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Getting up during the night

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My asd son goes to bed ok, however he is getting up during the night at about 3 am every night. Before, he was coming to sleep with me. I had a chat with him about this and now he goes to see his daddy who usually sleeps downstairs as he goes to bed alot later than me.

 

It is so tiring. Hubby is training to be a driving instructor and I work full time at the moment and we both need to keep our wits about us.

 

M goes to sleep with his light on. My mother has suggested to take him out walking to burn off his energy but he still getting up every night...........

 

Any suggestions?

 

Forbsay

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O is the same, I'm afraid he's always been like this. Sometimes I lie by him and try and get him back to sleep. Sometimes I bring him downstairs if he's waking W up. Sometimes I give up and let him go on Ceebeebies on my laptop. No words of wisdom I'm afraid - just sympathy! It's soooo tiring. I've often gone into work after 2 hrs sleep or even less. I'm coming to the conclusion he just genuinely needs very little sleep. I've considered melatonin but he doesn't always have settling problems just needs only a little sleep.

xxx

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Logan gets up about 4am more often than not and we just worked on things to get him to stay in his room - he has a DVD player in there - we have to get up and put it on obviously but it does mean we get a little longer in bed. He wont sleep next to me which is really annoying. ATM because of moving and starting school and things he's going through a phase where he wont be left in his room so I have to be up with him and its exhausting.

 

Lynne x

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:D Hi. :thumbs:

 

Daniel is almost 13 and has never been a brilliant sleeper :rolleyes: , we have tried many things to resolve this, but due to his anxiety levels this does not help.

Daniel will eventually settle between 2 am but more often than not 4 am, even as a newborn baby he would hardly settle very well and never in the day unless he was a bit unwell.

 

My hubby when working mornings is awake for 4 and I have only just settled down myself due to dealing with Daniel, and I have even dropped off at the bottom of Daniel's bed. :tearful:

 

Daniel is very sensitive to noises, we cannot have clocks that make noisy ticking sounds, the heating & water system we must turn off very early and on timed as this takes time to settle down, he will not have anything on his ears, we read and he does not have nothing to eat or drink too late as we know this can have an affect on sleep. :unsure: .

 

How old is your son ?

It may be a phase he's going through - because as just said Daniel has never been a very good sleeper.

 

Daniel is due to see his specialist again soon, as we have been to every route with his sleep, they did say last time something about medication, not too sure about that though and will need to know more about it first, although I know they are the experts.

Daniel is also asthmatic and is on meds and inhalers for that.

 

Good luck Hun, this may be just one of those things and he may get back into a routine again soon, fingers crossed this is the case, and maybe worth having a word with your GP and/or specialist and take it from there. :thumbs:

 

Di xxx

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since j was born hes got up at 4 am and this was the main reason we went to cafs and cafs gave up (useless) we have now got it to 4.30. The school are moaning at me cause i put him bed at 6pm but he goes to sleep at 7 pm they say its to early to put a 10 year old to bed. I have tried keeping him up till 9-10pm but ................ he still gets up at 4.30am and this wasn't a couple of nights it was 9 tiring months and he was exhausted after school and just wanted to go to bed.

he just has an built in alarm clock!!!

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my son just doesn't need sleep, hasn't done since he was about 2 (he is now 13)

we tried melatonin and think it was vallergen, but that made him zombie like and the melatonin stopped working. we were offered it again at his last medical, so i asked the doctor, if he wasn't tired did he really need it- he said no. so we decided against it.

 

he will sleep a couple hours get up, watch a video upstairs, i put him in bed with me sometimes cos he can destroy his room if left alone. then another hour about 6 am. we have done miles and miles of walking, swimming, running, everything to tire him out, he just sleeps deep for a couple hours then is back up.

i am totally shattered, try to get an hour while he is at school.

 

>:D<<'> know how the sleepless nights feel.

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Now we are on the subject of 'sleeping' sorry to hyjack your thread :rolleyes: , and regarding my son's DLA, they did not award anything for the night time, they awarded LRM and LRC, because the doctor at the tribunals added that he could not accept that my son Daniel has little sleep and still attends school with 90% attendance :tearful: , so this goes to show these people do not know anything about ASD, and what problems can be along with it !!

I'm sure he seen my black heavy saggy eyes for goodness sakes :hypno:. I am up and down, in and out of Daniel's bedroom until he sleeps or he will just wake the neighbours and bang about !

 

Anyway, all the evidence and reports were in front of them about this and to me they are taking me for a liar !! :wallbash:

This will not end there, I will fight for what Daniel is entitled too and would love to invite these people to my house for a night or 2 :lol: , I would love to have some babysitters for the night............ they wouldn't last long :lol: .

 

Yes losing sleep yourself doesn't help and we would do anything for our kids for them to have at least a few full nights sleep, but we can only do what we can do. :thumbs:

 

Cheers Di xxx :D

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Lack of sleep is a common problem. For the first five years of The little man's life, I got one full night sleep a week (when hubby took the night duty). Things are not quite as bad now. The little man has started going through phases. He will sleep through every night for a few months, and then have a few months not sleeping through. I now look forward to when he goes back to a sleeping phase.

