My DS who is 4, has been falling asleep alot lately - some days he's asleep at 2pm and I wake him a couple hours later. Other days it's between 4 & 5pm and sleeps until 6/7pm or longer. Last night he fell asleep around 6:10pm and woke at 2am, stayed awake for a couple hours, then slept until a few minutes before 8am.

DS very seldom sleeps the night through without waking at least once. He's like me - I don't sleep a peaceful sleep.

We do co-sleep, not every night - we're working on stopping this.

The real concern I have other than the sleeping so much is: DS's hair is starting to fall out. I just noticed that the past couple of mornings he's woken with hair on the back of his shirt. If I run my fingers through his hair I will get one or more strands in my hand after I remove it from his hair.

We haven't been eating anything out of the ordinary.

He has been spending more time outside riding his bike (two-wheeler with training wheels) and playing more with his friends.

Has anyone had this happen?

By Emily7 on Sunday, May 2, 2004 - 12:42 am:

The sleeping could be because he isn't getting a restful night. My ds is 2, I make him take a nap around 1:30 & let him sleep until he wakes up.
My ds hasn't lost hair, but I have him on vitamins. He might not be getting enough of something in his diet.
Stress can also cause hair loss. Is something bothering him? Does he have a bully in his play group? Is the stopping of the co-sleeping bothering him?

By Bea on Sunday, May 2, 2004 - 01:32 am:

I think you need to take him in for a check up. Stress or environmental poisons can cause these symptoms, as can so many other things. It's best to find out.

By Karen~moderator on Sunday, May 2, 2004 - 07:56 am:

Thyroid abnormalities can cause fatigue and hair loss. I'd take him in and ask for some blood workups.

By Kaye on Sunday, May 2, 2004 - 09:19 am:

If it were just the sleep I would say don't stress. Most two year olds go through the I need a nap, but just can't quite find the right time. We always called it the horrible two crash, they would sleep late afternoon and be up way too long. However, hair loss is not normal. I would get to the doc asap.

By Missymelissy on Sunday, May 2, 2004 - 09:31 am:

We have DS on Flintstones multi-vitamins - he's been on them for a while.

He says nothing is bothering him, everything's ok. DH and I keep asking if something's wrong and to please tell us, we're here to help.

None of the kids he plays with are bullies and I do at home daycare and the kids I watch are younger than DS.

We've been working on stopping the co-sleeping for a couple of months now and it hasn't really bothered him - we do a reward system with him - each month we count how many stickers he gets on his calendar for sleeping in his bed alone and then he gets a treat of some sort.

I thought maybe he was in a growth spurt and that's why he's been sleeping. As for the hair loss, I thought he may be losing his baby hair and his other hair's growing in - but I don't think that's it.

Thanks for the advice ladies -- I think I'll call the Dr's office tomorrow and see if we can get an appt. I'll let you know how we make out.

By Mommyathome on Sunday, May 2, 2004 - 12:03 pm:

I will be interested to hear what you find out.

My hair has been falling out lately too. I'm pretty sure it's because of stress. I go through phases where it will fall out easily.....then it passes and it thickens up again.

By Amecmom on Sunday, May 2, 2004 - 04:31 pm:

Hair generally falls out, we don't really notice how much we normally lose. However, this does not sound like normal "shedding". Take him to the Doc and have them do bloodwork. Also, get him on a regular sleep schedule. Let him nap early in the day for no more than two hours. In a few weeks, his body should readjust and he should be sleeping through the night.
Let us know what happens at the doc's.
Ame

By Coopaveryben on Sunday, May 2, 2004 - 04:36 pm:

What is going on in your lives? Is there anything new?

It could be the other things that were mentioned but it could be stress too. Sometimes the slightest think can cause a stressor. My neice's hair fell out when she was ungoing some major stress. But my hair is falling our right now, it always does in the spring and fall. I would also cut his naps short so he will sleep better at night.

By Joanne on Wednesday, May 5, 2004 - 02:23 pm:

anemia can also cause hair to fall out and fatigue. How did the appt go?