My Son's Snoring And Lack Of Sleep

My son is 2 1/2. He has never been a good sleeper. He was born premature due to preclampsia on my part. He also had colic and a milk allergy. Due to these factors, he often had to be held to sleep, or would only sleep in a swing.

He began sleeping through the night at 1 year old and did well for several months. Beginning at 1 1/2 he would often wake up at night and would cry and want to be held. I would go into his room and sit in the rocking chair to comfort him and then would place him back in his crib. (He also had a new sister brought into the family when he was 1 1 /2) He did well for the next 6 months.

At the age of two we began potty training and he did really well with it. However, the night awakenings began again. He would frequently wake up on average three times per night and would need to be comforted. He would go to sleep on his own just fine after our nightly routines.

He has always snored to some extent since he was about 1 year old. I have noticed that it is getting worse. He also has become very sensitive to things, such as haircuts, washing hair, cutting nails, etc, which he was never bothered by previously.

His current situation is that he will not go to sleep on his own, he wants to be held in the chair in his room until he falls asleep and then place him in his bed. He will also wake up at least once per night and need to be comforted (sitting in the chair) and then placed in bed when he falls asleep. When he wakes up he appears anxious at times, and also scared at other times.

Even on his worst night, and he falls asleep at 10 pm (normal bed time is about 7:15- 7:30 pm) he will still wake up at 5 am every day.

He wakes up and is tired, yawning, rubbing his eyes, grabbing his face, and whining!

I have tried everything and we are now on month 8, I am at my whits end. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Kevin: Thanks for writing in. While snoring is common, it is not normal--in the sense that all snoring is just the body struggling harder to breathe. When your son snores, are there ever any pauses in his breathing, or any gasps? Because it is getting worse, his behavior is changing, and he also wakes up tired, the snoring could be the best place to start looking for the root of the problem.

Best wishes, and feel free to update this page with how it is going using the comments section below.

Warmly,
Kevin

(Please keep in mind that I am a student of sleep science and not a medical doctor. Please take any thoughts I give with my background in mind.)