Nightmares/Night Terrors????

Night mares and night terrors are not something that can become habit, they either are or they aren't. And you can't control them.My son is 8.5 and still has both. He does have them routinely, though. But I never let him suffer needlessly. I always go to his bed and try to comfort him. Sometimes he doesn't even know I am there, like he is stuck in his dream. Even with the lights on, his eyes open and me talking to him etc. Sometimes it was a bad dream and he will awaken crying, but knows where he is and is comforted. Either way, they are real to him. He has had them since a young age. We have tried everything. Nightlights, plain food before bedtime, no scary movies, etc. If you ever researched it and there were suggestions then we did it. In an effort to try to relieve his distress, not necessarily mine. They have gotten better and he does seem to be outgrowing the frequency of them as he gets older. I would think that the nightmare is one where she can be comforted and knows where she is. A night terror is one where she may not necessarily be asleep, but she isn't "with" you either and doesn't seem to be able to be comforted..it is kinda like sleep walking (I have two of those also),but sleep screaming and crying...even with the eyes open. At 22months she is at the prime age for bad dreams to start, for whatever reasons. She is more aware of her independence, new steps in her life, feelings of anxiety she can't express or know what it is enought to understand. Whatever the reason, they are real to her.
My best advice is to comfort her and teach her that she is safe and how to comfort herself. If that doesn't work then maybe a pallet on the floor next to your bed would help. Have done that for many a year and is still in use with above mentioned 8yr old. My 12 yr old still sleepwalks alot also. But doesn't seem to have the night terrors, like my younger.
Sorry can't tell you more or be more helpful. It's just part of their growingup!
Good luck,
L.

Next time you're at the pediatrician, ask for their opinion about this. It might be nightmares, and it might be something completely different.

It sounds like she is having nightmares. My son who is now 2 1/2 had night terrors when he was about 19mos.-21mos. These were the longest three months of our life. He would wake up almost every night and scream. His eyes were open, but he was not awake. It was almost like clock work. He would start screaming at 3am and he would stop screaming at 3:25am. We tried holding him, patting him, talking to him and he would not respond. I pray that she is not beginning night terrors, because We felt absolutely helpless. I did hold him, because it made me feel better. Like I was doing something. Good luck.
H. M.

If you do some research, you'll see that the professionals say that the average child goes through a separation anxiety phase between 13-18 (or so) months. Children who were normally not clingy or having any anxiety start at this time. Our son went through his at almost exactly that time (from 13-19 months). Before 13 months he slept through the night great (since 3 months), had no problems going to others, etc, etc. His main problem was at night. He would wake up screaming as well. We always had a pretty firm (but not rigid) rule about not picking him up from his crib, so we would go in and comfort him by talking to him and patting him. We actually went as far as to buy a cot to fit in his room so that one of us could lie down near the crib and relax (sometimes fall asleep) because he would cry if we left the room. Like I said, it was a phase and we got through it fine. The cot was actually great as a transition bed for him from the crib to a regular bed because it sloped down toward the middle, so he couldn't fall out. He is now 3.5 and sleeps very well- very rarely (twice, maybe) coming in our room in the night (we never let him sleep with us). He will go to anyone and just wave "bye", so he has absolutely no separation anxiety anymore. I think it's important to help them get through the phase by letting them know that you'll be there for them, but not going as far as to pick them up or let them in your own bed. It worked for us. By the way, we never let him "cry it out"- ever.

Not sure if this is your daughter's problem, but that's what ours was.

I believe she is having nightmares. As someone who suffers from lucid dreams, and night terrors, I am seeing a therapist. Not because of the dreams, but I recently lost my Father and I'm not taking it well. She asks me about my dreams all of the time and says they are very important. I slept with my parents until I was in 9th grade! I was so scared of something that I couldn't explain, and my parents just had to accept it. Turns out, as a child, I was sensitive to my Dad's post traumatic stress from Vietnam. He was an amputee and we were extremely close. He NEVER talked about it until my 20s. But, somehow I picked up on his feelings. I've also been told that I have a "gift" for being extra sensitive. Sensing things that not everyone senses. I know that sounds sooooooo stupid, but it's been proven time and time again. If you live in an older house or a place where something bad happened, you might want to bless your home yourself. It's a great thing to do, anyway. But, I would say that she has nightmares for now, and it's a phase, but if it is something that is getting out of hand, you may want to do more research. It doesn't sound like an attention thing. She might have had one nightmare and it still scares her and possibly saw a shadow that is normal, but scared her more when she woke up. She may see that same thing that scared her the first time, and start to cry. Make sense? I promise, I'm not a crazy lady!! :)

My daughter had them but around 4 years old.(Night Terrors)You will just have to be patient. She will grow out of them.
Even though her eyes are open she is asleep. Just make sure she is safe and when it passes lay her back down just like you did. It won't do any good to talk to her. There is no way to know how long this will last. My daughter had them for about 2 years. You never know when they are going to happen. They don't remember anything about them.
Lonie

Hi L.-

Sounds more like a nightmare than a night terror. I believe with night terrors is that you can NOT wake them up out of it. Their eyes are open and they appear to be awake, but consoling them won't work until they just get out of it. She is getting older too and her sleep patterns are going to change. She has been a great sleeper for you! She could just be waking up and it is dark in her room and she gets scared and needs assurance from you that everything is okay.

It sounds like nightmares more than night terrors. Night terrors are horrible and you cannot calm the child down or wake them completely up. They just stare and scream/cry for a long time. Do you think she might be teething or having leg cramps?