Just occasionally a sleep problem may be the result of pain. Babies express pain in many different ways including being clingy, excessive sucking and screaming when laid down flat (if your baby is in pain he may prefer to sleep in a semi-upright position). If your baby has any of these symptoms, consult your GP. Some parents have found that an alternative treatment has unearthed the root cause of their baby’s sleep problem.
Hyperactive children have difficulty sleeping and often wake early. There is a lot of controversy about the causes of hyperactivity. Some doctors claim that diet is at the root of the problem and some that diet is only a small part of the answer.
An allergic reaction to food and additives, or to materials, washing powder or dust, can keep your child awake in many ways, depending on the symptoms that it causes. Your child may have frequent ear or chest infections, be hyperactive or cry, have an abnormal thirst and/or a poor appetite, have eczema, dribble, head bang or rock his cot excessively. None of these symptoms conclusively proves that your child has an allergy; but if several of them occur continuously, you might consider an allergy test. An allergy clinic will test your child on an enormous array of known allergens: foods, fabrics, perfumes, dust and hair to name a few. But you may have to pay. Your health visitor or GP will have details of services in your area, or contact the Hyperactive Children’s Support Group (address on page 151).
The most likely causes of food-related allergies are dairy products, sugar and chocolate, additives (particularly tartrazine or E102), oranges, orange juice and eggs.
Anna had undiagnosed allergic reactions as her mother, Janet, remembers:
‘Anna had colic when she was little, and I used to sit downstairs until 2am to stop her sister waking up. When she went onto solids, the colic got worse. She became constipated and would only poo every four to five days. When she did poo it was really painful for her and she’d cry out and hold on to it. I used to sit in the bathroom for an hour at a time, just waiting. The night after she pooed she would sleep through the night, but every other night she would shout in her sleep and go rigid.
At 22 months she was allergy tested. She is allergic to potatoes, rice, tomatoes, egg and peanuts. If you think what all the baby food is made up of, it’s not surprising weaning made her worse. We took her off all the foods she is allergic to and that night she became hyperactive – asking for all sorts of foods and tearing the wallpaper border off her wall. She still only poos every two or three days because she’s used to it hurting her, but her sleep is a lot better – although now I have to stop her going to bed with a bottle, a habit that we got into when the doctor told me to help her constipation by giving her more fluids – the only advice he ever gave me.’
One form of acupuncture identifies four different energy states – hot, cold, delicate and frightened. Your baby may have elements of any or all of these states. The hot baby wakes and wants to play in the middle of the night. The cold baby, whose mother may have had a lot of drugs at birth, or who may have been exposed to draughts at birth, arches his back, has blue tinges to the lips and seems to have pain around his middle. The delicate baby is often the child of older parents who, in the wisdom of Chinese medicine, will have less useful energy than younger parents. This baby may want to eat or be comforted, to be nurtured or massaged. The frightened baby is not easily soothed, but may be helped by a night light.
Food is also seen as giving different energy states which produce hot or cold insomnia symptoms. So, a therapist would help your child to eat towards the opposite of what they are, without tipping the scales too far in the opposite direction.
Acupuncturists divide food into groups – hot, warm, cool and cold.
A food’s heat is part of the food itself, whether straight from the fridge or out of the oven. They also believe that foods in the cold group can cause colic: food like bananas and yoghurt, which are often some of the earliest solids given to babies. So, if your baby suffers from colic, keep him off the bananas and yoghurt for a week. It may just help.
Chinese acupuncturists also use a range of different tools including needles, massage, small suction cups and low-level lasers to stimulate energy flow. If needles are used, then the practitioner will pop them in and out very quickly so that your baby does not have to stay still for a long time. There may be a little soreness and a few tears, but these are quickly over. Parents often worry more about the needles than their child. You should see results after about four sessions.
Although treatments can be expensive, many therapists operate concessionary sliding scales. Acupuncture may also be available free on the NHS with a referral from your GP. Some private health schemes will also pay for acupuncture treatments. Check your policy to find out.
