3 year old sleep habits

amother

Wed, Sep 25 2019, 8:13 pm

amother [ Babyblue ] wrote:

My son had similar issues. I didn't need to lay with him, but could put him in and he'd still be awake 3 hours later. His body just couldn't settle down. It was suggested that we get him a weighted blanket. The weight from the blanket is like a deep massage and helps the body naturally produce melatonin. It worked wonders. We recently passed his blanket down to my next son who had trouble falling asleep.

The weight of the blanket, especially for a little kid, can not be too heavy. Max is 10% of his weight + 1 lb. So a 30 lb kid should have max 4 lbs. Under 5 lbs is hard to find unless you go custom--which is not cheap.

He's a big boy- nearly 40lbs! I just found a 5lb one on amazon for $40. Is that how much they cost?

amother

Thu, Sep 26 2019, 5:17 am

lavenderchimes wrote:

Have you tried playing (calming) music for him? It was a HUGE help for me when I was a kid.

Yep tried! It actually had the opposite effect and kept him up. Can't explain that one!
My noise machine didn't really work. He fell asleep after 45 min, and he woke up at like 1:30 and came into our room. So never mind that.

FranticFrummie

Thu, Sep 26 2019, 5:27 am

Check Etsy for weighted blankets. The people who make them know the exact ratio to have them be safe, and you can choose any fabric you want. The one I got for DD was plain cotton on one side because it was cooler, and super soft plushie on the other for comforting touch and more heat in the winter. If he's too hot or cold, just flip it over, cotton side to the skin if he's too hot, etc.

MELATONIN! Talk to your pediatrician. My poor DD had the hardest time falling asleep and staying asleep, and she'd be desperate and besides herself being overtired. Once we started doing 1/4 of a one milligram tablet, our entire world changed. Just remember that you always want to give the lowest possible dose that is still effective.

Right at bed time, she would come to me and say "Mama, I need my pill!" and then she'd to straight to sleep, wake up cheerful, and have a good day at school. We took breaks from it on holidays and summer vacation, but she could always have it if she felt she really needed it.

momof2+?

Thu, Sep 26 2019, 5:55 am

I am going to speak up as a 'mean' mother. I think that when the baby was born he wanted to feel closer to you and asked you to lay with him. Now he has become reliant on that schedule. Just like we have to train a baby to fall asleep without being rocked by mommy, or without a bottle/pacifier you now have to train your son that he is perfectly capable of falling asleep without your chills and books. If it was my child I would tell the child upfront "mommy will read 1 boo k and then give you 2 minutes of tickles. Then I will go out, but I will come back and check on you. " If (when?😊) he comes out, you just lead him back to bed and say "it's sleeping time now." He will come out 15 times the first night, 10 times the next night and 3 times the third night. He has to learn (relearn) that he can put himself to sleep and he doesn't need you. When you are staying with him, he is loving the attention, but probably keeps checking that you are there and you didnt leave him. He is anxious about it and that is preventing him from falling asleep more quickly. And then when he wakes in the middle of the night and you arent there he panics and starts the whole routine again.

the other suggestions people have been giving are also good ideas, but I think that what I described above is the underlying problem.

Good luck! No fun being up with 2 kids all night! One is enough!!

amother

Chocolate

Thu, Sep 26 2019, 6:02 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I've always been unable to fall asleep with music. I have a musical brain and it stimulates me instead of relaxing me.

Sorry if I missed this, but when you ask him why he's coming in the middle of the night, what does he say?

My kids got into the habit of me sitting in the room while they fall asleep. I knew it wouldn't work once the baby was born, so we transitioned to a new bedtime routine. After the lights are turned off I allow them each to use a flashlight to read in bed. I bought them those stuffed animals that have a built in flashlight on Amazon. They turn off automatically after a certain amount of time. And they can each bring three books into bed, so eventually they get bored and stop looking at them.

dancingqueen

Thu, Sep 26 2019, 8:50 am

amother [ OP ] wrote:

It's a new thing! Just started 2 nights before Baby's bris. So like a little over 2 weeks ago. He climbed out of his crib because of all the commotion downstairs. Now that he can climb out, theres literally no reason he won't. So I moved him to a bed because it's safer.
I keep telling myself that it's a stage, and we'll overcome it, and I'm taking it one day (and like 3 coffees) at a time! But the poor guy is so tired. His skin is always pale, and his eyes are puffy, and he has bags under them. In the afternoons he's shleppy and kvetchy, and in the morning it takes a while for him to get over crankiness.

So IME this is very normal when transitioning from a crib to a big kid bed. They like to explore their newfound freedom by coming out of bed. Plus you just had a new baby so that’s 2 big changes. Things will settle down.

amother

Babyblue

Thu, Sep 26 2019, 12:16 pm

Quote:

He's a big boy- nearly 40lbs! I just found a 5lb one on amazon for $40. Is that how much they cost?

My kids are tiny. My son was 4 when we got it and he was only 35 lbs. I had to get a custom one as 5lb was the smallest I could find non-custom and too heavy for him. The nice thing about custom is that we got to pick the fabric. But the blanket was the size of a crib blanket and cost us $75.

He's now a teen. He mentioned having a hard time falling asleep again so I recently bought him a 10lb one for close to $100.

So a 5lb for $40 doesn't sound crazy.

amother

Thu, Sep 26 2019, 2:07 pm

FranticFrummie wrote:

I will look on etsy thanks!

Yeah so the melatonin is exactly what I'm asking about. My main point: do I resort to melatonin after trying almost everything?

amother

Thu, Sep 26 2019, 2:10 pm

momof2+? wrote:

No that's not mean. That's exactly the problem, and I know that. My question is if I should start with melatonin, or are there other options I haven't yet exhausted.
I've tried doing all that. It ended 3 hours later with a massive tantrum (plus a shrieking baby waiting for his food) and me worn so thin that I gave up and laid with him until he fell asleep.

amother

Thu, Sep 26 2019, 2:13 pm

amother [ Chocolate ] wrote:

Tried that with a nightlight. Nope.

I don't ask him because a) he's too groggy b)he doesnt always wake us up. Sometimes he just wanders on in and goes right back to sleep

amother

Royalblue

Thu, Sep 26 2019, 7:15 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I just bought a noise machine today, actually.
When he comes into our room, everyone is sleeping. He wanders in at like 2:30. B"H last night he slept in his bed from 7:30pm till 6am! Of course I showed him how excited I was, and we started a sticker chart. I hoooooope it works. Tonight he was very excited to go to sleep, especially because of the noise machine. Fell asleep at 7:30 after 45 min of books and chills. Let's see what happens.

Thats great that he slept bH!! Hope it keeps getting better!

amother

Wed, Oct 02 2019, 7:33 pm

So they let him nap in school today.

I. AM. LIVID.

SEEEETHIIINNNNNG!!!!!

He just passed out a minute ago THREE AND A HALF HOURS PASSED HIS BEDTIME.
I was so angry when I picked him up today and they told me that he napped. They didn't even bother waking him! I got a babysitter for my newborn so that I can spend the entire afternoon tiring out 3yo. I played outside with him for an hour (it's 100 degrees where I live). I took him to the supermarket. I read his entire library to him. I gave him a long bath. I gave him nice carby snacks and dinner. Warm milk before bedtime. NOTHING.

Newborn has a Dr's appointment tomorrow. I'm gonna ask her what the heck I'm supposed to do about 3yo because I CANNOT anymore.