how do i wake a sleeping child?

Hi there, I need help. I need to do some night time blood checks on my 6 year old son. He insists on being woken up to do this himself, but this is nearly impossible. He wakes up extremely upset and not really able to complete the task. However, once I went ahead and pricked him myself. he woke when he felt it, and started crying saying that I scared him and that he never wanted me to just do that while he was sleeping again. Any suggestions for night time checks?

 

Not sure how long your child has been diagnosed...but after 10 years...my daughter does not hardly stir. Calouses on the fingers probably help.

Maybe if you do not completely wake him, but shake him a little, and tell him, "I am going to test you now." It may be enough so that he is not shocked out of a solid sleep.

 

Our daughter rarely wakes up at all anymore, in fact most nights when I walk in she sticks a hand out in her sleep for me to test. If this is new, I would give it a bit, also maybe very the times you are checking a bit (half hour ahead, half hour later the next night, ect ect) so he does not get in a pattern of coming out of a deep sleep around when you are going to check. If he still wants to be woken up, maybe try rubbing the sternum, as that usually helps wake up quickly as the bone is close to the surface there so it gets good response. Hope that helps some, and good luck.

 

Tell him when he's awake that you will be checking him but not waking him. You can come up will all sorts of soothing codes and signals but there is no reason to wake a child with D for routine checks - he's the kid, you're the parent, just tell him, albeit gently, "no, not going to wake you". My 2 cents

 

My daughter used to want me to wake her for shots, but finger pricks didn't bother her too much. I recently got the One Touch Delica lancer, and she says she barely feels it. That could be an option. Some people have better luck checking toes at night.

 

Shots I can understand but for bg checks you'll just have a profoundly sleep deprived kid within weeks of dx

 

I agree. My son sleeps through not only routine checks but can also down a juice box. It's amazing what our kids can do! :cwds:

 

My mom used to just turn on my light and say "check your bloodsugar"... I HATED that. Its probably why I don't do night checks nowadays.

 

Maybe in the beginning dd would wake up. ..but never now. Hubby is getting better at doing night checks. It seemed he always woke her up. Trust me it wasn't pretty! I agree with others you just have to be matter of fact and test him without waking him. Get the delica pricker..it is much kinder on the fingers. Eventually he'll sleep through testing. I remember giving dd a shot at night...she didn't budge in her sleep. It was sad and a relief all the same time. Good luck! :cwds:

 

My son always insists on waking up for checks. I'd turn the hall light on, and just start shaking his shoulder, saying "wake up, it's time to test. DS, it's time to test, wake up. DS. Dude. Come on. (etc)". As soon as he's sitting, I put the meter in his hands, and he can now do that in his sleep practically. He reads me the number (even though I can see it), hands me the meter. I say "okay" and he goes back to sleep, unless it's a "bad" number and we need to respond. Sometimes it would take a good 20 seconds to get him sitting up and able to test, but it was worth it in my opinion. No one likes to feel violated or vulnerable. If the kid really wants to be woken up, I'd rather have difficulties waking him up and succeed, than having trust issues or fear of the dark, or any other possibly difficult to imagine scenario.

Not saying the parents who don't wake their kids aren't good parents. If the kid is fine with it, that's awesome. Mine isn't, so I wake him up.

 

In the beginning, DD always wanted woken up if we were going to check. In a way, I couldn't blame her; it was her body. After a few weeks (months? I can't remember) We decided to try without waking her. She didn't stir. She was surprised in the morning that we had checked but she wasn't mad. So since then, we don't wake her up. Sometimes she will stir, or try to pull her finger away, but 9 times out of 10 we do it without her waking.

 

We don't wake her. We used to go in and turn on a small light and say quietly, "we're going to check your sugar." Sometimes she would wake, but most of the time she only stirred. She is aware that we are checking her, but can't be bothered with waking up.

7 years in, we go in, take her finger and test. Walk out out the door and go back to bed. We don't say anything unless she wakes up while we are testing.

 

This is how we would do it as well, a soothing I am going to check you now at first. Use an easier lancet - we love our Multiclix - it is definitely less painful. Also, we test the big toes at night, she will wake if I test her finger, but she sleeps right through the big toe.

I think getting a restful night of sleep is the best for a kid, so sit down with him tonight and tell him 'let's make a deal'. Bribery works so well at that age - I test you at night, I will gently tell you, but it is my job as mom, not your job is son.

 

Mine too. I'm sure I could even change his pump site without him waking!

I understand trying to give your child a measure of control in this, but I think 6 is too young to be doing overnight tests. As the PP said, warn him when he is awake that you will test him while he sleeps...and that soon enough he will get so used to it that he won't wake up.:cwds:

 

I've done it with little interruption to my daughters sleep. Much like a set, I come in, soft lights and tell her I have to do a set change. I leave the old set on until the am. She stirs a bit, but falls right back to sleep.

 

We have tested, given a juice box, even changed an infusion set without Emma waking up. I would just prepare him during the day that you'll be checking overnight until it becomes routine for his brain and he won't wake up. I wouldn't be waking up a 6 year old every time when sometimes it could be 4-5 times a night.

 

This exactly. Softly shake him a little and say, I'm testing bs now. He'll understand in a sleepy state without having to wake up.

 

I agree with the above advice to gently tell him you are going to test him now and ask for a finger. If he wants to wake up and test himself, then let him. If he gets upset, agree with him that this stinks, but we have no choice. He will get used to it. I remember DD yelling all sorts of stuff at me that she did not even remember the next day. She has not let me give her a shot since 4 days after diagnosis (she was 8) and will not let me touch her pump. She would rather be woken up and do it herself. You would think by all the displeasure she displays that it would be easier on both of us if she would just let me do it, but it is just not her nature. She has always been a "me do" type of kid and it has served her well in life, even though it wasn't the easy route for me to take.

 

Thanks!

Thanks so much for the tips! My son was just diagnosed 3 months ago and I am new to this forum. I have been feeling very alone managing his diabetes. Thanks for your responses.

 

My kiddo's older (16) but I go in, turn on the light, load the lancet and the meter. She pokes, looks at the number, we correct if needed and she goes back out. 99% of the time the next morning she doesn't remember it at all.

I do have to turn on the light because her room is a deathtrap and I'll kill myself trying to get to her bed without it on