Benadryl(this isnt a debate topic please)
Moms View Message Board: Parenting Discussion: Archive July-December 2005:
Benadryl(this isnt a debate topic please)
Faith is a horrible sleeper, even at 15 months old she hasnt mastered sleeping all night every night. We may get 1-2 nites of all night sleep, some weeks she doesnt sleep all night at all. Iam not a fan of crying it out. I know many mothers are totally for that, Iam not.We tried, it just makes everybody in the house miserable.
Yesterday Faith had her 15 month checkup. I told the dr she still sleeps horrible, waking up 2-3 times a night sometimes more. I posted this topic on another board, and somebody had suggested Benadryl.I posted this topic when Faith had a cold and sleep was even worst then normal.I found that several mothers gave the babies Benadryl in those trying times of no sleep and illness.
At 12 months the dr suggested Cry it out, actually she didnt use those terms, but thats what she meant. I told her Ive tried it, and dont like it. So back to yesterday. We are talking about Faiths sleep habits, how well she naps and all that. She said "Have you tried Benadryl?". I was really surprised, I mean Faith didnt have a cold. I told her that we had tried it when she had a cold and it did make her sleep all night. I said I feel bad giving it to her if shes not sick. She told me its ok to give for one week ,and thats it.She said it will get her in a pattern of sleeping all night, and realizing there is nothing to wake up for.So last night we gave her some and she was in bed at 9pm, and slept until 7am, NO WAKEUPS.We only gave her 1/2 tsp, dr said I could give up 3/4 tsp, but we stuck with the 1/2.
For 15 months, I dont think Ive had more then 5 nights of sleeping all night. Its really draining going on so little sleep for so long and having other kids to take care of.
So has anybody else heard of this with the Benadryl, and like I said "Please no debates."
The ped recomended it when Randy was about that age. He was going through a phase where he'd wake up at about 2am and not want to go back to sleep. Randy was a horrible sleeper. He'd go to bed at about 11pm (finally!) and then wake up around 2am, eat, and then be up at 5am for the day. Napping was even worse. He'd take about 5 20min naps a day. I never got anything done! So like I said, the ped did say something when he went through a phase of wanting to stay awake at 2am, and he did say to only do it for 4-5 nights and that it should get him into the habit of sleeping all night. I didn't do it. He got over the phase on his own about a week later (lasted about 2-3 weeks total). If it works for you, go for it. You're doing it with the peds knowledge and suggestion. You have to do what works for your family. I hope you get some sleep soon. {{{{{Jackie}}}}}
Yes, I have done and still do that with my boys. In fact my 14 yr old DS will get up sometimes and come tell me he can't sleep and can he have a benadryl tablet, which I then give to him. We've never had a problem.
I think it is perfectly fine, especially as your pediatrician recommended it and is monitoring it. My pediatrician did something similar with my colicky son back in 1961; when he got over the colic we stopped, and he slept fine - no side effects, no after effects.
We tried this as well. We started, like you, when our son was sick. Then we kept on for a few more days because my husband really needed his sleep and he claimed "our son was still a little sick." At any rate, it helped a little and we were so desperate for sleep.
Hey, if Benadryl does the trick and makes both you and your daughter happier, then why not? I think it's great that you found a solution. I wished I would have known this way back when.
I give Benadryl to my son before car trips to take care of his carsickness. When he has allergies, I give it to him almost every night for weeks at a time to help him keep his nose clear while he sleeps.
My mom did this with my brother when he was 21 months because he hadn't slept through the night ever. She did it for a week and a half and, while it wasn't a miracle worker, it did help and he began sleeping through the night more often. I think you need to do something that will be best for your whole family, yet isn't harmful to Faith and this looks like a possible solution. I hope it helps.
I've done it, too. Benadryl has been my salvation - especially during teething! Just make sure you get the dosage right or it won't make her sleepy enough.
BTW- Helen - my excellent sleeper - has been having the same problem for the past two months! Turns out she has a sinus infection!
Hope you get some sleep.
Ame
Oh, yes, I've given it to my son when he was a toddler on airplanes and I have even given it to him when he was younger instead of his ADHD meds and it works just as well (but not as long). When he takes it now for allergies, though, as soon as it wears off in the middle of the night, he wakes up and I have to give him more. So in that case - when I'm using it for what it's for and now that he's older - it ruins his sleep. Go figure. (He's 11.)
I haven't done it, but my doctor did recommend it for my oldest when we were taking a plane trip. I have heard that it safe as long as you give the right dosage.
I'd say go for it! Sarah had problems with getting sick to her stomach, whenever she had an overnight. So, I started giving her Benadryl, when she had to sleep away from home. She would sleep better and not throw up. At home she didn't need it, only if she slept in a different bed. She doesn't need it anymore and survived a trip to Disney World and a week-long trip to Kentucky without it.
As a pharmacist I have to say a couple of things about using Benadryl. Although Benadryl is not addictive or anything like that, use it like a crutch. Please don't use it all the time. Maybe every night for a week or two to see if you can get her into a better pattern of sleep. Or on nights after that when you just know are going to restless nights without it.
