For the last month (or maybe it is two months now), L has developed a really annoying habit. She wakes up in the middle of the night screaming. And screaming. And screaming. She screams anywhere from 10 minutes to a record breaking 2.5 hours (last night from 2:00 to 4:25 lucky me).
The weirdest part about it is that she screams hysterically until she passes gas. Then, she will immediately stop screaming and become very agreeable. Then she lays down and goes back to sleep. While she is a little stubborn and sometimes demanding during the day, this kind of tantruming is completely out of character for her.
At the beginning of this phase, it seemed like she might be having night terrors. She didn’t seem totally conscious when she started screaming, though she would eventually seem to wake up and kept yelling until she passed gas. Now, though, she seems fully awake.
It seems like the obvious answer would be to treat the gas issue. I started giving her mylicon drops earlier this week. And tums, just in case she has reflux. That worked for one blissful night and one night only.
Now, I am moving on to restricting her diet. As of today, girlfriend is banned from all dairy. She ate ice cream and birthday cake (made with butter and cream cheese frosting) before her marathon tantrum last night, so it seems like lactose intolerance it may be partly to blame.
I am putting all options on the table. I am going to start a food diary tomorrow, but I am also looking at all other possibilities too. She passes some gas during the day, but not an unusual amount and it doesn’t seem to cause any discomfort. She is sometimes constipated, but poop (or not having pooped for a couple days) doesn’t seem to be correlated with this issue. I have even considered an attachment or trauma issue, but I think it really seems to be more a matter of discomfort.
I am going to make her 3 year doctor’s appointment tomorrow, but in the meantime, I am trying to be diligent about helping this kid (and ME!) get her much needed sleep.
Oh wise internet, what is wrong with my kid?
(I will come back to those food questions, but seriously, I am way to exhausted tonight.)
Food Challenge: Day 10
Breakfast: ???
Lunch: L ate rice noodles. I ate a burrito. Mr. A took leftovers and I think M took a bologna sandwich & yoghurt.
Snacks: Cake batter.
Dinner: Pigs in a blanket. Tater tots. Broccoli.
Day 11
Breakfast: Coffee. I don’t know about the rest of them.
Snacks: Guiness Chocolate cake and ice cream for L’s family birthday party.
Lunch: We all went out for lunch for L’s birthday (our one eating out exception for the challenge) and had dim sum.
Dinner: The girls went out with my mom and had restaurant food and ice cream. I had a burrito. Mr. A ate various leftovers.
Day 12
Breakfast: I slept through breakfast to recover from the no-sleeping fiasco.
Snacks: Everyone except L ate cake. L at half an apple.
Lunch: M and I ate tuna helper. L ate a graham cracker and rice noodles with peanut butter. I don’t know what Mr. A ate.
Dinner: Pressed tofu, rice, egg.
I still think it might be night terrors. When a had night terrors, she seemed completely awake and alert– except that she wouldn’t respond to us.
Trying to remember back 7+ years, I think the deal with night terrors is that pat of their brain is awake, and part is still asleep, and this is a pretty strange state to be in.
The downside of night terrors was that there didn’t seem to be anything we could do. The upside (for her) was that she didn’t seem to remember them the next day.
The steps you are taking make sense to me, though.
Good luck!
I would like to say from personal experience the lack of Pooping can cause extreme pain! and when I don’t poop I don’t tend to fart! TMI I know but maybe some massage before bed with a warm towel on her kidney area! I so remember being little and have sore tummies! I also have one who if not given a daily drink of Kiwi fruit juice doesn’t Poop!
Dairy also affects me but generally a little is fine!
Just my 2cents worth!
Hugs Ruth in NZ
man, i’m really sorry i was right about that one good night being a fluke. sometimes it seems like kids live for the sole purpose of making us insane. perhaps she is trying to distract you from obsessing about houses?
let’s hang out tomorrow after school. want to come over and see the downstairs?
Sounds awful. Thanh had some night terrors when she first came home but never every day. Hmmm. I hope the doctor has some helpful tips or that the dairy-free diet works!
I am emailing you a copy of a dairy free, kid centered cookbook (lots of the kids I work with have food issues). It’s 194 pages in PDF, but downloads quickly.
Also, try infant massage on her tummy. If you rub counterclockwise it’s supposed to aid digestion.
If it’s sleep issues Rescue Remedy is great to settle the mind. Does she eat a lot of raw vegetables? They can be hard to digest and create gas. As an acupuncturist I can varify that it’s all about poop and the period (for women); if things aren’t moving…well, nothing is. I would find an acupuncturist that is trained in Shaku Ju or Toyo Hari – both are non-insertive styles and work great for kids.
Poor girl! Wow, Although my two year old bailey does wake up and have bad dreams, I don’t think it’s due to gas….I am at a loss when it comes to advice. I hope the no dairy thing works though. It seems like it could be related.
I have no brilliant advice, just empathy. S has been waking up screaming at 2am (consistently) several nights a week for many months. I think it’s a variety of stresses from the day that trigger night terrors for her. Nothing *awful* happened, just something she is still processing that causes the stress. My coworker’s bio daughter had them at the same age, and her cousin works with Dr. F (the sleep guru) so she actually discussed it directly with him and shared with me. So, that’s where I’ve landed with it. The bio daughter is a very happy adjusted 7yo now.
House selling? Hmmm….in case you don’t know what to buy, I saw this recently:
http://rocktowindastringaround.com/?p=509
Just sayin’…
The dairy thing is a big problem with our baby. I kept wondering why I was avoiding milk and the obvious dairy items, but we were still having problems. The culprit? Hidden lactose in products. Non-fat dry milk is like 50% lactose and it’s in tons of pre-packaged foods. Here’s a guide that I have used:
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/stevecarper/percent.htm
Good luck!