Pediatric Sleep Specialist

There's a pediatric sleep specialist program associated with UMASS. Here's the web-site: http://www.umassmemorial.org/ummhc/hospitals/med_center/s...

I took my son tho Choldrens hospital sleep clinic everyone there was great. L.

Hi, R.,

We had trouble with our daughter's sleeping, too, pretty much since she was born. We finally went to Ferber, and, while his plan worked for a while, it didn't solve the problem. She is still not the best sleeper, and naps--forget it!! Plus, make sure your insurance covers him because he is ridiculously expensive. We had a deductible on our insurance, so we had to pay out-of-pocket for his first visit. It was about $700!! I think each follow-up visit was around $300. I'm not saying don't try him, just be aware that some kids aren't great sleepers.

Good luck!!

I can't think of an actual sleep specialist, but you might want to try contacting community partners, they were great with helping us with our daughter. She had numerous problems, one of which was sleeping. She now sleeps through the night thanks to their help....I would suggest you specifically request a lady named Gail Mywreck, she's like magic.
Hope this helps,
M.

My boys were all poor sleepers, especially my first. With him we went to Dr. Becker out of Children's. He was much easier to get an appointment with than Ferber. I saw him in either the Lexington or Waltham office, I can't remember which. But that was much more convenient for me than Boston. He was really good, and very helpful in coming up with a plan that worked for me. I had read the Ferber book and a little hesitant about the harsh approach presented, but Dr. Becker helped us come up with a plan we were more comfortable with. A friend of mine also brought her twin girls to him and was quite happy. Good Luck!

Hi -
I actually did go see Dr. Ferber himself, and after about 4 months, my Daughter finally started going to bed at a normal time AND sleeping through the night. Our follow up visit was with antoher doctor who was doing his Fellowship and he was also a great doctor. If you are serious about looking, just go there, you dont neccessarily need to see Dr. Ferber, but one of his associates in the Sleep Center for Pediatrics at Childrens (we went to the Waltham office). Check out this article that was in the Children's Hospital Magazine about Dr. Ferber (and my lovely daughter) it may allay some of your fears about Dr. Ferber being someone who only wants the child to "cry it out".
http://www.childrenshospital.org/dream/dream_fall06/sweet...

Honestly, I was nervous about meeting him, thinking that he was going to be this crotchety old guy who thinks that we as parents were weak for letting our daughter not cry it out. And we couldnt have been more wrong about him. He honestly cared about our daughter AND the fact that we HAD tried everything! And he was a WEE little man... kind of looked like a leprechaun! :) which made him much less intimidating!
Good Luck!
L.

i dont really have input for you, but i can offer support. at about 3.5 my friends son grew out of his 2 hour "naps" at night. they did go to a pediatric sleep specialist sonewhere in new haven.....(are you in CT??) and that really didnt do anything. please let me know where they send you, as i have a friend that has a 2.5 year old that only sleeps for 1.5 hours at a time and they are looking for help.
good luck and stick to it.
~C.

I'm going on 5 yrs with no full night sleep. I put my kids right into big beds. My daughter was in a queen bed at 13 months. Boxspring and mattress on the floor and my now 3 yr old was in a full bed at 13 months old. I knew there would come a day/night that they'd be sick and I didn't want them in my bed as dad has to go to work in the am and I wasn't about to squeeze into a twin bed.
My 5 yr old has grown out of it at about 3.5-4 yrs old and now its my 3 yr olds turn. There was a point thatI was going from one bed to another 2-3 times a night and I was so tired I never even remembered moving throughout the night.
This to will pass. I know what its like.

My son, now 8, didn't sleep through the night and actually stopped napping by 18 months. At his three year exam I fell to peices as I was exhausted! X-rays were taken of his neck and throat and found that he was breathing at less than 50% capacity. Two weeks later he had his adnoids and tonsils out and he slept through the night for the first time. A few signs of this is a very stuffy nose, so the kid can breathe only through his or her mouth, snoring and trouble getting a good night's sleep, sore throat and trouble swallowing, swollen glands in the neck ear problems. Just thought I'd give you another avenue to think about. I was also told at the specialists office that many cases of ADD/ADHD is misdiagnosed because the lack of sleep causes children to misbehave.

