Is It Possible for Newborns to Have Nightmares?

http://www.awareparenting.com/articles.htm Check out Aletha Solter's articles and books. She certainly believes that infants can suffer trauma/stress and she argues they need to release it (like adults) through crying. She is NOT a fan of CIO (cry it out) where you leave a baby in the crib, alone to scream his head off until he conks out. She is an advocate of letting the baby feel her feelings (without shushing or distracting or bouncing). She has noticed that when babies are supported through this (held or simply parents close) the need to cry is lessened and they cry much less.

I chose to circumcise my son (big regret)
http://www.mothersagainstcirc.org/fleiss.html

and that could be one source of infant trauma. Another could be a difficult birth or some hospital procedure that seemed scary.

babies go through TONS of developmental changes... and their REM sleep is adjusting too or gets interrupted, and sometimes for no reason. It's all physiological or developmental.

They don't have "nightmares" because something "bad" happened to them... developmentally speaking, they will later have "night terrors" (you can research it online) and later "night mares." Night terrors and night mares are 2 different things, which occurs at certain developmental ages.

Babies make all kinds of noises as they sleep... or when transitioning in their sleep to various REM patterns/deep sleep/light sleep levels. MANY times, they will "appear" to awake and make "cry" like noises... but this is just transitory... if allowed to, they will self-soothe and go back to sleep. If she is going back to sleep on her own... then let her. This will encourage good habits on her part, to learn to self-soothe.

It's perfectly normal....both my kids did this as babies, and even now (daughter is 5 years old, my son is 22 months old), my kids make all kinds of sounds during sleep. My girl even talks in her sleep sometimes. Even adults make noises in their sleep too!

Your girl is on the cusp of a growth spurt (6 months is a growth spurt time), and she is probably going through lots of changes now. Their sleep patterns change too, and they will often get hungrier too at growth spurts.

My girl for example, was also very cerebrally active, even in her sleep... and she was a light sleeper. But even with her transitory sleep "noises" she was fine... it was just her and the way she was.

But do read up on "night terrors"... as your girl gets older...closer to 1 years old, this is when it can crop up. It's NOT harmful, just the name of it sounds like it. And it is purely a developmental stage, which is temporary.

Take care,
~Susan

K.,

My 2 year old did the same thing at about the same age as your daughter. It scared the "you know what" out of us the first few times. I don't know what it actually is, but I know that it didn't last very long - maybe a month or so. And we did the same thing, just stood there to make sure he didn't hurt himself on the side of the crib and "shhhed" him back to sleep. I did read somewhere that you aren't supposed to wake them up to help them, just watch them and make sure they are comfortable enough to go back to sleep. Good luck! I hope that helps you feel better!

K.,

My daughter did the same thing, still does at 8! Not as much though. As long as she goes back to sleep with some pats or head rubs she is fine. My daughter has never had bad experiences through her life either but since birth she has always been very, very alert and inquisitive....is your girl the same way?
My thought process brought me to life experiences....being isolated for 9 months then all the sudden having so much stimulation might be a little trying on them. I did notice that when I kept her in the house just her and I with little excitement the episodes would usually subside.

My daughter now 8 is an amazingly insightful, wise little thing. I believe she is and “Indigo Child”. You should Google it and read about the characteristics of these little blessings! They over stimulate very easily! They have different habits and needs then your average child. The information can seem a little "crack pot"-ish and turn you off because of the (depending on the site) cult type of feeling (no its not a cult don’t get scared! LOL!) of the whole thing....but keep an open mind and read about the characteristics of these children, I bet you will be surprised.

Don't worry your girl is just fine.....breath Momma. :0)

Peace~Love~Light
V.

Hi K. talk to her ped, and ask him if babies her age can have night terrors, it is different than a nightmare, that fact that she isn't actually waking up scared, it sounds more like night terrors, usually when a child has nignt terrors they don't wake up not do they remember it in the morning, they casn have night terrors and wake up happy and refreshed, I'm not sure at what age they start, so like I said talk to her ped. J.

Hi K....

Your 5 month old might not be having nightmares but going through teething. When my son was 6 months he would wake screaming as if he had a nightmare but come to find out from the pedi doc he was in fact teething.

K.,
Nightmares aren't necessarily a response to just "bad" things that happen in life. Infact, nightmares are usually a response to stressors that we are experiencing at any given time. How many times have you had a disturbing dream about leaving your homework at home or having a final exam that you weren't prepared for - only to discover upon waking, that you haven't been in school for years? If you sit back and examine that dream, you will usually discover that it goes hand-in-hand with something stressful that you are experiencing at that moment.
With that said, what your baby is most likely experiencing, given that babies make unusually noises while they sleep...are reactions to her developmental stressors. Has she recently had some major developmental milestone? Rolling over, beginning to sit up? Those are developmental stressors to a baby. Imagine how scary it must be to start off in one position and then end up in another (i.e. from back to stomach). Neurologically, your daughter's brain has to catch-up to comprehend what her body is able to do.
With my oldest, he experienced these dreams after he learned how to stand...how scary to view the world from that height, for the first time - and then not be able to get back down!
Hope that helps...you are doing the right thing - just soothe her and give her all that love - that's the best for her during this time.
J.

My 8 week old will laugh in his sleep, umm he just started smiling with us, he has never laughed awake. I seriously think it's re-incarnation.
By 5 months though they do have REM and enough memories to have nightmares, I believe.