My Kid is on Crack... How Much Sleep do you need?

alright, she's not, but she is teething...

here we are, night 10 of her staying up until 11pm not wanting to go to bed. i'm getting fed up with putting her to bed later and later in hopes that she will just sleep...

she used to go to bed around 8pm, and sleep through the night (waking up at 8am-9am-ish) until she got her 15 month shots this past week... i'm not sure if these effing shots are causing it or if she is just really having a bad go at teething...

either way, i'm tired, i'm exhausted and i'm looking at less than 5 or so hours of sleep.

how many hours of sleep do you normally get and how many hours of sleep do you need in order to function normally?

i know people that claim that 5 hours is enough for them, 5 is enough for me to get some rest, but i end up feeling weak and sleepy all day.

Ugh, I remember those days. My oldest had colic, and I swear I didn't sleep for about a six- month stretch. You hear stories about stressed-out parents shaking their kids into oblivion, and this is when it happens. Every parent has been there. Sometimes you just have to put the kid back into the crib and walk away for a little while. The kid will still be breathing when you get back, and you didn't go crazy.

Hang in there, it gets better.

Bernie Brewer said:

Ugh, I remember those days. My oldest had colic, and I swear I didn't sleep for about a six- month stretch. You hear stories about stressed-out parents shaking their kids into oblivion, and this is when it happens. Every parent has been there. Sometimes you just have to put the kid back into the crib and walk away for a little while. The kid will still be breathing when you get back, and you didn't go crazy.

Hang in there, it gets better.

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oh i understand completely, the wife and I usually just ignore her, but tonight she is extra cranky... right now she is running around tho and tearing the place apart...

we were very lucky when we brought her home, she slept through the night and hardly ever gives us any trouble... i think these shots really messed her up...

i absolutely hate when she gets sick, it takes her about a month to recover her regular sleeping habit/pattern.

You might want to try teething tablets from Hyland. http://www.hylands.com/products/teething.php Our daughter got through her teething much easier with these. I also have many friends with young children that swear by them. They disolve quickly and my daughter never minded taking them. I hope this helps, I know how lack of sleep will put you on edge. Good luck!

I don't know much about kids, im only 19, but being 19 i know alot about sleep! For an average adult its supposed to be at least 8 hours and more for teenagers.

Vorsicht709 said:

I don't know much about kids, im only 19, but being 19 i know alot about sleep! For an average adult its supposed to be at least 8 hours and more for teenagers.

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Yeah, I still need 8-10 to feel normal. Given the college schedule and the maximum of 5-6 per night, I'm almost always in some sort of daze. That is, until spring break rolls around, and I hibernate for a couple of days

I am amazed when people say they need 8-9 a night. I had wicked bad insomnia a few years ago and was getting less then 4hrs a night for about 3 months, that sucked, but you learn to cope with it alot. I average 6-7 a night now and thats just fine by me. I have a very stressful job, its hot and I spend most of my time yelling/running. but I de-stress every night for an hour or two and that helps me get good sleep I think.

I work 7 pm - 7 am. What's sleep?

"When you have insomnia, you're never really asleep... and you're never really awake."
"Everything is a copy of a copy of a copy..."

There's a teething product (like Ambesol) that you put on their gums and also puts them to sleep...I don't know what it's called I only heard about it a couple of months ago...

4 words:
Baby Bliss Gripe Water.

It worked for both my boys. Teething usually isn't more than a day or two ordeal. If your kid is starting to get colicky it might just be some acid reflux or simple indigestion, and that's where the Gripe Water comes in, it's Sodium Bicarb (very basic antacid with some fennel extract to help sooth nausea. The stuff is still like liquid gold around my house.

homebrewer_99 said:

There's a teething product (like Ambesol) that you put on their gums and also puts them to sleep...I don't know what it's called I only heard about it a couple of months ago...

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Jack Daniels?

I keed, BUT, my Grandmom sweared by it.

My boy is 19 months old now and his 'hours' change on a whim. We still stay with our "schedule" tho and that seems to help some. He's always fallen asleep in our bed but slept through the night in his crib.

More often than not, he tries to fight going to bed. For us it's lights out at 9:30! He will toss, turn, fuss, and whimper til' he falls asleep and then I move him to his crib.

