Friday, July 17, 2009

He's killing me!

Finn has not been a good night sleeper for some time now, but it's really gone down the toilet the last week or so. Last night I don't believe he slept a solid hour straight through - I was up with him I'm sure 8 - 10 times. He won't even sleep in bed with me anymore - he's just as crabby and restless in our bed as he is in his own. He's not sick. He's teething, I know that, and I assume that is at the heart of this whole thing, but what to do?? I've never had any luck with the Hyland's teething tablets, orajel is so short-lived, and I've tried giving him Tylenol before bed but it seems to make no difference whatsoever. Do I try baby Motrin? And if so, how long can that go on for? I hate to medicate him just to get him to sleep, but I'm reaching the end of my rope here.

~~~

As cute as Andres, our OT is, I'm finding myself irritated with him. First of all, does he really expect me to do this whole song and dance every time I feed Finn? I mean, seriously! The whole oral stimulation before feeding him, placing one tiny piece of food at a time in his cheek pocket and then distracting him with toys, singing and dancing - I can't spend an hour feeding Finn every time he needs to be fed! Then there's the fact that he always refers to his "low tone." While I understand that low tone is a hallmark of Ds, Finn has never had noticeable low tone. In fact, every professional who has ever dealt with Finn since he was a newborn has noted that he has great tone. I'm sure that compared to typical kids, he does have some lower tone, but I feel like the OT is just making this assumption based on the fact that he has Ds, and it bugs me. And don't even get me started on the fact that his wife is pregnant with their first baby, I just found out today that she's a doctor, and they're going high-tech all the way, so I can't get it out of my head that they'll be doing all the prenatal screenings when the time comes. It's not even any of my business, but I find myself dwelling on it A LOT.

Ack. Not in a good mood.

7 comments:

Mel said...

Does Finn have a feeding issue? He looks pretty good to me. If he's eating ok, I'd just carry on as you have with you other kids. Don't make it a bit deal unless there's an issue. Why fix it if it's not broken? He'll come to lumps in his own good time. My eldest child never did the stage 3 lumpy foods- just went straight to proper food. He always hated those really lumpy ones, and I can't say I blame him, they don't look very appetising do they?! Lol. Go with your gut- you know what you're doing. Get the OT to focus on walking skills or puzzles and drawing or whatever.

sheree said...

first off- I feel your pain on the teething/sleeping issues. While Gabby is not up 8-10 times per night, she is definitely not the dream sleeper she once was. Sigh.

As for your OT, that sucks. The "low tone" comments get on my nerves too because, like Finn, Gabby has always showed great tone and it drives me bonkers when her PT mentions her low tone all the time.

Hopefully Finn will find some relief somehow, someway and you both can get some much needed rest.

Unknown said...

I'm sorry that Finn is not sleeping well. If you want to try baby Motrin, it's safe to give a dose every 6 hours. Some kids respond better to Motrin than to Tylenol...it might be worth a shot!

Unknown said...

I'm the black sheep in the flock. We opted out of EI for a few reasons, but the main one for me, was that it just was so foreign to my whole way of Mothering and how our family lives. Now, please don't flame me.....I'm not advocating it, and I support EI services for those that want to participate……but my whole focus on raising Emma Sage was to allow her the same gift of childhood and my gift of Mothering without this outside focus of what is wrong and how to fix it. I educated myself on all aspects of T21 and made certain that I provided her with every opportunity within the mainstream and our community to grow and develop to her fullest potential. I was told I was depriving my daughter by the director of EI…… at a six month follow-up [to make sure I truly didn't want to participate in EI] I was 'doubted' that she could climb stairs [as the PT was pulling apart my couch to have her 'climb up on something' and then stood beside her as she was dumbfounded as she watched my little girl climb up the whole flight of stairs ~ thus I ramble. It was the feelings from those experiences of being told I was hurting my child by 'not' subscribing to the system and being treated as I was 'lying' about her abilities, that I realized that I was doing the right thing for our family. I hate being made to feel inadequate. So Lisa, when you post these feelings, I fully understand where you are coming from and I'm just a little soul out her to say that we went against the grain and are doing just fine.

Brandie said...

I would try Motrin for Finn and coffee for you. I'm always straight with the therapists and tell them when something doesn't work with our family's routine or if its just a pita. They don't always like it, but try to come up with variations that work better for us. You have 6 kids how on earth are you supposed to put dinner on the table and do the oral motor song and dance? And high tech birth - eeew. ;)

Monica Crumley said...

Oh that's tough with the teething! We went through that with John Michael for a long time. Those darn teeth took forever to come in and really gave him a fit, especially at night. He uses a Binky, and even that hurt to suck on. We used a natural teething liquid (don't know if it helped) and eventually started giving Tylenol every night and sips of cold water. It's a tough phase. Hopefully, it'll be over soon.

*K* said...

Lisa-

Are you using the Ora-Gel that kind of looks like a Q-Tip, that you rub straight onto Finn's gums? That's what has worked occassionally with my babies. Also, if you go the Motrin route- if you alternate Motrin and Tylenol, you can get a couple of "extra" doses in without hurting his tummy. Our ped has told us to do a dose of Motrin, follow 4 hours later with a dose of Tylenol, 4 hours later another dose of Motrin, etc etc repeat. Hope this helps...and I hope Finn starts feeling better soon!