My oldest child was a typical first born — and still is. As a toddler, she was the epitome of compliant. We never used baby gates with her. We’d simply tell her to stay in her bed until we came in to get her in the morning. We’d stroll into her room, open the blinds to the let the sun in, and there she would be, perched in her bed and reading her board books. Parenting is so easy, we mistakenly thought. (I can hear you laugh. I promise you, we came around to reality.)
Now we have four children, and we got a real wake-up call (pun-intended) when one of our children never slept. When I say never, I mean never. No amount of changing up the nap schedule — or taking naps away completely — helped. As the years went on, we tried every trick the internet and other parents, even several doctors, offered us.
We bought a weighted blanket and lavender body lotion, and started a stay-in-bed sticker chart
How was it that no one knew what was going on with our child?
Was it our parenting?
One day, I was chatting with a fellow mom who has seven — yes, seven — kids. She’s also a registered nurse. We were catching up when I told her how my child wasn’t sleeping and then shared everything we’d tried. She said that she had an idea, and of course, I was all ears. She suggested that we have our daughter’s ferritin level checked.
After we got off the phone, I went down the research rabbit hole. What I discovered was both intimidating and exciting. If it was true, if my child’s ferritin level was low, we might hold the answer to why they couldn’t sleep.
I proposed the test to the sleep specialist who agreed. We took our child for the simple blood test and awaited the results.
In the meantime, I recalled something important I’d brushed off
Our child had reported to us that they felt they had “bugs crawling” in their body, particularly at bedtime. Yes, this sounds creepy, but looking back, I realized this should have been a clue.
My child’s ferritin level came back shockingly below normal. The doctor promptly shared with us that our child has restless leg syndrome. I was shocked, asking the doctor, “Isn’t that an old person’s disease?” Turns out, children can have RLS, and the doctor told us that often the restlessness is neck down and not just contained to the legs.
My kiddo has been taking a ferrous sulfate supplement for years now
The big question you probably have is about their sleep. Has the issue been resolved? When my child’s ferritin level is stable, they sleep. Finally!
I want other parents to know that the ferritin test is simple, and if it does indicate an issue, the solution is also simple. We could have saved a lot of time, money, and frustration by doing the test much sooner. No amount of lavender lotion, melatonin, or any other “help” would have resolved my child’s RLS. I’m so grateful for the conversation I had with my nurse mom friend, because she gave my family a tremendous gift: sleep. As all parents know, almost nothing is as important as a good night’s sleep.
