And I am not talking about a newborn baby parents cry too
Seven to nine is the magic number of hours per night adults need for a full nights rest With a baby in the house parents are lucky to have a few short spurts of sleep Nap when the baby naps You will miss this time in your life it goes too quick I do not relate to these cliché statements from parents who have grown children
Maybe it is because my nine year old sleeps like a rock and is starting to understand sleeping in on Saturdays is her rite of passage Maybe it is because I have a five year old who is still not sleeping through the night
Yes Five years old not five months old
Seven to nine
My FitBit is riddled every night with a big pink bold line meaning one thing awake
I am awake because my son is afraid of the dark Or that is how we self diagnosed the situation
We tried four different night lights two sound machines a million sticker charts and a scary spray for monsters I could go to bed earlier to account for my seven minimum hours as a full time working mom but who would pack lunches fold laundry or binge watch my favorite series on Netflix And he is still running in no matter when I go to sleep
The why questions remain Why is he waking up every night running to our bedside Why are we moving to year two of having a sleeping bag and pillow on the floor expecting a nightly visitor Why is he waking up
Recently in the International Journal of Obesity children my sons age should be sleeping a recommended 9 to 12 hours per night If I was not receiving my 9 hours of sleep how was he
Children snore No really
Obstructive sleep apnea OSA is a common serious condition in adults but is a condition in children that can lead to learning behavior growth and heart problems According to the American Sleep Apnea Association symptoms and signs in children suffering from OSA can include
snoring
long pauses in breathing
tossing and turning in bed
chronic mouth breathing during sleep
night sweats
Between the ages of two and eight years old only one to five percent of children are diagnosed Studies have shown if left untreated sleep apnea in children can lead to issues later in life like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder In fact as many as 25 percent of these cases may have symptoms of OSA Learning difficulties behavioral issues bed wetting obesity sleep walking and other hormonal and metabolic problems can be the consequences of chronic fragmented sleep like OSA
Pediatric sleep studies versus adenotonsillectomy
Becoming more common among doctors and parents is consideration of an adenotonsillectomy to cure sleep apnea in children Though removing adenoids and tonsils increases cross sectional airway caliber for some patients the absence of snoring and the adenotonsillectomy is not a cure all for children with OSA But if left untreated children with OSA could be considered high risk for the surgery requiring overnight hospital observation
A part of the high risk that is ignored by many parents is obesity Diet and weight loss could even be needed along with dietary counseling if obesity complicates the situation preventing surgery
For children who averaged under the amount of sleep needed a night the International Journal of Obesity found in a 2017 study weight gain was more significant Kids who slept less were more likely to have trouble falling asleep and to go to their parents bed at night
The Happy Medium
It becomes a cyclical routine each night A child goes to bed The child fears falling asleep The child is up later The child comes into mom and dads room for the night A child is moody and cannot focus the next day Hence the cycle of tiredness and stress eating And it all can be correlated back to OSA
For the parents who rather get to the bottom of the why this is happening versus the how can we fix it and get back to sleeping for seven solid hours what are the solutions
Assess the situation It could simply be nightmares or recurring dreams But more than likely if you are moving into years of an issue rather than weeks assess your childs bedtime routine Ask yourself the tough questions
Deflecting is never the answer Make sure to nip your childs issues in the bud Say no to the third drink of water Buy the nightlight that will help them sleep Do not sacrifice your space in the bed for your child to join you every night by crawling in between mommy and daddy
Talk to your pediatrician Keep your doctor updated on your childs sleep patterns This is your coach to solving the problem No they are not available every night at 2 am but you can keep a journal of the problems and report back for some options
Whatever the cause may be wouldnt you rather enjoy parenthood than rely on five hours of sleep and a corner of the bed at night I dont know about you but I have no plans to have a ten year old sleeping in my bed every night
We are closing in on the sixth year of little to no sleep It sneaks up when he has the sniffles but we are finding our solutions one step at a time
First we keep track of day to day life with our sons sleeping patterns Did he watch a show that caused him to be scared Does he have a cold that is waking him up on his own Are we a crutch because we provide a sleeping bag on the floor What helps with his snoring
Second we talked to our pediatrician And not just one time We provide answers to any questions and found a few Band Aids like a humidifier air purifier and nasal spray for allergies
Third we scrapped the sticker chart and asked him for something he would like He requested a sleepover now that he is in kindergarten So every night he sleeps on his own he receives a point toward a sleepover
And it is getting better each day
For others it is not as simple when you are traveling the long road to a solution The sleep experts at Alaska Sleep Clinic are here to help We have trained staff who help parents find treatment for sleep apnea If you live in Alaska and have a child suffering from OSA request a free 10 minute phone consultation with our sleep experts and schedule a sleep study
