Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Sleep Issues and Strategies

DD is still not a sleeper but now she is old enough (nine) to be in charge of all the book reading, music playing, etc. You'll get there

Belle-

My kids have had similar patterns to yours. The three who took multiple years to sleep through the night all have issues with dairy- from mild intolerance to what we believe is real allergy. We are still waiting for our three year old to sleep through the night. She has gotten MUCH better since we took her off all dairy- including yogurt and butter, which people who are merely intolerant are supposed to be able to digest easily. I've always been a real butter user, so it's been hard to change my cooking to all vegetable oil based spreads. We have also switched to soymilk for cooking, whereas we used to make pancakes and such with cow's milk. I can see when she has a bit of cow's milk that ti does affect her at night- it can be just a single chocolate chip cookie, and then she'll wake 5-6 times crying at night and be difficult to comfort.

I believe that allergies can also cause or exacerbate reflux in infants. If you haven't checked out possible intolerances or allergies, maybe it could help.

Bump

My DD4 has a very active mind that she can't shut down at bedtime. I'm the same way, and we both have to be exhausted in order to fall asleep quickly. Sometimes she's still awake at 10 after having gone to bed at 8:30. My DS8 goes to sleep relatively quickly and rarely wakes up. DS6 is somewhere in between. I often lie awake for an hour or two after going to bed, even if I'm tired!

I asked a couple of GT friends about their sleep patterns and some were like me and some weren't. I agree with the people who say that this habit is a feature of being GT and not a bug. I don't know how common it is in the general population.

Val

Both DS4 and DD19mo have always required less sleep than all the other kids their ages. When DS was an infant he barely slept during the day. All other babies slept during the day, but he just didn't. He always slept fairly well at night, but required less sleep than typical children. He also seemed bored as an infant. As if he couldn't sleep but wasn't sure what to do since he just didn't have the motor skills to do stuff yet. He now sleeps about 10 hours a night, no nap. My 19mo old sleeps about 11 hours a night, with about an hour nap on a good day. Some days she will sleep a few hours...but usually it is less than an hour. They sleep through the night well so I don't feel like I can complain. When DS was about a year until about 3 1/2 he would wake up in bed very early and would just sing forever until we came to get him. Sometimes he would wake up so early it would be almost an hour. He truly was singing for fun though, wasn't upset in the slightest. Very odd, but cute.

That is too cute shellymos! DD24 (who I think is bright but may not be gifted) slept 12 hours everynight and would nap 1 or 2 times a day starting at about 4months, funny thing is as an adult she still sleeps a lot! My two younger daughters 4 and 5 (both gifted)still wake us up almost everynight and go to bed late even if we start at 8:00pm the last one is not asleep until 10:30. Needless to say we don't get enough sleep over here.

DD24 mos. defaults to exactly 11 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period, however we want to divide it up. I usually opt for at least a one hour nap because I need a break! She wakes several times per night. Exercise or other forms of stimulation do not make her more tired.

As a newborn she did not sleep much and was bored and irritated she couldn't move around herself. I swear I was the only mother celebrating getting a *break* when DD started crawling and then walking. lol

shellymos...my DD is very much like your description. She never slept in the day as an infant and would finally collapse around 8 pm at night (If we were lucky) OK I shouldn't say never. We had a 15 minute nap here and there but not the normal baby sleeping cycle. We use to walk her around the neighborhood sometimes at midnight b/c she would sleep for a few hours and wake up. In the stroller she would konk out but trying to put her in the crib would awaken her. We eventually used the swing for her bed.

Now I can get her to take a nap in the afternoon most of the time. And she goes to bed at night with no problems. She just seems to like being in her bed and I have empty her room out so she has no distractions. She only has her stuffed animals in bed with her. But just because she goes to bed with no problems doesn't mean she sleeps right away. I hear her playing sometimes 2 hours before it gets quiet. Usually having conversations with her animals. Then she wakes up early in the morning but quietly plays until someone comes and gets her. So I am not really sure how much she sleeps. I would say 9 - 10 hours is her norm.

Yeah, I remember not being sure about my DS as well because I would hear him up forever just singing/talking...and then up early doing the same. Now he seems to be out shortly after 9pm and usually I wake him around 7:00 if he isn't awake yet, but sometimes he is already up. He does seem to sleep better if he works really hard at something mentally during the day. Like on days he goes to his montessori school he has been sleepy earlier at night. He still doesn't fall asleep earlier but gets tired and sometimes sleeps in longer. That is a good thing. I love my sleep. I would love more of it. And I should go because it is going to be a late night as I brought some work home with me to do tonight. (sigh).