Fatigue in children

[A.Balaban]

My DD is so tired and has not been eating well recently. She will wake up around 9am in the morning, and just lay in bed, cuddle, or doze back off to sleep. She'll eat breakfast, we'll read a bit, I'll put on a Dora for her so I can drink a cup of coffee, and then it's lunch time. I've been giving her lunch a bit late, my fault, I know, but she'll get lunch, barely eat any of it (unless its a hot dog!) and then sometimes straight to nap. She'll nap for almost 4 hours and then she goes to bed around 9pm.

 

I mean, the other day my husband let me sleep in and when he woke up my daughter was still asleep so he left her in bed. When I woke up it was almost 11am and she was still in bed! She still went down for a nap at her normal after lunch time that day (and it was still almost 4 hours long!)

 

I really hate waking her up from a nap, so I usually just let her sleep until she wakes up... but I thought after like a couple days it would even out... but it's not?

 

Even during the day, I will catch her laying on the floor or couch. Any ideas?

 

I am wondering if when I put her down for a nap she is just not falling asleep right away but I don't hear her make any noises. Ho hum...

[NavyMommy]

She may not be falling asleep right away. What time do you want her to be up? I would start there and work backwards. I like my kids up by 8, so I put them to bed between 7 and 7:30 realizing they don't fall asleep right away. DS is also almost done with his nap, but currently naps about 2 hours (1-3) and we are all having quiet time during those hours.

 

For what it's worth, when DS (who is also 2) started sleeping in until 9 or 10 we discovered he was playing very quietly with a flashlight he had stashed in his room until at least 10:30 at night. We only discovered this one night when I was taking the trash to the street really late since we had forgotten earlier and I saw light coming from his room, sure enough he was wide awake playing with his cars and books. That might be worth looking into as well!!

[NotSoObvious]

Could she be sick?

I'd be watching her very closely, and definitely making sure she isn't taking four hour naps. That could be making her restless at night.

Also, be sure she is sleeping through the night.

 

I'd schedule some good physical activity, too. Take her to the pool, to the park, get her out and about so that she is physically tired when it is time for bed.

[Alexigail]

You can always talk to your doctor. But it sounds like a drawn out growth spurt to me, or maybe two year molars are coming in.

 

I agree with the above poster that physical activity is a good idea.

[Mom0012]

My son had physical fatigue until we treated environmental allergies we didn't know he had. He did have food allergies, but never really showed a lot of the typical symptoms for environmental allergies. I took him to the allergist thinking it was a waste of time, but did it because I wasn't sure what else to do and the ped had recommended it. I was really surprised at how many allergies he had.

[gracesteacher]

Is this new or has it always been that way?

[Mommyof4ks]

I would talk to the pedi. It could just be a growth spurt, but I would want blood work to rule out anything else.

[momacacia]

If your pedi or addressing sleep issues don't turn up anything, have a look into adrenal fatigue. Even young children can have it. Anne Elliott has a helpful blog on the topic.

[Ottakee]

I would call the doctor. A 2 year old that is sleeping 16 hours a day (12 hours at night plus a 4 hour nap) and is still laying around during the day, not eating well, etc. isn't normal. If you said that she was full of energy the hours she was awake I might think more growth spurt, etc.