I’ve been tweeting and talking about this for ages, time to write a blog.
Our Sleep Saga has been well documented. For the last several months, Ronan has been an EXCELLENT sleeper.
Here is what we were working with.
We put Ronan to bed on sleepy cues. When he slows down or gets glossy eyed, it’s time for bed. That means making sure that dinner, bath and pajamas are done well before he may be ready. Once we get into those things, he perks back up and is wide awake again.
Ronan would routinely go to bed at 5:30pm and sleep in until at least 7am. Every. Single. Night. His wakeups would be few and brief, wherein he would put himself back to sleep with no help from us.
After our trip to Canada in July, that was CATASTROPHIC as far as sleep was concerned, the 2 hour time difference helped us to push his bed time back a little. We had been wanting him to go to bed a little later, not because there was anything wrong with his sleep, but because we would have a little more freedom in the evenings if he wasn’t in bed before 6pm.
We started putting him to bed between 7:30 and 8pm, and it seemed to be fine. He was sleeping well, and not getting up until between 8 and 9 in the morning.
Suddenly and yet gradually, nothing has been working. No bed time seems to be the right time, and nothing helps him fall to sleep. I think it started when he was carrying his low grade fever that was and is still unexplained, but he would go to bed at a normal bed time… and stay awake. Wide awake in his crib. Not crying, not upset, not wanting to get out… just unsettled. He would toss and turn and talk to himself for HOURS. Yes, hours. Brock and I would go in every 30 minutes or so to check on him, ask him if he needed anything, and also to check for poops. (See Poop Dilemma) He was calm, quiet, and tired, but unable to fall asleep.
The following few weeks have included every single possible test in the book. Earlier bedtime? Check. Later bedtime? Check. Shorter nap? Check. Longer nap? Check. More activity before bed? Yup, we’ve done that.
As it stands, Ronan went to bed at 6:30 last night. He fell asleep immediately, and didn’t move… for an hour. At 7:30, he woke up and started rolling around in his bed. Playing, talking, tossing… anything but sleeping. He continued on that way until nearly 10:30.
We are at a loss. Still hoping this is just a phase. Still wondering if there is something different we should try. Ronan takes a 2 hour nap every day, that sometimes stretches out to a three hour nap. He doesn’t fuss or cry at bed time (usually!) and he always seems happy to be in his bed. He just… doesn’t seem to be able to fall asleep.
I wish I knew what to do to help.
