Monday, June 4, 2012

The challenges of parenthood

My oldest has always been a handful.  He was born around 36weeks, spent 10 days in the NICU of our local childrens hospital, and when he came home he wasn't the easiest baby.  He nursed constantly (which after having my 2nd, I realized that my supply had been low with my first - explaining the constant nursing). He was never a good sleeper - and didn't actually sleep through the night until we did some sleep training at 11.5mths old. Even then, 3 mths or so later when he started cutting his molars that went out the window and to this day he is up at least once a night (often just to come into our bed and then back to sleep).

He also has some behavior issues - I can definitely link it to his sleeping (as I said, not a great sleeper and even if he sleeps 12 hours, he is never fully rested) - this causes him to get wild. He gets so tired, that he passes the point of being able to fall asleep and gets wired. Not energized like after exercising or anything, but bouncing off the walls as if he is hopped up on sugar....it is really difficult to deal with, especially if I am alone with both the kids.

I think we have finally figured out the issue - one of his tonsils is enlarged, and they suspect his adenoids as well - leading him to have trouble breathing, causing sleeping issues and that results in his wild behavior.  Now, we wait for our referral to the ENT to see what she says....

In the mean time, while we wait - I would welcome any suggestions you may have. When the weather is nice, it's not so bad because we can spend the majority of his home time outside - and that seems to exhaust him enough to fall asleep almost immediately at bed time. But when the weather has been crappy like the last week, our outdoor time is much more limited.

I am at a loss as to handling his behavior - it's like he is so out of it that he can't even process what we are saying/doing - as if he is in his own world.

9 comments:

  1. Does he have anything that he is particularly fond of doing? Any activities that he loves? My friend's son sounds a lot like your son and she often resorts to task based activities that require her son to put things together, sort things, put them in categories...also a lot of crafty things and BAKING! Does he like to bake?

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    1. If I can get to him BEFORE he gets to that point, then almost anything will distract him. The problem is that with another little one at home, I often miss his cues that he is starting down the path of destruction - and by that time nothing works (nothing we have tried anyways)

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  2. I wish I had a suggestion but I don't :( All I can do is say that I'll be praying for you and to hang in there. No matter what happens if you're loving him, you're trying your best and you're seeking help when you need it - then you're doing it exactly right!

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  3. If his health is waking him from sleep, unfortunately there's not much to do until the ENT has their chance to diagnose. Speaking from a family that has huge sleeping issues (apnea, sleep walking, insomnia etc), even being exhausted does not stop the problem from happening. With adnoids, breath right strips *might* help... not sure if there are children/baby versions though. That wouldn't help with tonsils though.

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    1. I know being exhausted doesn't stop the problem - but it helps with avoiding the huge, epic battles. I am going to look further into the holistic route while we await our ENT appt.

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  4. I wish I could help, I really hope things look up love. It's so hard when you are at a loss. ((BIG HUGS))

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  5. I am so sorry about this. Maybe as Chrisitine suggested: find something he likes and not too tiring. I know my boy loves puzzles and he can spend a lot of time playing with them. He loves playing with the water. I have a small pool and a sprinkler.

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