And there are some side effects although not severe, may be bothersome the most common being the dry mouth. You may find your child is really thirsty all day.
And one more thing. Don't stop searching for other reasons for the restless nights. We got dd a regular full sized bed with a really good mattress with one of those quilted tops when she was 27 months old. She went from waking 3 to 4 times a night to sleeping all night immediately. I don't think she was ever comfortable in her baby bed that I was so proud of.
Hi there -
I don't have an opinion on Benadryl - but did want to suggest the Baby Whisper books - I used her pu/pd method for night wakings when my ds was 14months and the results were significant. It is a much gentler approach than CIO. In the end, you'll have to teach Faith to resettle herself. Find a method that works for your family and be consistant - very consistant. Tackle one problem at a time - if it's night wakings, going to sleep in crib alone at night, naps, wakings during naps, etc. It can be done!!!!! At 14mo - my ds was waking 6-7x per night and bf during most of them - he had to nurse to sleep and be rocked to sleep at naptime. It was exhausting. He now sleeps thru most nights - an occaisional night waking -but I can resettle him quickly unless he is sick. He goes to sleep alone in his crib for naps and bed. It is life changing!!! You can emai me privately for more info/advice on specific probs. I have been in your shoes.
win 4 amy (at) yahoo. com
Best,
Amy
Mom to 26 mo Garrett
Hey Jackie-
I say go for it. If the doctor said its ok then it should be fine. I'm a huge fan of the Benadryl but then again when dd was 1 and under and ds was 2-5 we flew quite often from Japan to California and its a LOOOOONG flight with a hyper active kid and an infant.
BTW, long time no see we should do lunch again, my kids have been asking when we will we get to see our friends from Burger King, lol! We are planning on lunch at Chuck E's Satruday after my ds graduates bootcamp. Let me know if you are interested.
I think you have found a great temporary solution to the problem. But I think you need to continue to try to find the problem.
Hey Kristy...
Chuck E Cheese sounds good. Im pretty sure we are free on Saturday.
Well we had night number 2 of no wakeups.
About finding the problem, we have been looking for it for months and months. I discussed in detail with the dr what we have tried.
During the day, this is the happiest baby you will find. She rarely cries, she naps twice a day no problems. We tried to take one nap away, NOPE, it made her sleep worst. Dr said, then thats a sign she needs that extra sleep.
We have tried more food at night
We have tried night light, no night light
We make sure her mattress is just so, nothing sticking out to bother her
We make sure she isnt too hot, isnt too cold
We have tried to adjust every variable known to man with nothing positive happening.
I DONT do Cry it out, I know people swear by it, we dont.
The dr said babies/people just dont need as much sleep as others.
She got a clean bill of health at the drs on Monday, no ear infection, nothing. Shes growing and gaining like she should, and does everything a 15 month old baby should do, except sleep LOL
Thats great that its working.
How's 1pm? The one by the Lynnhaven Mall? Graduation is only supposed to go until noon so we should be able to be there by 1. Our storage is right there and we have to go there after Chuck E's.
Have you tried running a fan in the room or something to create white noise to help her sleep better? That always helped with my dks. Good luck! I know how awful it feels to be sleep deprived.
Jackie,
The same thing happened with Randy. I then begged the doc to do a CBC. His white count indicated an infection, even though there were no outward signs. Two nights on the antibiiotic and he was sleeping through.
I'm glad the Benadryl is helping. I hope you continue to enjoy some rest!
Ame
Hey Jackie -
I hope you don't think I was promoting a CIO method - with the pu/pd I was right by my ds side - the whole time - comforting him - but not nursing or picking him up. That was a big thing for our success - I had to give him as little as I could and still comfort him. No more picking up, no talking, singing, etc. There are a couple good message boards out there you may want to search for more ideas - The No Cry Sleep Solution has a yahoo group and thebabywhisperer.com has one too.
Best,
Amy
Yes Ive read all those sites. Ive checked out 2 books from the library as well. I firmly believe what ever works for your family. Many people swear by the Ferber method. Once my daughter learned to stand, she would not cry it out anymore. After 1 1/2 hrs of crying on and off, it was more then we all could handle.
Im taking one day at a time.
BTW--just to add more paranoia to a mother's plight, I heard on tv the other day that the crying it out method might not be so good after all. NOW the experts are thinking that letting little ones cry it out may lead to hi blood pressure later from constricting themselves while crying. Go figure. THEY change the rules every few years just to keep us guessing. Bottom line--go with your gut. You're the one who loves that little one with all your heart. I never could get past about 20 minutes of crying. Just could NOT. I held my dd to sleep and she is a very happy, well adjusted, smart almost 5 yr old.
Good luck. And I really feel your pain. I hope the Benadryl gets her on to a better sleep pattern.
