9yr old daughter can't sleep

[CJ_PN]

My 9 yr old daughter has had on and off again sleep issues practically her whole life. In the past she has felt comfortable enough sleeping in the same room as her little brother(6). But most recently it has gotten worse. We have a routine, she does not watch tv in bed, In fact my husband and I have read her to sleep thinking we had a victory, only to have her wake up a little while later saying she can't get back to sleep. She has a special blanket, stuffy, water, tissues, night light, soft music...it's just not enough. She wants me. Her mom and only me. I love that she feels so comfortable with me and I make her feel safe BUT I can't go to bed at 8 every night with her. I explained to her that her dad and I need our sleep space just like her and her brother, that's why we have our own bedrooms. I could write for days different scenarios and different things I've tried and said to her but the real reason I joind this forum today is because of the note I woke up to this morning.

[CJ_PN]

Thanks. Kinda hate the idea of medicating my 9 yr old. I wasn't thrilled at the idea of melatonin and was relieved a little when it didn't work.but what you said about too much seratonin is very interesting and I'll run that by her dr. Thank you rockrose

[RockRose]

Insomnia can be extremely tricky.  While you can certainly reward her for laying there in bed awake and not waking you,  I think that's all that will come out of telling her to stay in her room for 3 nights for the special date.

A quick google search reveals that people who take melatonin but it keeps them awake may have too much seratonin naturally in their systems.    Symptoms of too much seratonin are sleeplessness and anxiety,  and melatonin makes it worse because that's dumping even more seratonin into the system.  

This seems likely to be solvable with some other kind of medication,  suited for her specific brain chemistry.

Best wishes.

[CJ_PN]

She is and I have. Dr said to try melatonin. It has the opposite effect on her. Thanks for the reply!

[CJ_PN]

Disappointed. The end of my post did not post. The whole reason I wrote all that was to get to the point, the letter she wrote me in the middle of the nigh last night. It was 1250am , she couldn't get back to sleep, wanted to wake me up but was afraid if get mad. I'll admit I'm a freaking bear in the middle of the night..but I try not to be. Anyway I'm frustrated and tired. After I cried when I read the letter I went to her room and cuddled her until she woke up. I told her how proud I was that she expressed her feelings and weather it's in person or on paper it's always good to tell me how she feel. Together we agreed that 3 nights not in my bed we can have a special date together. She seemed super confident about going to sleep tonight...until tonight. Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

[AnnieBrooke]

Is she getting a whole lot of physical exercise and this still is happening?  If so, I would talk to her pediatrician.