He's teething too. Molars.

My 16 month old was very colicy in her early stages. I learned to function on four to five hours a night for six months. Major suck!

When she is trying to bust out an all-nighter I give her a 4oz bottle of warm lactose free milk. It knocks her right out.

bjdetwiler said:

You might want to try teething tablets from Hyland. http://www.hylands.com/products/teething.php Our daughter got through her teething much easier with these. I also have many friends with young children that swear by them. They disolve quickly and my daughter never minded taking them. I hope this helps, I know how lack of sleep will put you on edge. Good luck!

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we bought these! they do work, i just think last night she was just hyper and didn't wanna sleep...

Ibuprofen works wonders on my kids for soothing teething related aches and pains.

Once your kid gets in a sleep routine DO NOT CHANGE IT. If 8:00pm is bed time, then that's when she should go to bed everynight, no matter what. I know its tempting to keep her up longer thinking she will sleep easier if she's tired, but that can back fire on you if she gets overly tired or excited. Kids need a routine. It helps them cope.

8-9 hours a night would be ideal. 7 hours and I can cope. 6 or less and I'm tired and can't concentrate during the day. I don't know how people function on this amount. I'd give up almost anything, including beer, to be well rested on a couple hours of sleep a night. If I was a super hero, that would be my power. Imagine the possibilities...

I feel the pain, on my third boy who is almost a year old, sleep deprivation is a pain in the life. My advise is to continue to work towards a solution and in the meantime, you need to find time for the 26 minute power nap and remember in about 18 years you will be trying to remember every minute that this little angel and you spent together, both the good and the trying times.

+1 on Ibuprofin or anbesol.

Gila you have got to get that kid to bed in his own bed. No Joke!

19 months and still in a crib? OK, but the longer you let him even fall asleep in your bed, the less sex you will have over the next 8 years. I am not kidding.

Well, now I'm worried. Eliza just got her 15 month shots this morning, although we opted out of the shot that is supposed to be linked to causing autism.

Right now she seems no different, fingers crossed.

cheezydemon said:

+1 on Ibuprofin or anbesol.

Gila you have got to get that kid to bed in his own bed. No Joke!

19 months and still in a crib? OK, but the longer you let him even fall asleep in your bed, the less sex you will have over the next 8 years. I am not kidding.

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Sex? You mean that still happens after childbirth? LOL.

Yeah, still in the crib too. Haven't converted it to the bed yet. It's big tho'.

bjdetwiler said:

You might want to try teething tablets from Hyland. http://www.hylands.com/products/teething.php Our daughter got through her teething much easier with these. I also have many friends with young children that swear by them. They disolve quickly and my daughter never minded taking them. I hope this helps, I know how lack of sleep will put you on edge. Good luck!

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Those didnt do beans for my son. I took a couple and didnt notice anything.
A little Crown Royal on the gums really seemed to help. I know its not PC but my parents did it and so did theirs and we all turned out OK.

cheezydemon said:

+1 on Ibuprofin or anbesol.

Gila you have got to get that kid to bed in his own bed. No Joke!

19 months and still in a crib? OK, but the longer you let him even fall asleep in your bed, the less sex you will have over the next 8 years. I am not kidding.

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+1

They need to learn to fall asleep without you. It is one of the greatest gifts you can give them and yourself. Even if they resist you for a few weeks, be strong.

I like to get a good 7 hours, but I can function on 3-4.

We got spoiled with our 4th, she goes to bed at 7:30pm and sleeps all night - she has since the day that we brought her home from the hospital.

Watch that "supernanny" show. I was like wtf? when my wife was watching it, but every episode we look at each other like"holy crap! that's what our kids do!"

And she has some magical technique that 100% works.

Flyin' Lion said:

Well, now I'm worried. Eliza just got her 15 month shots this morning, although we opted out of the shot that is supposed to be linked to causing autism.

Right now she seems no different, fingers crossed.

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well, aside from her having a sore leg and a nice sized bruise where the shot went, we haven't noticed any huge changes...

if anything she is even more wild than before... and when I say wild, she just like to run around and get into things like any other kid... we've heard horror stories that after some kids got the 15mo shot how they became very quiet and a totally different person... or seemed to be removed from life... eerie.

thank god my child hasn't changed drastically, aside from her sleep pattern she is the same awesome kid.