Yes, we still rock Faith to sleep, or just hold her on us until she falls asleep. My husband and I both put her to sleep this way. We rocked the older 2 kids to sleep, and no ill effect. We went to them when the cried out during the night. I think its made them secure well adjust little kids now 
The benedryl is not going to hurt her. It will probably help her. She will get more rest and will feel better through the day. Maybe she is just too tired to sleep well. I have that problem sometimes myself.
My son takes prescription Zyrtec every night three fourths of the year. Basically, a stronger version of Benedryl if you think about it. It doesn't hurt him. Neither is the Benedryl.
Sometimes adults need help sleeping through the night, maybe Faith does, too. It won't be a permanent thing that she will become addicted to, so I would do it for a few days at least to see how things go.
Can't hurt, especially with your ped's advice to do it.
Good luck. My children never liked to sleep through the night till they were a few years old, and I could NEVER do the crying thing. Never tried it. Mine were always rocked to sleep every night till they were 4 or 5 years old. Now they are six and nine and have wonderful sleep habits.
Don't know how you feel about co-sleeping, but this was the life saver for me with both of my children. Of course, at the time, my husband was on night shift also. They woke up several times a night till I put them in bed with me. Then they slept basically all night through. Guess it was the combination of the security of being with me and the comfy bed.
Melatonin is excellent for sleep, and might be something to consider if she stops sleeping once you stop the benadryl. It's the first thing our pediatric neurologist suggests for sleep problems, before any kind of meds.
I couldn't do cry-it-out either. I would try, but would always end up going in. Sometimes they really had legitimate reasons for crying, like the time Sarah tried to push herself off the crib, like it was our bed, and got stuck. poor baby. I felt so bad, that we hadn't come in right away. I think we did only let her cry a few minutes that time.
Amyk said: In the end, you'll have to teach Faith to resettle herself.
Kaye said: But I think you need to continue to try to find the problem.
I am of the opinion that we don't put medicine in our bodies unless we are sick, except for in extreme cases like Kristi's flight to Japan scenario. I do think you are still going to have to deal with the "why is she waking?" issue once you stop the Benedryl. From my vantage point and NOT being in your house or knowing the whole story it sounds pretty much like classical conditioning. Faith wakes up and realizes she is alone, she cries, you go to her, her need for companionship and soothing are met, she goes to sleep until she wakes up again and starts the whole cycle over. Your coming right to her reinforces the pattern in the classic stimulus-response model---stimulus: she cries, response: you come. Constant reinforcement is a very powerful motivator for a behavior to continue.
We all have periods of light sleep in which we wake up for brief periods of time. The thing is most of us can easily fall back to sleep most of the time. Faith probably doesn't have the tools to self-soothe and get herself back to sleep and she'll likely be a long time in developing them if she doesn't have to. CIO isn't the only way to teach. I agree that you have to do what works for your family. I know some who love the family bed, Ferber, CIO, pacifiers until kindergarten, etc. Regardless, I think that using medication, while not necessarily physically harmful in the short term (except for that I feel like crap after an antihistimine--groggy and all dried out), is a bandaid to the problem and not a real solution.
Sometimes, the band aid is what helps heal the wound.
Some children have gotten into a pattern of light sleep due to a recent illness and attention during the night, or other reasons that are not "medical" but require intervention all the same. In this case the mild sedative properties of the Benadryl will make her more sleepy and relaxed and put her in a physical state that will help her soothe herself back to sleep.
We use band-aids for a reason.
Ame
Again as stated in my original Post, this isnt a topic for debate.
Jackie, my reason for not wanting to use Benadryl would be the strain on the kidneys and liver, maybe check into that, I'm not sure if there is negative effects but that's what I would check first.
The second would be the idea of training a little person with a drug to get them to sleep.
With that said, my dd was horrible at sleeping and I have vivid memories of me crying myself to sleep (12 years ago) so I know sleep is precious, just wanted to give you two things to think about.
Ok,a sort of update.We used it for 7 days, as suggested by the dr. Im not sure if one dose of 1/2 tsp for 7 days would put a strain on kidneys and liver. I mean I know when kids/babies have colds, people give them cold meds, every 4-6 hrs for symptoms. So not sure how much this is different. She has not had Benadryl since Tuesday. For the last 3 nights she has slept all night, not one wake up. Last night she went to bed at 8 and slept until 6:30, not one cry or peep all night. Will this continue? I dont know, it would be nice.
Thanks for the update, Jackie. I was skimming this thread earlier today and wondered how things were going.
It sounds (crossing my fingers) that you have broken the waking up cycle. I sure hope so. Sounds like your doctor's advice was the right thing - and of course, I always say "talk to your doctor". Since none of us (that I know of) are doctors, and none of us have seen Faith clinically, your doctor's advice would be the very best advice to follow.
I hope it works, Jackie. It is so hard when you aren't getting sleep. I will keep my fingers crossed that she contines to sleep all night.
I hope she continues to sleep through the night and you can all start getting more sleep from now on.
Jackie thats great. I'm so happy for you guys. I hope it continues.
How wonderful for you! I hope she keeps on this way!
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