These bad nights are getting monotonous! Thursday and Friday were both bad nights (after a couple of good nights). Last night was another one where she was so wired that once she woke (at 2am) she just stayed awake. She spends the night reading her books and watching DVD's. Some positives are that she is responding to the 1-2-3 warnings and modifying her behaviour. She also was very responsive to having the 'program' for the night explained. We just need to work out what it is that is 'winding her up'.
It could be not enough medication ... or too much medication .... or going to bed too early ... or temperature regulation .... or external noises (rain / airconditioners).
We're going for a car drive today .... to Hyden to see Wave Rock.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
#33 Wednesday 7th July 2010
The sleep saga continues ..... Monday was bad night #5 ... followed by a really good Tuesday night! So far it is not clear what is making the difference. One small possibility last night was that she had had a rash during the day (which seems to be a reaction to a new nightie) and we'd given her an anti-histamine at bed time .... this may have made her a little more sleepy than usual. She hasn't had it tonight so we will wait and see.
The slight increase in Lovan (since Sunday) has made a reduction in 'stimmy' behaviour. It is possible that this has also made a difference to sleep .... less anxiety = better sleep?
It's school holiday time and Kaylia is enjoying her time .... today she spent the morning with Kym then the afternoon at Garvey Park with Linda & Anni.
The slight increase in Lovan (since Sunday) has made a reduction in 'stimmy' behaviour. It is possible that this has also made a difference to sleep .... less anxiety = better sleep?
It's school holiday time and Kaylia is enjoying her time .... today she spent the morning with Kym then the afternoon at Garvey Park with Linda & Anni.
Monday, July 5, 2010
#32 Monday 5th July 2010
She's done it again! Last night was another bad one ... this makes 4 in a row. We tried increasing the Melatonin but it had no effect. Fortunately its now school holidays so she can sleep in after a bad night. And after sleeping in she is always a really happy child.
I've had some lovely emails from people concerned about Kaylia being to cold at night ... and I realised that my writing has conveyed the wrong idea! The problem is not that she is too cold ... it is that she is too hot! So she kicks off the coverings in her sleep ... and I was wondering if she was waking because she then got cold after being too hot! She is really just like me ... she is like a natural hot-water bottle and if she has too many blankets, she overheats. She needs to sleep with light coverings ... apparently even less than me!
I've had some lovely emails from people concerned about Kaylia being to cold at night ... and I realised that my writing has conveyed the wrong idea! The problem is not that she is too cold ... it is that she is too hot! So she kicks off the coverings in her sleep ... and I was wondering if she was waking because she then got cold after being too hot! She is really just like me ... she is like a natural hot-water bottle and if she has too many blankets, she overheats. She needs to sleep with light coverings ... apparently even less than me!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Saturday 3rd July 2010
Wow - what a night! (Bad - that is!) Awake at 3, bouncing and yelling at 4! We had breakfast at 5:30 .... no point in trying to sleep. Then she was back to bed at 7:30 and now at 10:30am, she is still asleep. We'll have to wear her out today so she has a chance to return to a better sleep pattern.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Thursday 2 July 2010
The last two nights have been good .... I'm developing a new theory ... Kaylia always kicks off the sheets/blankets and I've interpreted this as "Kaylia is too hot" but she then gets cold .... if she is kicking them off for some other reason, then she will get cold and this would wake her. So last night, I covered her up again each time she kicked the blankets off ... and she stayed warm and stayed asleep. Great! It meant that my sleep wasn't perfect but it was better than if Kaylia had awoken.
Today we had a 'Kaylia Konference' at school. The crux of it was that it had been a dfficult start to the year but that things have come together well and by the end of the first half, she is starting to cope with Year One level work. This is an excellent result and it lays the foundation for a good second half of the year.
Today we had a 'Kaylia Konference' at school. The crux of it was that it had been a dfficult start to the year but that things have come together well and by the end of the first half, she is starting to cope with Year One level work. This is an excellent result and it lays the foundation for a good second half of the year.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Tuesday 29 June 2010
Once again, we have the cycle of good night - then bad night ..... Sunday night was very good and then Monday night was very, very bad. It feels like it was the worst night ever. Kaylia awoke at 1am and was then awake for the rest of the night. She has had other bad nights .... but each time, after a while she would sleep again. Last night, she was awake till school time ...
For a change she actually woke other people .... so I'm not just dreaming that she is awake! Much of the time was spent trying to stop Kaylia from going downstairs to be with Mummy (who was desperately trying to sleep so she could face the next day ....).
I didn't go to work today .... just took Kaylia to school then went back to bed and slept.
I think I will try a new tactic .... when she wakes, I won't try and get her to sleep again ... I'll just accept that she is awake and get up myself .... have some play time with her, perhaps go for a drive. I think that it is the process of trying to sleep (while continually being re-awoken) that is so debillitating. Perhaps if I just stay awake, it won't feel so bad.
For a change she actually woke other people .... so I'm not just dreaming that she is awake! Much of the time was spent trying to stop Kaylia from going downstairs to be with Mummy (who was desperately trying to sleep so she could face the next day ....).
I didn't go to work today .... just took Kaylia to school then went back to bed and slept.
I think I will try a new tactic .... when she wakes, I won't try and get her to sleep again ... I'll just accept that she is awake and get up myself .... have some play time with her, perhaps go for a drive. I think that it is the process of trying to sleep (while continually being re-awoken) that is so debillitating. Perhaps if I just stay awake, it won't feel so bad.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday 27th June 2010
This blog is proving to be a useful tool for remembering what is happenning with Kaylia .... I have other recording systems for medication & sleep but I find that I am not as diligent in their updates as I should .... I'm finding that I am more consistent in 'blogging' and this blog has enough detail that I can refresh my memory when doing updates to the other records.
Friday night was a good night - bliss - and she slept right through. Then Saturday night was very disturbed. It's amazing that the rest of the house sleeps through all her noise! At around 3am, she was galloping up & down the stairs and playing on her xylophone in her room! (Maybe it is all the late night World Cup watching that lets people sleep through it!)
She has had a head cold for the past few days and didn't have much energy today.
The 0.3mg of Risperdal plus 13ml of Lovan still seem to be providing good 'stim/anxiety' control without side effects. This appears to be a 'plateau' phase and we may notice a reducing effect eventually - I'll update the medication record to see how long the plateau period lasts.
Friday night was a good night - bliss - and she slept right through. Then Saturday night was very disturbed. It's amazing that the rest of the house sleeps through all her noise! At around 3am, she was galloping up & down the stairs and playing on her xylophone in her room! (Maybe it is all the late night World Cup watching that lets people sleep through it!)
She has had a head cold for the past few days and didn't have much energy today.
The 0.3mg of Risperdal plus 13ml of Lovan still seem to be providing good 'stim/anxiety' control without side effects. This appears to be a 'plateau' phase and we may notice a reducing effect eventually - I'll update the medication record to see how long the plateau period lasts.
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