Sleepwalking?

[Joker]

Anyone have any book recommendations or ideas on dealing with this in young girls? My younger dd has been doing this for quite a while but recently its become often and a problem. She's waking everyone up at odd hours in the middle of the night. The latest was her trying to walk through a wall. It was disturbing but she went back down easily. I'm afraid she may hurt herself if I don't hear her so I am now having trouble sleeping as well.

[Starr]

I don't think you can stop it but they often outgrow it. Mine did. :grouphug:

[Pamela H in Texas]

Do you know what your daughter's trigger is (assuming she's not at a developmental night terror age)?

 

My 4 yr old's trigger is that his body says he needs to go potty but only wakes him part way. He'll come walking around, often speaking alien or sounding delirious. Last week, he did a fire drill without waking at all! We cannot wake him and we ALWAYS have to get him to the bathroom which often makes him cry but he WILL potty each and every time.

 

We actually had a neurologist for another reason but it ended up being connected! Sleepwalking is related to night terrors and there is often a trigger, usually one that will be outgrown. For 18month olds, it's developmental growth. For my son, it's a bothersome bladder. Foods, allergens, stress, etc could all be related.

 

Anyway, if you could figure out the trigger, you could see if you could manipulate it.

[Joker]

Pamela, that's interesting about the bathroom! When she was about two there were many times I would carry her, asleep, to the bathroom because it was obvious she had to go. She doesn't seem to need to go now and she goes back to sleep but I wonder if I try to steer her there if it might help. It's seems crazy that all of it would be tied to that but I'll give it a try and see.

[Coffeetime]

Do you know what your daughter's trigger is (assuming she's not at a developmental night terror age)?

 

My 4 yr old's trigger is that his body says he needs to go potty but only wakes him part way. He'll come walking around, often speaking alien or sounding delirious. Last week, he did a fire drill without waking at all! We cannot wake him and we ALWAYS have to get him to the bathroom which often makes him cry but he WILL potty each and every time.

 

 

This is both my boys. In fact, just the other night one of mine got up, walked into the living room, got out the Wii remote and started acting like he was playing. :D He had no clue what he was doing. And a few nights before that I heard him up in the middle of the night and found him in the laundry room, walking around with no clue as to why he was there. I usually just walk him into the bathroom so he can go and he goes back to bed quietly after that. :tongue_smilie: He never remembers what he did in the morning.

[MamaJeanne]

Oh, man. The other night I am sitting in the living room and my 8 year old comes walking out, goes to the front door, and starts trying to open it. :scared: When I asked him what he was doing, he told me that he needed to go to the bathroom and goes back to trying to open the door. I calmly got up, directed him to the actual bathroom and back to bed, but inside? :eek: I was freaking out at the thought of where he would have gone if I hadn't been up. I don't have any help for you, but am hoping that you get some ideas!

[AngieW in Texas]

A flip latch for the top of the doors to outside is helpful. I put one on our front and back doors when my dd tried to leave the house while sleepwalking. She sleepwalked frequently until she was about 5yo and then it just stopped. She was always a sound sleeper and even now would probably sleep right through fireworks going off next to her.

[Melissa in Australia]

My brother and some of my sons sleepwalk. in all of them it is when they have a full bladder. I have had one son wondering around the house going from room to room, it took me at least a minute to work out he was asleep and lost, looking for the toilet.

[Joker]

When she came out for the second time last night talking gibberish, I helped her to the bathroom. She went, fell back asleep, but was up again two hours later.:glare: She didn't stay asleep for the night until I put her down on the floor in our room. I'll try limiting her fluids before bed and see if that will help. Thanks, everyone.

[PrincessMommy]

I don't think you can stop it but they often outgrow it. Mine did. :grouphug:

 

Mine did too.

[simka2]

I do not have any book recommendations, but dd10 just had an episode a couple nights ago. We have been episode free for about 6 months, but it has started again. For us it is stimulus related. The night before she had spent the night at a friends house. It was a very special experience for her.

 

 

I do know what works for us is to get her to engage the logical part of her brain. So, when she is up I will ask very random questions until she figures out that what I am saying makes no sense! ;)

 

 

"Dd, are purple pajama's covered in banana's?" Things like that. When she can truly look at me like I am crazy I know it is time for her to go to bed.:D

 

Now, thinking of crazy questions when she has woken me up by just standing next to my bed breathing heavily....is an entirely different story. :tongue_smilie:

[Joker]

Well, restricting her fluids and having her use the bathroom an extra time before bed did not help. She came walking down the hallway a few minutes ago and appeared to be reading Anne of Green Gables! :001_huh: That was a new one.

 

I took the book from her, took her to the bathroom again, and settled her back down. I'll be surprised if she stays settled. I wish I could just help her sleep.