Right now Jack will sleep for a maximum of 3 hours and then he usually wants to stay up for an hour or two. Sleep is a def. a luxury.

cheezydemon said:

Gila you have got to get that kid to bed in his own bed. No Joke!

19 months and still in a crib? OK, but the longer you let him even fall asleep in your bed, the less sex you will have over the next 8 years. I am not kidding.

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+1. That is a road you do NOT want to take. I know parents that had to let their kids fall asleep in the parents' bed until they were around ten or older. Once you start that, it is almost impossible to stop. My kids were never, ever allowed to sleep in our bed. On occasion when they woke up with a bad dream or were sick, we would let them sleep on the floor NEXT to our bed, but not IN it.
Besides, there's not enough room, what with two dogs already taking up space........

Baby orajel, and a schedule of tylenol and motrin every four hours works. My 1 year old is teething like a mo-fo now and it sucks. But the orajel gives pretty instant relief (more effective than Jim Beam, plus I can't drink Jim Beam) and the tylenol/motrin every four hours helps keep the swelling and pain in-check.

You gotta alter the motrin and tylenol so that you can give it to them on a shorter schedule.

Virtuous said:

Those didnt do beans for my son. I took a couple and didnt notice anything.
A little Crown Royal on the gums really seemed to help. I know its not PC but my parents did it and so did theirs and we all turned out OK.

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I stand by the teething tablets. As an adult you would likely have to take more than a few if you are looking to notice a change. As for introducing alcohol of any kind to a child, you must remember that they are still developing and have tiny livers. This will change things on a cellular level, while the cells are multiplying. They may turn out "OK" on the surface but I believe that introduction to toxins at a young age can cause issues that take time to develop. Not to mention it can lower the immune system at the most important time of life.

Please understand, I know this is a fairly common practice even today and I am not judging or getting down on anyone, but I say there are better ways. Just my 2 cents.

BraeHaus said:

well, aside from her having a sore leg and a nice sized bruise where the shot went, we haven't noticed any huge changes...

if anything she is even more wild than before... and when I say wild, she just like to run around and get into things like any other kid... we've heard horror stories that after some kids got the 15mo shot how they became very quiet and a totally different person... or seemed to be removed from life... eerie.

thank god my child hasn't changed drastically, aside from her sleep pattern she is the same awesome kid.

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My wife is paranoid that our kid is going to wind up with autism (it doesn't run in either family) and she is convinced that it is linked with this particular shot. The symptoms that you mentioned are exactly what has linked it as a causal factor for autism. We have been told repeatedly that autism is based on a genetic predisposition, NOT a particular shot (hard to convince SWMBO, though).

i hear ya...

I've been saying for years that the earth has it all wrong. A day is supposed to be around 35 hours long. I have a revolving sleep schedule. My body's rythm doesn't jive with society or the earth. I wake up and need around 4 hours to get up to speed. now I'm ready to be productive. This stage can easily last 18 hours, and can be pushed to the high 20's. Then, when truly exhausted, it's time to sleep deep. My body wants to sleep for 10-12 hours and I tend to agree. Going to sleep wound up and waking up deleriously tired is the result if I try to stick to a 24 hour schedule. Of course this means that I'm awake/sleeping at a different time each day. kind of a PIA, but I deal with it.

TxBrew said:

Right now Jack will sleep for a maximum of 3 hours and then he usually wants to stay up for an hour or two. Sleep is a def. a luxury.

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All I can say is hang in there. At six months, let them cry it out for a while.

My oldest is 17 now but when she was teething she would fall asleep the the sound of the vacume. We werer afraid that the motor would over heat so we ended up making a tape recoeding of it running. It was the strangest thing but it worked. Our pediatrition told us about it. Apparently it's the white noise that does it. Today her favorite chore is vsacuming. No kidding.

flyboy said:

My oldest is 17 now but when she was teething she would fall asleep the the sound of the vacume. We werer afraid that the motor would over heat so we ended up making a tape recoeding of it running. It was the strangest thing but it worked. Our pediatrition told us about it. Apparently it's the white noise that does it. Today her favorite chore is vsacuming. No kidding.

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Wow, you have a maid or a house mom in the making there!.... I'd push for the latter