a fortnight to get things sorted but only you really know if you think she needs these daytime naps - I would be tempted to drop them first and concentrate on a nighttime routine before you give up
Hope someone else can offer some advice