Enza and Claudio took Valentina to see an acupuncturist when she was 16 months old:
‘Valentina had no rhythm, no pattern. Sometimes she would sleep in the day, sometimes at night. Very rarely she slept for five or six hours. Her feeding was all over the place as well, so I couldn’t stop breastfeeding her until after the treatment. Sometimes she would wake in the night to play and then sleep better in the day. At the first session the acupuncturist asked a lot of questions, particularly about the birth – I had a caesarean, and that was part of the problem. At the first session Valentina had some laser treatment. But after that she had the needles, which went in for a fraction of a second. Somehow I knew it would be the needles that worked best, and it was. Since the treatment she has slept quite well even when she was teething.
A lot of it was to do with diet. I had to cut right down on dairy products, and now she seems to prefer soya milk. The acupuncturists said she had a lot of heat. She would always throw the covers off from the moment she was born, but since the treatment that’s all gone. Her character’s still the same but I think she is calmer. Now she sleeps for seven hours without waking up, but that doesn’t mean that she won’t go back to sleep again, I just give her a drink of water and she goes back to sleep. I would recommend anyone to try acupuncture.’
See page 150 for details of how to contact a registered acupuncturist trained to work with children. And do make sure that your acupuncturist is registered as there is currently no legislation to prevent anyone setting themselves up as an acupuncturist.
Cranial osteopathy is based on the idea that pregnancy and birth are traumatic times for babies. Each baby has the ability to unwind from that trauma, but some get stuck. The trauma is then held and expressed in their bodies. Sleep disturbance can be one expression of this trauma.
With new-born babies it is possible for a therapist to just lay his hands on the skull and for there to be a change within minutes.
Most cranial osteopaths work with the baby while he is being held by his parents. This allows the baby to feel secure with the changes that occur and for the parents to see the baby differently. This is especially useful where your relationship with your baby has been strained by a lack of sleep.
The therapist will usually begin by placing his hands on your baby’s head to tune in to the restrictions he is experiencing, although he could move to any part of the baby’s body where he senses restrictions. There will be nothing for you to see except for a change in the baby, as the therapist does not physically manipulate your baby. Therapists describe what they do as tuning in and listening to the baby and then allowing the baby to use his natural healing ability to move to a place of ease.
The average baby needs between two and five weekly sessions, with a check-up later. See the information section on page 151 for details on how to contact a registered therapist near you.
‘Harry, my second, would never sleep properly. I had a normal delivery, but a very quick second stage and his head was very bruised. I never had any trouble putting him in his cot in the evening, it was the waking up in the night and screaming as though he had his fingers caught in the door. At 11 months I got to absolute despair. After the first six weeks he never slept in the day, the best I ever got was 20 minutes. He’d wake up five or six times a night and all he’d want to do was feed.
He absolutely refused to take a bottle. I tried to stop feeding him, but day and night all he wanted to do was feed and Oliver, my eldest, would play me up as soon as I started feeding in the day. At 11 months I rang my health visitor. I said “I can’t even think straight, I just don’t know what to do.” She could hear I was desperate and she came to see me. She told me about sleep therapy and about cranial osteopathy. I was really worried about the sleep therapy group because I thought they were going to give us such a hard time, but actually they were very sympathetic. They said, “How do you work your day?” and “How do you deal with Harry at night?” and then they said, “You’re not doing anything wrong.”
Well, we tried the controlled crying technique and the longest he cried was for five-and-a-half hours. After that I went in and said “You’ve won.” Then we got a cancelled appointment with the cranial osteopath. He said, “Yes, we can help you and you’ll have to come back three or four times.” He told us that Harry had a strain on the front of his skull. I had to imagine it was like an elastic band from his jaw to the top of his head.
The night after the first treatment my husband went in and checked on him and he said he was sleeping in a baby pose, with his hands up by his head, not the fetal position. He was relaxed for the first time. After three treatments he slept through. He’s not the perfect sleeper, he still wakes up once a night but the turning point was when he started to call for me instead of scream. The cranial osteopathy changed our lives.’
Debbie