Here's the deal. Jaxon is 80% holy terror these days.
Here's the problem, he is not getting enough sleep.
~He wakes up before 6am (sometimes MUCH before) and yells for us until 6:30. (His lamp turns on at 6:30 and that's when we go in...and he knows this...it's been our routine for a year)
~He will not sleep during a nap unless I wait until about 3pm, at which time HOLY TERROR is in full effect.
~If I put him down for a late nap like that, no matter what time we put him down to bed, he doesn't stop talking and singing to himself until about 9pm.
~If we don't put him down for a nap, he is HOLY TERROR all afternoon and evening. We can then put him down at about 7 and he will usually fall right asleep...but wake up again before 6am, and the cycle is repeated.
I am at my whits end. Non-stop hysterical tantrums, out of control. I am seriously looking for help here. Does anyone use any herbal relaxants with their kids...like melatonin? I would totally spike his lunch juice so he could take an earlier nap.
Please help.
10 comments:
I wish I had some wonderful advise. The only thought I have to offer is that when my kids woke up that early they wanted milk, but I didn't want to give them milk at 5am every morning, so I would give them some instant breakfast in their milk before bed to keep them full until morning. Sorry I don't have more to offer.
That sure is early. Is he begging for food in the morning when he wakes up or is he just ready to play? What does he do when you put him in his room to nap at the right nap time? Does he seem tired at that time?
hmmmm, sorry about the temper tantrums...never fun. For us, if its after 5am, my kiddos can "be awake", they just know that they don't need to bug mom that early. :) I wonder if he's outgrowing his nap time? I think when my kiddos were 4 or so we just had "quiet time" and they'd either read or watch a movie and occasionally they'd fall asleep. Wish I knew a magical fix to help you. Good Luck
Hey Ashley. It's me. Found your blog and have totally enjoyed reading it lately. Here's the deal... I went through the same thing with Claire a few months ago. 3:00 was torture hour for me, daily. She needed a nap, but fought it. Then if she did fall asleep she would be up till 10:00. But if she didn't take a nap, it was heck... you know the drill. Ultimately, I made up my mind that she didn't need the nap as much as I needed peace. So, I stopped making her take naps and just let her watch a movie, like a full length Disney, something that was long enough that she was "resting" even if not sleeping. It was rough come 5:00 pm when she hadn't slept, but it was too early for bedtime. But I have it 2 solid weeks and eventually she converted to no nap and would go to bed at 7:30, out like a light! Now we have quiet time every day, sometimes it's books, sometimes it's a movie, whatever. I still get my break and she lays down for a while. And bedtime is much more peaceful. So... if you are ready to take the nap away, it takes a while for their bodies to adjust, but for us, it worked. I don't regret it at all! It's worth it. Hope this helps. See ya round.
Hey Ashley! I saw your post on fb and though I still had your blog bookmarked! I wish I had some good advice but instead I just wanted to let you know we are going through the same thing with Noah... right down to the wake up time and not napping until 3 (even though I put him down at 1:30). If he even does nap at 3, I wake him up around 4 otherwise he won't fall asleep till late, and of course he is cranky. i have to put him down at 7 on no nap days otherwise he gets night terrors (found out it's from lack of sleep... every day he doesn't nap and goes down at his normal bedtime he wakes up with night terrors... so weird!)
So anyways, no help here, just thought I would commiserate with you. :)
So sorry to hear about the tantrums. I don't have a kid Jaxon's age but as I was reading the comments I thought that just having "quiet time" was a good thing. My SIL does that and sometimes her kids fall asleep and sometimes they don't. I think when they know they DON'T have to go to sleep then it makes it that much better. :) Do you have the sleep book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child?" If not, you can borrow mine because it probably has lots of advice.
hey girl...i feel so bad. My sister said that melintona stuff works great. She has two kids and their problem is going to bed, its very hard for them to fall asleep but they have no troubles sleeping in. I am sure you can get it at like sprouts. I have no good advice. Have you talked to his doctor? I do not know what to do, my kids do not wake up that early. Its obvious he is not getting enough sleep but yeah how do you make them sleep in? Good luck. About the tantrums...just make sure he gets a punishment if needed or else he will learn he can act how ever he wants but i am sure you already know that. Good luck girl!!
All my boys started this cycle at about the same time. Luckily Aaron still takes a nap every once in a while, but not a forced nap. He will just fall asleep during our quiet time. Because I have my 2 year old, Jared, who still takes a nap the quiet time is enforced. You are quiet or you pay the price of a very grumpy (read angry) mother. I have found that if my 3-4 year old starts to get into that awful mood, that is when they need to be redirected. We luckily have the swings outside, so outside time is easy and essential for boys. He probably has tons of energy that he needs to run off. Aaron always wants to go out between 4-6 while I'm trying to get dinner started. When his older brothers stay home, I send him out to ride his bike or play baseball. Otherwise I have to keep him moving or he will pick a target and pester them until they try to beat him to a pulp. If I were you I would start having about 1-2 hours of quiet time. The same time every day. He doesn't have to sleep, he can play, but it has to be quiet so that you have a break. Then you need to get him moving. KIck the ball around outside. Get a small sandbox and let him dig with old spoons and measuring cups. Anything to get him out and moving. Hope this helps a little. It will get better as he adjusts. Otherwise, just remember that you are the mom and you are bigger...and what you say goes! He will learn.
Skip the nap and go for a more solid night. It's not ideal, but the nap has to go sometime. We did this with Gus and then on those horrible days he wants to take a nap he does it with no issues and still does a full night of sleep. Good luck, sleep schedules suck.
Gigantor is doing the SAME THING! It's so hard, but well worth skipping the nap. We don't have the before six am thing to deal with though...
he usually will just sleep the 12 hours.
We have found that keeping him entertained and busy during the worst time of the day has been key. Usually it has to be something physical so that he doesn't fall asleep at 5 and then stay up until midnight!
Do you have a young woman in your ward who might like an afternoon job? You could hire her to come over and play with Jaxon so you can get stuff done and then you will be able to give him your full attention at his most difficult time. :)
GOOD LUCK! And let me know if you figure out any tricks...we sure could use them over here!
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