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OMG this sounds so like my dd. Most nights she wakes between 3am and 4:30am for good. Often falls asleep at school (they bought her a chair-to-bed :rolleyes: )

We have tried melatonin...does help to settle her but in a tiny dose or she sleeps deeply and wakes after a few hours. Occasionally over the counter meds help but she builds tolerances quickly :unsure:

 

We are thinking about the "safe" room and letting her get on with it but a) she panics if she can't see us after a short time, B) she has very little idea how to entertain her self and c) she has physical disabilities that cause her to fall alot! Short of a padded cell we can't make a "safe" room. These disabilities are also a reason she can't entertain herself as she needs help with many toys.

 

We get sooo tired, when she does sleep through a night we both find ourselves waking out of habit now :rolleyes:

 

A x

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Kieran doesnt seem to need sleep and he s 21.When i eventually get him upstairs usually about 12 as soon as my bedroom door shuts he sneaks downstairs again to watch cable so i am in bed with an ear open like you do when you ve got a baby and as soon as he is back up in his room and i hear is light go out i can then get settled down for the night myself as once he s in bed he usuallly stays there the problem is getting him in it.

 

 

lynn

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Don't know if this is relevant but a friend of mine told me once that it is quite common for people to wake up at 3 or 4 am and it may be something to do with digestion of food. That is apparently when food you have eaten will have digested and your body / metabolism says you are hungry again. Something like that. I just wondered if it might be worth your while trying a different time for evening meal or a snack before bedtime or something. When I was little we always had a cup of cocoa and biscuits before bedtime.

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We tried the burning off energy bit too! We took Hayden on hikes, swimming, farms, woods, indoor fun centres etc etc & he still wouldn't settle until between the hours of 12 - 2am sometimes longer (not good on a school night!!) would really irritate me when people would say 'have you let him burn off his energy' Umm yes, just a bit! :rolleyes: because he would settle so late at night he was a real nightmare trying to get up in the morning for school & he would get really angry when i would try & get him out the bed. The school would say how tired & pale he looked due to lack of sleep. The paed put him on Melatonin & i have to say that so far (ssssssh) it's worked, he has the tablet at 6:30 & by 8:30 he's fast asleep! He will wake early about 6am but we don't mind this at all cos at least he's getting a decent nights sleep & is refreshed for school in the morning :pray: it keeps working, for a while anyway

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Hey Forbsay, it's a pain isn't it? Martin used to wake at all hours just to do stupid things like put up posters - 3am and you're putting up posters! :hypno: Thankfully he does sleep through now, or if he doesn't he at least stays in his room and we don't know about it! :lol:

 

Questions:

 

1. How old is he?

2. What time does he go to bed? Could he go to bed later?

3. Does he eat/drink before bed?

4. Does he have a wind-down time away from computer/tv before bed?

5. Can you spare time to do some quieter activities with him? Not sure I agree with taking him out for a walk before bed that would just wake my son up!

6. What is his bedtime ritual? Is there anything in particular he is doing at 3am which could be included into an earlier bedtime ritual?

7. Could you sleep in his bed with him and creep out when he's asleep?

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I so know where you are coming from. DS needs a few hours and falls asleep around 3-4am after waking everyone up almost every night. When it's time to wake him up at 7am he is still sleeping. I'll be watching this topic to find some hints for my DS >:D<<'>

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Hi Daisy

 

He is nearly 7.5 years old.

 

He does play the computer/watch TV before bed and does not eat anything (mind you this is prob because he is stuffing his face with yoghurts during the early evening)

 

When he gets up during the night - it is usually for a cuddle. Mind you, he is obsessed with the moon and sun at the moment and tells me all about this.

 

However, the last few nights - he has been sleeping through. I had a chat with him and was telling him that mummy and daddy were getting too tired.

 

Thank you for all your replies

 

forbsay

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He does play the computer/watch TV before bed and does not eat anything (mind you this is prob because he is stuffing his face with yoghurts during the early evening)

 

forbsay

 

 

Hi

 

Feel like I've got a couple of suitcases, not just bags, under my eyes just now. Robert gets up every night without fail - last night it was twice, once at 12.30am and again at 4.20am. Totally sympathise.

 

Robert also watches a DVD before bedtime because it was the only way we could get him into his room and relaxed in his bed. Downside is that even watching TV apparently stimulates the brain at a time when it needs winding down. Problem is, bedtime story books aren't entertained at all with Robert. Wondered about getting a CD bedtime story!?

 

Caroline.

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HI Forbsay

unfortuately we have found there is nothing we can do when our son gets up in the night and its tends to be 3-4am :crying: My dh is very good and tends to take him downstairs so he can lie on the sofa and he just watches telly probably not the best thing to do but once he is awake thats it. Is there anything he can do quietly so you could just rest beside him? Sorry i dont have any better advice.

Brooke

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WEIGHTED BLANKETS could be the answer for alot of your children !!

 

Weighted blankets are beneficial to many Autistic Spectrum children/teens/adults

great for insomnia/autistic/aspergers/add/adha/hyperactive ...

 

the pressure provided by the blankets 'calms the mind' which produces a NATURAL chemical in the brain

that in turn CALMS to body

 

no more drugs !! Our AS Children simply need calming when they are awake or asleep

 

I custom make my own, if you would like further detals please contact me,

 

best wishes mel xx

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