Just the thought is horrifying to most parents. A child that can't sleep. Not just won't sleep, but can't. After all, it's lack of sleep that makes the early stages of parenthood so hard for most of us. But we all take solace in the fact that this bleary-eyed exhaustion phase passes. Eventually, our babies will sleep through the night, the bags under the eyes go away, and the brain fog will start to dissipate. Though new mom Jennifer Stella never experienced that relief even as her daughter Haley neared age 2. Little Haley Rivera has not slept one night since being born 18 months ago, and her insomnia has baffled her parents and doctors.
Jennifer and her husband Edgar Rivera noticed there was a problem two weeks after Haley came home. It was 3 in the morning and the newborn hadn't slept once the entire day. The mom of three was completely overwhelmed. Things didn't get much better. There were times she would sleep two to three hours, but that was far from the norm and never through the night.
More from The Stir: 4 Reasons Your Kid Isn't Sleeping Through the Night
I can imagine how scary and frustrating this can be. There were nights just after we brought our son home that I felt out of my mind with exhaustion. All I wanted was five or six hours of uninterrupted sleep. When that finally happened, I felt like a new woman. I felt renewed. I felt like, "I can do this." I don't know what I would have done if that never happened.
When Haley did actually sleep, Jennifer noticed her gasping for air as she awoke, so she took her to a pediatric pulmonologist and sleep specialist. They conducted an overnight sleep study and found a mild case of apnea, but couldn't figure out why she can't fall into a genuine, lengthy slumber. The conclusion is that it's behavioral and not medical. So what are these poor parents to do?
The recommendation was actually surprisingly simple. The doctor suggested placing pacifiers in her crib. Apparently, it's the ultimate child soother. And while most of us are desperate to wean our tots off these things around 2, for Haley, it could be the key to actually getting sleep. The idea is that when she wakes, sucking on one can help her more easily get back to sleep. I really hope it works for this poor, sleep-deprived family.
How did you fix your child's sleep issues?
Image via donnierayjones/Flickr
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Comments 86
My son is almost 21 months old. I just started getting a full nights sleep about 6 weeks ago. He still wakes up but for the most part he is able to put himself back to sleep. Otherwise I would send him to stay with my mom once a month so that we could get some sleep. We tried EVERYTHING other than medicating him. Co-sleeping, chiropractor, warm bath, massages, anything. I hope these parents finally get some well deserved sleep!
when my son was about a week old he would wake up in the middle of the night gasping for air and then follow with a projectile puke. come to find out he had asthma. after a few weeks of a combination af albuterol and steroids, we never had that problem again. he is 7 years old and has never had any sort of attack again. now my daughter has asthma as well and her case was a little different. she showed some mild signs at a few days old. but she never wanted to sleep. with her albuterol and steroids she slept a little better, but i also gave her just a little bit of infants tylenol. she got on a very good sleeping schedule and also never had another problem.
The inability of a baby to sleep is sometimes an early symptom of an autism spectrum disorder.
Donna- That is the first time I have ever heard that. I have worked with many families with autistic children and I have always heard the opposite, that they were "perfect" babies who rarely cried and slept through the night early on. Plus I have never heard of that being one of the warning signs.
Babies have a hard time sleeping through the night for many reasons. I did some research when my son was very young and not sleeping through the night and I found a great article about baby sleep patterns. It explained that babies (especially early on) do not go past the light sleep stage (especially if they're breastfeeding) so the slightest noise or discomfort will wake them up. So babies outgrow this quicker than others and some will just always be light sleepers. I was one who never was a deep sleeper and i didn't sleep an entire eight hours until I was a teenager.
Have not heard that Autism thing either...but I can say my youngest was sleeping thru the night at 8 weeks old and has been a great sleeper (even with Epilepsy and an apnea monitor) she could sleep thru anything. Now she is being tested for Autism and has a hard time staying asleep. Connection? Maybe. I think her last really big seizure ( she stopped breathing for about 30 secs) may have contributed but we will never know.