Sep 21 2008
4 AM Wakeups
image from WP Clip-Art
Today was day 5 of the 4 a.m. wakeup saga. Gus has been getting up, coming into our room and trying to sleep in the spare bed in there. I’ve gotten up, removed his unwilling little body from the spare bed and steered him back to his own room. He’s been staying in his room for about an hour and a half before coming back. I cannot for the life of me figure out why he’s not sleeping!
First I thought he was getting that early morning chill, so I pile more blankets on. No dice.
I thought maybe it’s what he’s eating at night. Nope - he’s had plenty of protein and no sweets.
Replaced the night light - that made things worse.
Maybe he needs to go to bed later? But if he needed less sleep, he wouldn’t be so exhausted during the day.
I’m out of ideas. Any why not just let him stay in our room since we have a spare bed and all? Because he talks to himself…loudly. He can’t help it. I don’t know what else to do, but I know one thing. I am godawful tired.
Trish: I actually did think about melatonin this morning, so I’ll look into it. thanks for the suggestions!
Marla: Gus is 7 and while he had a lot of sleep disturbances when he was younger, in general, he’s pretty consistent. Goes to sleep at the same time and usually wakes up between 5 and 6 no matter what. This is very odd for him. We do have a noise machine for him. He seems to have the idea in his head that his alarm is going off for some odd reason. One other thing I considered is that he may need more exercise in the late afternoon/evening. I’ll keep you posted on how this plays out! Thanks for the suggestions!