What's the correct dose of Ambien for a child?

amother

Wed, Jul 28 2010, 10:46 pm

Kidding.
But I am having a real problem getting my toddlers to bed lately. I pick them up from camp at 3. They are exhausted, barely stay awake in the car on the ride home. I feed them an early dinner at 5 or 5:15. Then baths. Then I try to get them into bed, as this had been our usual routine for a long time, but they get a 2nd wind and get all hyped up now and instead of being asleep by 6:30 they are going to bed more like 9:30. And since they don't nap, and since they are up by 7 AM no matter what, that isn't enough sleep. Plus I want my quiet evenings back.
Any ideas? DH says to run them around more and tire them out. But I can't run them around when they come home. They are on the verge of collapse. Don't know where this spurt of energy is coming from. And I can't/wont let them cry it out. Any other suggestions?

WriterMom

Wed, Jul 28 2010, 10:54 pm

amother wrote:

How old are they? Would they go for, well for lack of a nicer word, bribes? (ie you go to bed when I say every night this week and get X Y or Z on the weekend/for dessert shabbos?) How about books or quiet toys to play with in bed? Playing quietly in bed, if not sleeping, is better than running around.

Or bed with no bath, so they don't reach their second wind, and then get them up 30 minutes early in the morning and bathe them then?

NativeMom

Wed, Jul 28 2010, 11:00 pm

amother wrote:

Kidding.

Thank G-d! when I first saw this I thought it was a serious question.... I had this prob with DS and it used to drive me crazy because I had to get him up at 6:30. It's like you lose your chance, that window where you could actually get them to bed at a decent time..before you know it that chance is gone. I agree with WriterMom, it's basically what I've been doing.

aidelmaidel

Thu, Jul 29 2010, 11:06 am

There is DEFINITELY a window of opportunity for falling asleep and if you miss it, it will be harder.

Most kids need about 12 hours of sleep in total (including naps). Most kids aren't getting that. The more overtired they are, the harder it is to fall asleep.

My rule with my kids is that for every half hour you stay up past bedtime, I am going to wake you up a half hour earlier.

So if bedtime is 6pm and wakeup time is 7am and they stay up an extra hour, I wake them an hour earlier (6am). Yes, they will test you, but after a few days of being woken up earlier then they like, they will be so exhausted they will actually go to sleep on time.

Some things that help is having white noise - I have a kid that can not fall asleep unless there is a fan running. I let my non-stop reader have extra time to read in bed, but if she won't give up the book when I say lights out, she loses out on reading the next night.

And if baths energize your kids, then I would say do that first, then feed them (I realize though it may not be possible with toddlers).

MiracleMama

Thu, Jul 29 2010, 12:20 pm

I didn't mean to post my question anonymously. Think I was just so tired and not paying attention.
Anyhow, thanks for responses. My kids ages: My son is almost 4 and my twin girls just turned 2. And things are complicated by the fact that all 3 are sharing a room now. (My son does have his own bedroom but is going through a scared of monsters stage and feels safer sleeping with his sisters so we have allowed him that). So if we just stick all 3 in there at the same time and say go to bed, it will be a carnival in there. I usually try to get one of the 2 yr olds in bed, while working on getting the other to bed pushing her in the stroller. Once one is successfully asleep I can move my son into bed. He doesn't fight me on it too much so long as he gets to have books or something in bed with him. The girls have been very difficult though. Bouncing off the walls for 2-3 hours easy after dinner.
I am definitely going to try reversing baths/dinner to see if that helps. I've resisted it because they get so yucky when they eat and I want them to go to bed clean, and not on such a full stomach, but maybe it's not worth it.
I also will try waking them up earlier if they go to bed later. Kind of a punishment for me too, lol, but I'll try anything to get these kids back into a normal routine.
Any other advice/ideas/suggestions appreciated.

aidelmaidel

Thu, Jul 29 2010, 12:39 pm

Also, if it's at all possible where you live, can you have them run around outside and play (maybe in a sprinkler so they get clean) when you first get home? Could be getting the extra energy out before (or just after) eating will help with the baths later.

Also I sometimes use Rescue Remedy for Kids to help one of my kids relax before bedtime.

mazelandbracha

Thu, Jul 29 2010, 12:47 pm

Wow, talk about reaction to thread titles - that got my attention!

We made a time at home called "quiet reading time." I build it into the schedule after bath time. They don't have to read, but they have to chill. My 11th grader still does it, on her own -and calls it her "relaxing time." It took practice to leave the time open at night, but it is sooooo worth it.

tzipp

Thu, Jul 29 2010, 12:56 pm

Bath, pj's, dinner, then story time or uiet reading time or story tape time- this last step helps a lot to cam the kids down. Also, you can go to the library once a week and get a stack of books that are special for this time.
Also, keep to the routine, don't take the kids out for a half hr into their usual nighttime routine time. That can mess things up. And maybe the kids need to go to sleep a bit earlier. If they are overtired it goes from being hard to impossible!

motherinisrael

Thu, Jul 29 2010, 2:34 pm

In my experience,nothing works better than--THE DARK---TURN OFF THE LIGHTS!!!
This may seem simple,but it really works. What happens is that the body produces much more melatonin when it starts to get dark. Adults fight the tiredness off ,but kids cannot.Personally I stay with my kids till they fall asleep,which is usually not more than 15 minutes(takes time for the melatonin to kick in)
worthwhile investment.

pinkbubbles

Thu, Jul 29 2010, 3:30 pm

try putting them to sleep 15 or 30 minutes earlier. Do dinner/bath/pjs as fast as you can get them to (reward them for getting things done before a timer rings maybe?) and have them settled in bed with books or whatever. They don't have to actually sleep, but they probably will fall asleep if you get them in bed before that second burst of energy! Kids often get a second wind after being really tired for a few hours. You have to catch the elusive window of tiredness. I see it in my son when I'm not careful to put him to sleep for a nap or at night on time (like today Rolling Eyes

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