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3 year old daughter continually wakes

NAS79662

Hi,

I am really hoping someone may be able to offer some words of wisdom around my daughter, I have suspected for a while that’s she has ASD, her moods are very changeable, she has to follow certain routines/directions, hates certain touch/feel and can lash out, all of this has been manageable but I am now starting to really struggle with her sleep pattern.

She has night terrors 1-2 times a month, I have to let her work out of them, hopefully this makes sense and then she will want cuddles and goes straight back to sleep, more recently she has started waking 5-6 times a night, leading to very broken sleep for her and myself.

i have also noticed that she will be randomly talking in her sleep or almost grinding her teeth. 

i have done the obvious of a calm bedtime routine, bath and milk and no screen time, o have cut out sugar from her diet but in the last few weeks and in particular 5/7 nights have been broken which I know isn’t great!

any words of advice would be hugely appreciated - I have an appointment booked with the dr and a sleep diary from the last month, but tbh don’t hold out much hope with them.

thanks 

Parents

  • Hi, 

    My son is almost 3 and is on the ASD pathway, he has always been a really bad sleeper, waking anywhere between 2 and 6 times a night. I cut out all cows milk and he immediately started sleeping better. I now only give him almond milk in his cereals and no milk before bedtime. For him, I think it was the sensation of wetting his nappy at night which kept waking him. He still wakes in the morning with a very full nappy so he must be weeing through the night but something about cutting out cows milk has helped us. 

  • in reply to NAS72739

    Perhaps there's more to this than I'm reading but -If all you've changed is not giving him cows milk before bed you won't actually know if he has an allergy to milk.  Not drinking before bed (wine, milk, water, etc.) can produce a desired result of not needing a wee during the night.  

    However, balanced nutrition is far superior to any dietary fad which can rob children of nutrients they actually need. I would be careful with 'nut' milks and soya, if they have Carrageenan added and aren't pure 'nuts' (there is still debate on if it's a carcinogenic or causes cancer in the bowels). Also, an almond is a seed, not a true botanical nut, so take care not to add too many other botanical seeds to his diet like walnuts, pecans and pistachios. A peanut is a bean. Hazelnut is a true nut.

    If you make sure they're properly hydrated during the day and have a 'last call' a half hour or so before bedtime, they won't wake up and need a wee. 

    If you haven't it's always good to be tested for allergies. Cows milk contains calcium, magnesium, proteins, Vit D&K, and Omega 3's. There are nutrients in certain things like eggs, fish, red meat, honey and dairy which one will not be able to get elsewhere. 

  • in reply to JuniperFromGallifrey

    Totally agree with what your saying however he has LOTS of water and diluted juice up to half hr before bed so he is very hydrated. I haven't cut dairy out of his diet as I think it's important for his gut to still be exposed to it and he can get the necessary calcium he needs, but there was a correlation between the cow's milk and sleep. Perhaps an intolerance as his poo is much better now too. 

  • in reply to NAS72739

    Interesting :) 

    I might suggest having him tested for Gluten allergies as there are a load of correlations between grain/gluten allergies and dairy milk, especially if noticed in stools. Many individuals with gluten/grain/galacto- allergies will have problems with diary until the other is cut out. It can slowly get worse over the years so worth keeping an eye on!

    My son is 25 now, I wish I'd had a community like this when he was younger!

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  • in reply to NAS72739

    Interesting :) 

    I might suggest having him tested for Gluten allergies as there are a load of correlations between grain/gluten allergies and dairy milk, especially if noticed in stools. Many individuals with gluten/grain/galacto- allergies will have problems with diary until the other is cut out. It can slowly get worse over the years so worth keeping an eye on!

    My son is 25 now, I wish I'd had a community like this when he was younger!

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