sleeping habits

[Katydid]

My three year old has always had strange sleeping habits. He was colicky as a baby, he wakes up very easily, he snores loudly and makes this funny sound like he is trying to get phlem up or some kind of weird grunt. He has nightmares and he sweats horribly while he sleeps. Any ideas as to what might be going on? I really don't want to drag him to a doctor, when they can't actually see what he is doing. They will probably think I am a hysterical mother. OK well, I have three kids and he is the only one that does this. Any ideas or anyone who is knowledgable in this area, PLEASE give me some ideas.

P.S. a humidifier doesn't help, tried it. Though it does drown out the whole hacking noise he makes.LOL

 

[BeanMak]

Has the doctors ever mentioned his adenoids? Does he make noises when he eats?

 

[Katydid]

No he doesn't make noises when he eats. The doctors have been so busy with his heart murmur(turned out to be nothing bad), his speach delays, gross motor delays, delays delays delays. Why does everyone feel the need to point out that my child has delays. Not you, but everytime I take him to the doctor, the last thing on my mind is his sleep, and he has been so pushed by them that taking him to a doctor, to me, is mean.

 

[andiesmama]

I'm just throwing out ideas, so bear with me (Andie my daughter is 2)...

Nightmares....did they just start? Andie's been fighting with monsters (for the last couple weeks) then all of a sudden dragons (yesterday)! Who knows?? All I do is comfort her (sometimes many times during the night) & keep telling myself "this too shall pass"!

Sweating...Andie is the same way, she's ALWAYS been a hot child! She gets it from her daddy, I think! I keep the air turned way down when she naps & at night, also keep her ceiling fan on high. She starts out under the covers but invariably ends up on top. Does your son have a fan in his room? (I'm sure you thought of that)

Breathing...when Andie was a baby she was really congested at night. A humidifier didn't help her either, so I bought one of those wedges you can put under the mattress of the crib to lift up the head a little bit, & that helped alot. They probably make one for toddler beds (or whatever bed your son is in)

I can imagine you hating to bring him to the doctor....does he seem to be getting enough sleep? Or do the problems you're listing wake him up & cause him to not sleep well? If he's sleeping through it, maybe you should see if it just runs it's course...

Anyways, good luck! Sleep problems with our little ones are the worst, you have my sympathies!! I'll pray for you....if you pray the mosters & dragons stay out of my daughter's room! lol

 

[lucypevensie]

Perhaps he is indeed having a hard time breathing. I imagine that having to work hard to just plain breathe would get frustrating and cause some stress. I'd try raising the mattress a little. Does he have a waterproof mattress pad? Those can really make you sweat because they don't circulate air well. Enlarged tonsils and adenoids cause loud breathing and snoring too. Allergies is another possiblilty, allergies to different fibers and whatnot in his bedding. Several people in our family have had surgeries to correct breathing problems, from having tonsils removed to rhinoplasty (nose surgery) to create a bigger airway.

Just a few ideas...

 

[bliz]

Have you considered a milk allergy? That can cause the breathing problems. Kids will milk allergy often have dark circles under their eyes, and frequently a crease across their noses a litle bit up from the tip from pushing on their noses constantly. Milk allergies are misdiagnosed as asthams, ear infections and all kinds of tings. It's easy to find out. Remove all milk from the diet for 2 full weeks. (Read lables - you'll find whey and casian in all kinds of foods, including processed meat! They are both from milk.

Just another idea...

 

[mojorising]

By all means, take him to the doctor. i never had this experience with our son, but if I had, I'd be afraid to leave it to work itself out. My best to you and your baby.

mojo

 

[selune]

Another possibility is sleep apnea. Several of the symptoms you described fit. This can be serious because the people stop breathing for a bit with it. Best to get it checked.

 

[Katydid]

Thank you all for your suggestions and concern.

andiesmamma, I will pray to keep all bad things out of your kid's room definately. Actually, though, I was told when my son was six months old that it was night terrors, but it is still continuing nightly. He doesn't get much sleep at all, which of course makes my day SOOOO PLEASANT!!(sarcasm).

Lucy

He doesn't have a mattress cover, he is still in diapers (oh joy, we are trying to work on that, but with all the other delays, we figure this will be delayed as well). The thing is, he sweats but is cold. He has to bundle up to stay warm, but he is still sweating. Makes no sense to me.
I definately need to check the allergy thing. I imagine that could be it, his grandmother is allergic to EVERYTHING!!! so maybe that is it.

Bliz,
He was born lactose intolerant, but they said he grew out of it. I need to probably check to make sure. Now I don't mind getting rid of milk itself, plus I can buy soy. But, taking away cheese and yogurt is going to be the hard thing. Thank you though, because this definately seems like a high possibility.

selune,

OK see, I read in a magazine about it, and I really don't want that to be the problem. But you are right, he checked about 5 out of 7 boxes for that. I just really really really don't want that to be it.

So thank you all sooooo much, but, it looks like I am off to the doctor. I really appreciate all the responses. You just can't imagine how much.

 

[selune]

sleep apnea is supposedly very correctable though. While you don't want it to be that, I would certainly have him checked. Sometimes it's as simple as tonsils. Do your whole family a world of peace and have it checked out. Prayers for you all.

 

[Katydid]

selune,

I definately will. I talked to my husband and he agrees that we need to get him to a doc. Thank you so much.

 

[Lena75]

Good for you! At least you are acknowleging that there is a problem and sitting around twiddling thumbs won't solve it. LOL. (That's what I do!) Anyway, many prayers for a good visit!

 

[selune]

great! I hope things turn out well. Who knows, perhaps his delays are related to a sleeping problem? and everything will start getting on track. I'm keeping you in my prayers.

 

[andiesmama]

Just curious as to how your little one is doing?