To sleep, perchance to dream
We've had issues with Mia's sleeping in the past, to the point where we have been giving her Melatonin for a few years in the afternoon to help her take a nap. Without it, she wouldn't sleep, and she would be very tired early in the evening. My mom occasionally told me she might be too old to nap, but I rejected that advice for two reasons: she was very tired early in the evening, and I needed a break. This was especially relevant as we were transitioning Norah from two naps to one, which, weirdly enough, made her one (afternoon) nap harder to get through, as she often woke up, I think, for spite. Now Norah is fine, but something strange has happened to Mia.
A week ago, on Wednesday (the 25th), she woke up crying. She has done this occasionally in the past, and we thought at first that her seizures had come back, but it wasn't very regular and the last EEG she got showed no seizure activity. Then we thought it might be a nightmare. Too bad, but nothing we could really do about it. So I got her up and hung out with her. It happened again on Thursday. Strange. Then Friday. Weird. Krys suggested she had a headache, so before her nap on Friday I gave her some Motrin. It didn't work. Interestingly enough, whenever I calmed her down, I would suggest going back to bed, and she would start crying again. This happened whether I calmed her down in bed or out on the sofa. So she was upset about actually going into the bed. She didn't say anything when I originally put her down, but later, it upset her.
We tried again on Saturday, because I thought maybe Krys's presence would calm her down and let her sleep. Nope. She was crying soon after we put her down. That night was awful. She had been sleeping fine at night, just not in the afternoon, but on Saturday night, she and Norah couldn't sleep. We're pretty sure Norah had an upset stomach, but we couldn't figure out what was going on with Mia. She did eventually stop crying, but when we went to bed at 11 she was still awake, chatting to herself quietly. Eventually she fell asleep, but we hoped this wasn't going to be a pattern.
On Sunday we tried something new. We put her in her bed and gave her a toy. We lowered the blinds, but not all the way. We put her noise machine on and left her. She played for a few hours, perfectly happy. She didn't fall asleep, but she didn't cry either. I've been doing that all week, and it seems to suit her. I still think she needs a nap, because she's still exhausted in the evening, but considering she needs to start staying awake all day in August when she goes to kindergarten, I guess it's not a bad thing to start adjusting. I feel bad because I can't really do much with her. I can't take her out because Norah's asleep, and if she walks around in her gait trainer she makes a lot of noise banging into walls. In a few weeks I'll be able to take her in the pool, but until then, it's tough.
The strange thing is we think we've figured out her problem. Krys put her to bed one night and she said, "Fan off." Krys turned her ceiling fan off and she was happy. She asked Mia if she wanted to air conditioning vent closed, and Mia was very enthusiastic in her affirmative. The AC kicks on with a bit of a ruckus, and we wonder if it makes enough of a noise and if the vent is pointing right at Mia, which disturbs her. So now the vent is closed and the fan is off. Krys went in her room last night and came out talking about how hot it is in there. We're going to open the vent just a little bit, but it's possible that Mia just enjoys the heat. We don't know how her temperature regulation has been screwed up (or if at all), but it is possible she gets too cold.
So she's kind of off her nap. It didn't exactly happen the way we thought it would, and I suppose we could try to get her to sleep occasionally, just to see if she wants to, but I don't mind it too much. I just hope she can adjust so that she's not so tired in the evening. She doesn't get unpleasant (like her sister), but she does become a bit of a zombie. And that's no fun.
A week ago, on Wednesday (the 25th), she woke up crying. She has done this occasionally in the past, and we thought at first that her seizures had come back, but it wasn't very regular and the last EEG she got showed no seizure activity. Then we thought it might be a nightmare. Too bad, but nothing we could really do about it. So I got her up and hung out with her. It happened again on Thursday. Strange. Then Friday. Weird. Krys suggested she had a headache, so before her nap on Friday I gave her some Motrin. It didn't work. Interestingly enough, whenever I calmed her down, I would suggest going back to bed, and she would start crying again. This happened whether I calmed her down in bed or out on the sofa. So she was upset about actually going into the bed. She didn't say anything when I originally put her down, but later, it upset her.
We tried again on Saturday, because I thought maybe Krys's presence would calm her down and let her sleep. Nope. She was crying soon after we put her down. That night was awful. She had been sleeping fine at night, just not in the afternoon, but on Saturday night, she and Norah couldn't sleep. We're pretty sure Norah had an upset stomach, but we couldn't figure out what was going on with Mia. She did eventually stop crying, but when we went to bed at 11 she was still awake, chatting to herself quietly. Eventually she fell asleep, but we hoped this wasn't going to be a pattern.
On Sunday we tried something new. We put her in her bed and gave her a toy. We lowered the blinds, but not all the way. We put her noise machine on and left her. She played for a few hours, perfectly happy. She didn't fall asleep, but she didn't cry either. I've been doing that all week, and it seems to suit her. I still think she needs a nap, because she's still exhausted in the evening, but considering she needs to start staying awake all day in August when she goes to kindergarten, I guess it's not a bad thing to start adjusting. I feel bad because I can't really do much with her. I can't take her out because Norah's asleep, and if she walks around in her gait trainer she makes a lot of noise banging into walls. In a few weeks I'll be able to take her in the pool, but until then, it's tough.
The strange thing is we think we've figured out her problem. Krys put her to bed one night and she said, "Fan off." Krys turned her ceiling fan off and she was happy. She asked Mia if she wanted to air conditioning vent closed, and Mia was very enthusiastic in her affirmative. The AC kicks on with a bit of a ruckus, and we wonder if it makes enough of a noise and if the vent is pointing right at Mia, which disturbs her. So now the vent is closed and the fan is off. Krys went in her room last night and came out talking about how hot it is in there. We're going to open the vent just a little bit, but it's possible that Mia just enjoys the heat. We don't know how her temperature regulation has been screwed up (or if at all), but it is possible she gets too cold.
So she's kind of off her nap. It didn't exactly happen the way we thought it would, and I suppose we could try to get her to sleep occasionally, just to see if she wants to, but I don't mind it too much. I just hope she can adjust so that she's not so tired in the evening. She doesn't get unpleasant (like her sister), but she does become a bit of a zombie. And that's no fun.
posted by Greg at
4:54 PM
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