Those were the days...

Pretty much anyone who has talked to me for as much as a minute in the past six months has heard at least part of my sob story about Jack, and how he has stopped sleeping. We have tried everything to get him to nap and sleep better through the night, but nothing seems to be working. I've read every book, taken all of the advice, and he has laughed his cute little baby laugh in the face of it all.

Our pediatrician recently referred us to the sleep clinic at the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, and we had that appointment last week. After a 90-minute check-up, we were told there were no physical problems with Jack. Although this was a huge relief (we feared Apnea), it was a little disheartening because it meant we still had no answers, and therefore no solutions. The nurse who performed the exam gave us two suggestions. The first was to switch up his bedtime routine so that nursing was not the last thing that happened before sleep. We have tried this for the last week, and if anything it has made the situation worse. We figured it would take time for him to grow accustomed to the new routine, but that doesn't really seem to be working out in the least.

Another suggestion was to give him Melatonin, which is a hormone the body produces when it gets dark to make you drowsy, fall asleep, and stay asleep. Some children do not make enough Melatonin, and need to be supplemented. She suggested giving .5 mg per night, a half hour before bedtime. We've done so for two nights now (had troubles finding it at first), and it hasn't phased him in the least. *sigh*

I've now resorted back to my theory that the thing that keeps him up/wakes him up is intestinal, having to do with his bowel movements (or lack there of). Mylicon doesn't touch it (of course), and the pediatrician tells me there is nothing stronger on the market that is safe for him... well, except for Reglan, but after a little research on that, it doesn't fall into my "safe" category either. Reglan is a motility agent though, so I did a little research on natural motility agents, and the only thing I'm coming up with are prunes. Sooooo, starting today, Jack is on an all prune diet. LOL. Totally kidding. :) But I am going to make it a point to give him at least a serving a day in an effort to get him regular (sometimes he is, sometimes he's not) and see if that helps with the sleep as well.

If you're wondering how I came to this theory, well, I've had it for some time and it was quickly debunked by doctors. But, sometimes you just have to stick with that mama gut feeling and run with it. The two times he woke up last night, I happened to be right by his room, and went in quickly. I could hear him passing gas as he was struggling to stay asleep, but the gas won, and he was up.

The nurse at the clinic did say that he seems to be suffering from "infant insomnia" and that he will grow out of it eventually, which I'm sure is true... it's just this in between time that's difficult.