I would like to slap anyone who has uttered these words.

I haven’t had a good night sleep in probably three years.  No exaggeration. Luke slept well for just a few months of his life so far and during those months I was pregnant with little sis, so I wasn’t sleeping well. 

We are currently in the worst phase in the history of his “sleep”.  I put sleep in quotes because I don’t think he ever really sleeps.  

Here is a typical night:

7pm – put little sis to bed, Luke plays in his room
7:10pm – Sis is out. Luke and I start the process of getting ready for bed.  PJs, a couple books, teeth brushing, videos on mom’s phone
8pm – lay down in bed
8:01pm – fighting, fighting, more fighting, hitting, kicking, pulling hair, hitting more, head banging, getting out of bed to head bang, more hitting, thrashing
9pm – Luke is “asleep”
11pm – thrashing, hitting, kicking, crying, tantrums, head banging, arching backwards, standing up on the bed and falling backwards
1:30am – Luke is “asleep”
3am – moaning, crying, rolling around
3:15am – Luke is “asleep”
5:30am – Mom is up for the day
7:30am – Luke is up for the day

We’ve tried pretty much everything you can think of. Warm baths, warm milk, compression clothing, weighted blankets are out of the question because he won’t tolerate blankets, heavy work before bed, essential oils,….I won’t even go on because if you have a child that has sleep issues you already know what I’ve tried.

His Ear, Nose and Throat doctor stuck a camera up his nose and down his throat to find out that his tonsils look fine and his adenoids are slightly enlarged but not to the point of concern.  His sleep study, which ended after a couple of hours because what sensory kid can stand being wrapped up with wires all over their body without having a complete meltdown, showed signs of snoring and sleep fragmentation.  His sleep doctor recommended Singulair, which is what is given to people to prevent asthma attacks, to open his airway which he believes is blocked and causing sleep terrors.  It’s been 2 weeks and we’ve seen no improvement.  Give it a month.  We’re always giving it a month.

The hubs works nights, so by the time he’s home and asleep it’s 1:30am. Little sis, who thankfully sleeps 12 hours straight most nights, is up at 7am so most of the time it’s mom dealing with Luke overnight.  I have a full time job where I leave the house at 6:30am so if you take a look at the typical night above, you’ll see how much time I have to myself.  So many people have said “I don’t know how you do it.”  What choice do I have?  My little boy has some major sleep issues, he can severely injure himself, of course I have to be up with him. I’m exhausted every second of every day.  Every so often, I’ll sleep in the guest room while my husband sleeps with Luke.  Even then I wake up a minimum of 3 times a night because I think someone is up crying.  Or because I actually hear Luke crying or having a meltdown and I can’t bear to be in the other room not comforting my little man. 

So for anyone who thinks sleep is overrated, I beg you to spend 1 week at my house.