In my experience, I have had to defend myself against the critics who insist I have somehow created my child's sleeplessness or allowed her to become a restless master of the night. I know they are wrong, but I cannot fault them, for so many books and voices in medicine today have trained them to think that any time a child cries after the sun goes down, she is wickedly manipulating all around.
From my reading and my conversations with other mothers of children with acid reflux or autism or ADHD, pediatric insomnia is a common experience. These children seem unable to "wind down" at night no matter how calming or relaxing the routine. They want to sleep; they just can't. So they try and they toss and they turn and they eventually end up crying or fussing hours later because sleep simply evades them. And once they do fall asleep, they often awaken just a few short hours later, wide-awake and unable to sleep again.
My child has pediatric insomnia. It often takes her 2 hours to fall asleep, and then she's usually out for about 4 hours. After that, she's awake for 2-3 more hours, followed by 3-4 more hours of sleep. So in a 12-hour intended sleep schedule, she clocks around 7-8 hours of sleep--nowhere near the recommended 12-14 hours of sleep for her age group. She can't even catch up on sleep during naptime, because she tosses and turns then, too.
And yes, we've tried everything, it seems.
Autistic children are now being treated for insomnia with melatonin. Apparently a few weeks of melatonin therapy allows the brain to "reprogram" itself, enabling the child eventually to fall asleep naturally once the therapy has stopped. While there is a significant number of children who have both autism and GERD, I am not aware of any studies yet concerning GERD children and melatonin therapy. I wonder, though, if there could be some benefit there...
In the meantime, I have switched the girls to goat's milk. Despite all the claims that goat's milk has a sweet, rich and creamy taste ("like liquid sugar!"), I can't stand its taste. Perhaps it is simply the brand I buy: the only brand I can find. I find it to be slightly metallic, whether it's fresh or evaporated. I feel guilty pouring it into their cups and handing it to them, but they at least have not complained.
Personally, I feel defeated right now, and I am placing my hope in a goat. And prayer. But at least goat's milk is a strategy that does not involve ongoing medication and side effects, and the only complication for me happens to be its expense compared to cow's milk and my own sorrow that at least for a time I am with-holding from the girls what I consider the sweet, rich, creamy taste of cow's milk.
Why did I switch to goat's milk? Its protein is different from cow's milk protein, so it is more easily digestible than cow's milk. It is reportedly safe and helpful for children with acid reflux, reflux-induced asthma, chronic croup, cow's milk sensitivity, and other digestive issues. Apparently it does not create gas, bloating, or phlegm, which can also be problems with cow's milk. And it supposedly contains more tryptophan than cow's milk, to help naturally with insomnia. Since my elder child has insomnia and my younger child has recurring croup/asthma/stridor, I figured it can't hurt--and maybe, just maybe, it can help.
Of course, goat's milk still contains lactose, but many new reports suggest it is not the lactose in dairy products to which so many people are allergic or sensitive--it is the protein. This is why infants who do not tolerate cow's milk or soy formulas do so well on home-made goat's milk formula--something I wish I had known back when the girls were infants!
Now I realize I sound skeptical and perhaps even irritable in this post, for which I am sorry. I am currently exhausted--physically and emotionally--from trying to help my poor child sleep. And of course, children who are chronically fatigued tend to have more extreme outbursts or meltdowns than children who are well-rested (something common between acid reflux and autistic children.) And parents who are chronically fatigued sometimes fare no better!
So I am exhausted, but I am hopeful. Hopeful that goat's milk will be as much a miracle cure for my little girl as it was for Clara in the old Johanna Spyri book "Heidi." After all, Clara's mysterious failure to thrive, poor digestion, need to remain propped upright, and gross motor delays were all miraculously cured by goat's milk and mountain air! If her symptoms--which sound an awful lot like severe acid reflux--can be cured, maybe so can my daughter's. And if the goat's milk doesn't work, then I'm headed for the mountains!
For some interesting reading on goat's milk:
http://www.healthnews-nz.com/goatsmilk.html
Dr. Sears (aka "America's Pediatrician") also addresses the health benefits of goat's milk:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/t032400.asp
Dr. Sears even offers a "Goat's Milk Formula" recipe for infants:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/t032401.asp