I hope I helped some.
J.

HI. My son is 5.5 yrs old and he had a sleep study done for sleep apnea. We used Dr Kramer from Worcester. I am not sure I spelled his name right but he is at the Umass building. Your daughter very well may have obstructions that are not obvious to anyone. It was determined that my son has a narrow throat and large tonsils and adnoids, he also is on the line for sleep apnea.

The sleep study was done in Worcester but not at the hospital, sorry that I cannot remember the exact details, it was in November

Not sure if this helps any but thought I would let you know who we used. He was great!

Hi R.-
I am by no means an expert on getting your child to sleep, but I can share with you what helped us. Our little one is now 27 months old and has finally turned the corner on sleeping. She just was not a good sleeper...she would fight to have to go to sleep, then wake up every couple of hours and "need" something...we had tried other mom's recommendations (except for the Feber methods...) but recently found great success by implementing methods outlined by Elizabeth Pantley in her "No Cry Sleep Solutions for Toddlers and Preschoolers"
There were so many things that we thought we were doing (like having quiet time before bed); but until we started writing down to see how much quiet-down time we were having we didn't realize that we were really not having enough.
We really liked her gentler ways of helping your child into good sleep habits. As another SAHM, we even had a fun afternoon or two of cutting out magazine pictures that reminded us of sleep and making a "sleep collage".
The book helped us tremendously, but you can also check out her website www.pantley.com or even email her at ____@____.com
Hope this helps....
D.

I really liked Lynne Bail, the sleep consultant through JFCS. She is very knowledgeable and will work with you avoiding methods that you don't feel comfortable.

http://www.jfcsboston.org/fcs/sleep_consultations.cfm

Most of the time it's a consultation over the phone so you don't have to go anywhere. The basic consultation is $75.

Good luck,
A.

I second the family bed. I have a 2 year old in bed, she does the same thing, but I don't really care since I'm right there. If you don't know what else to do, could it make it worse??? Seems it could only help, as long as your husband is in favor as well. I have three and I tried to "fix" the others. I've given up by number three, I just deal with it as best I can!

Good Luck!

I'll think of you when I'm up 10 times tonight!

Honestly, I'd think twice about going to Children's. I know of many, many people who are having issues with them (my family included). And, I'd probably want to rule out a medical cause before going to a sleep specialist. The airway team (otolaryngology, pulmonology, gastroenterology) at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary is phenomenal, and they are associated with MGH for Children. I know they have a sleep disorders center there. Personally, I would try there first. The communication is much better, it's smaller and therefore much more personable, and considering it is also an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, you don't have to compromise on expertise.

My SIL uses Melatonin 1hr before bedtime and it helps the child fall asleeep. i don't know if it helps the longevity of sleep. It is found in GNC stores, but I would check with ped. for dosage since she is younger than my nephews and niece

This may be completely counter to what your family needs (& is probably fairly controversial) but have you thought about a family bed? My son had a lot of difficulty sleeping right from his second day in the world. When he was an infant he would not sleep for more than 20 minutes unless he was touching another person (preferably Mama, but my DH spent many hours with our son sleeping on his chest). We gave up on our co-sleeper and brought him into our bed, where he continued to wake frequently to nurse (but more like every 2 hours). As he grew older, this frequency really slowed down. I remember watching my son (as I was awake beside him, reading) reach out -- eyes still closed-- to touch me, snuggle in and relax into sleep again. I believe sleeping beside us decreased his waking substantially, as he was able to check-in with us without completely waking. He stayed in the family bed until he was 3, and transitioned easily (despite major warning that he would not) into his own room at 3 yrs 9 months. Anyway, this may not be useful, or just too different, but I thought I'd put it out there. Good luck!