Melatonin: A Cautionary Tale

A little over a year ago, our pediatrician introduced us to what we like to call "Amazing Grace." Its technical name is melatonin. The Beast's body does not produce enough melatonin on its own; thus before the discovery of melatonin, we had a little boy that was awake every night well past one or two in the morning. The first night we gave the Beast a small dose of melatonin was the most wonderful night as a parent I had ever experienced, after I got over the shock of him going to sleep so quickly. Since then, he has taken it every night, and we have had much better nights because of it. Every once in a while, the melatonin seems to have an opposite effect, in which the Beast becomes extremely wired and barely sleeps at all.

Yesterday was as usual a crazy day for us - Sundays always are! It is always a terrible chore to get the boys to nap on a Sunday afternoon, and we are rarely successful. However, on this particular day, the Beast had run off to do his business in the bathroom, and I could hear suspicious noises coming from his place of business. You know, the kind of noises that immediately make you jump up from your chair and bang on the bathroom door, demanding to know what on God's green earth was going on in there. When the Beast finally emerged, I could tell he was trying to hide the fact that he had just put something in his mouth. "What is that? Spit it out right now!" my not-so-calm self shouted. The Nerd managed to pry his mouth open and discovered that somehow the Beast had gotten hold of his bottle of melatonin and had eaten an entire pill. I was relieved - I knew it wouldn't hurt him, and we both thought perhaps this would be the thing to persuade the boys to nap. We gave a tiny bit to the Spud as well, and within minutes, both boys were snoozing away. Gloriousness! This meant a very tired and pregnant momma could get a nap in too!

Then bedtime arrived. After the usual routines of teeth brushing, bathroom going, and pajama clothing, it became very clear that the boys were NOT going to sleep. They became hysterical and giggly and very very LOUD. Every time the Nerd went in for a "visit" to help them remember what the meaning of bedtime was, they just giggled louder and rolled around on the floor. It was very LATE before the boys finally fell into a restless sleep.

Cue Monday. I woke up with the exhaustion that comes from birthday celebrations, over-excited kids, and children's church (now that's another story). The boys were already awake and in the same giddy mood with which they had gone to bed. They dumped all the clothes out of their dresser drawers. They ripped up valuable papers. They made the living room look like a hurricane had hit it in a matter of seconds. They hit their sister and screamed silly things at the top of their lungs. They threw their breakfast on the floor while laughing hysterically. They did all these things ALL DAY. I literally was just seconds away from listing them on Craigslist when the Nerd walked in the door. Dinner was a disaster as we anxiously counted down the minutes until the boys mercifully went to bed and FELL ASLEEP.

The bottle of melatonin is now on a shelf so high I have to use a stepladder to get it. Moral of the story? Never never never melatonize your children for a nap. Unless, of course, you thrive on having DEMONS terrorizing your home the next day. . .

Update on Davey

Many of you have been asking if we have gotten any answers regarding our concerns with Davey yet. (initial post on these concerns here). I figured it was time for a Davey Update.

So far we have had an in-home observation session, in which a special education therapist came to our house and observed Davey in his "natural environment" while asking me a lot of questions. Surprisingly, Davey did really well with the therapist, giving her more eye contact than usual and even answering some of her questions. She did have an opportunity to see his unusual running habits and flapping of his hands. After assessing her observations and my answers to her questions, the therapist told me that he is definitely a candidate for Early Intervention Preschool(EIP). She felt that if he got into EIP now, he may get the preparation he needs to go to a regular school by kindergarten age.

Before he can start attending EIP, we have a barrage of appointments to attend in the upcoming weeks. Tomorrow he meets with the orthopedic specialist, where he will be examined to see if there are any physical reasons why he always runs on his tiptoes.
In July, we have a five-hour-long meeting with several specialists - an occupational therapist, a child psychiatrist, an educational consultant, etc. Then we will be meeting with the EIP folks for another lengthy appointment. Once we get an official diagnosis, we will be able to get him into EIP and also start getting some education for ourselves to help us learn better techniques for dealing with our Davey.

All in all, I am encouraged so far. The pediatrician had us start giving Davey melatonin at night to help him sleep better. He used to be up until midnight or later every night, and I figured he was just a night owl that liked to stay up late. Of course, dealing with him the next morning was no picnic! Melatonin has worked wonders for him! He usually falls asleep now within thirty minutes of taking the natural supplement and sleeps steadily through the night. It has greatly improved his overall behavior because he is finally getting the rest he needs.

And, we are on the path to finding more answers and helping our sweet Davey. It is looking more and more like Aspergers, but we'll see. We are trusting God that His plan is greater than ours and that whatever the outcome, Davey will be used in a special way for Him. :)

Thank you all for your prayers and supportive comments - it means so much to me. :)