11 Mnth Old Sreaming in the Middle of the Night and Cannot Wake Up.

Brandi, you have no idea how lucky you are that he goes down without resistance! My little one (15mos.) has been having the same thing since about 10-11 mos. Sometimes it's teething, but I find that it's typically gas. She cries hysterically with her eyes wide open but seems to actually be asleep. I'll rock her and comfort her for about 10 mins. and when I put her back into the crib, she typically "toots" and goes right back to sleep :) Good luck to you!

Don't believe everything you hear. My son had night terrors very young and he is now 5 and probably will have one a year now. It was very interesting after my son could talk because we would ask him the next morning after a night terror if he slept okay and he would say that he did. He would not remember anything. He would be screaming frantically with eyes open. I would do everything possible to get him to stop. Then, just as soon as it started, he'd be right back to sleep. They did come less frequent, but as I said, he's 5 and will still have one every now and again. There's nothing really to do, but I couldn't let him cry it out. I went in and sat with him every time and tried to console him the best I could. I hope this helps!

It may be his 1 year molars coming in. My daughter did a similar thing. I took a look in her mouth the other day and saw 2 molars.

. . . just a thought.

Take care!

I personally would go to him if he isn't waking up while crying. If you really can't wake him talk to him soothingly, tell him your there, softly rub his back. Do what you can to make him feel safe again.

I think letting them cry it out is for when you first put them down and they are refusing to sleep. If he's going to sleep fine then waking up, go to him. I've done this with my girl and I've had no trouble. When she was younger, if heard her wake in the night I would go to her give her back her passi and lay her down again. She usually just fell back to sleep. As she got older I would wait a moment and listen to see if she would go to sleep again herself. I only went in if she needed help finding the passi. Even then I would find it give it to her and lay her down again. A few times she's woken up crying, I've picked her up, help her soothed her, I've even taken her out of her room for a few moments, but once she was calm it was back to bed, if she cried then I would let her because then I knew she was fine and the reason she was crying because she didn't want to do what I wanted her to. A few times when she was younger she'd have whimpering in her sleep and I couldn't wake her. Those moments I talked to her rubbed her back, told her I was right there with her that she was alright. 10 mins at the most and she would stop.

I hope this helps.

My daughter did this exact same thing around that age. She was sleeping in the crib in our room and she'd just wake up FREAKING OUT. The first time we thought something terrible must have happened but we couldn't find anything wrong and then we realized she was asleep and that we couldn't wake her. Eventually holding her, rocking her and talking soothingly (shhh mommy's here... shhh), she would wake up, sniffling but completely oblivious that anything had happened to make her upset. She would lay back down in her crib, watch her mobile and then back to sleep. It went on and off for several months but eventually she just grew out of it. I don't think they seeing the boogeyman during this, it's just something they do. Your's obviously doesn't have a recollection of it after the fact or he would fight you tooth and nail about going to bed. They say that if you're freaking out and your kid is acting normal, aside from the night terrors, then that's probably all they are now if he was acting differently during the day you would be thinking he was actually have nightmares. It will get better with time. I know how gutwrenching those screams can be in the middle of the night and how hard it is when you can't soothe them quickly enough. Eventually you will find something that he reacts to that will help him out of the sleep screaming. My daughter's was the music from the mobile. Woke her up everytime, put her in a trance and then she went back to sleep. Good luck.

My daughter is now 14, but she did the same thing as a small child- about the same age as your son and continued until about age 3. I classified it as night terrors. The only thing that stopped it when it started was getting her to finally wake up and then I could get her back to sleep. I'm sorry... I don't know how to fix it. As she got a little older, she became a sleepwalker. I would speak to your doctor/pediatrician. It was very upsetting and I understand your feelings, but she came out of all of it as a happy, normal and well-adjusted child.

My son did the EXACT same thing. I asked my Ped about night terrors and she said he was too young (eventhough his cousin has them). Some of my friends thought he was waking up just a little at night enough to realize it was pitch black and suggested a night light. That did help a little but then after a while they continued. . . finally my son is now 2 1/2 years old and we found out what was wrong.

Before I go around diagnosing anyone. . . you will want to talk with your ped. My family has bad sinus allergies. My son had a CONSTANT runny nose. We started giving him Zyrtec at night. That helped the runny nose a little. I work for a Dr's office and talked to one of the Docs about it. He thought maybe I should get my son a sleep study because maybe he had an upper airway obstruction that was causing him to wake up slight because of the difficult time he was having breathing through his nose. Before I jumped into an overnight sleep study, I took my son to an ENT to look at his adnoids. They were slightly enlarged but not enough the doc wanted to take them out. So we tried Nasonex (a nasal steriod spray) to reduce the allergy swelling.

My son now sleeps though the night and doesn't wake up. I can't make any promises but it may be something you want to look into. Good luck.

Sounds like he is having night terrors. Like a night mare, but it take much longer to wake up.

Defintely night terrors. We went thru it with my oldest daughter also. Nothing can be done. While it is so scary and sad to listen and watch he will outgrow it

My daughter did this and is now nine. I think he can have bad dreams just like anyone else age excluded. It helped to take her into the bathroom turn on the light and have her look at herself in the mirror. Sounds crazy but she would have her eyes open and by looking at herself she would wake up. She was a sleep walker and still occasionally does. So that maybe something to remember for the future. I think they just sleep really hard and have very realistic dreams.

Hi B.,

I am wondering if he is teething. My 1st and 3rd sons have done what sounds like the same thing when they have been teething. Maybe try Motrin before bed and see if it helps. Hope that's the solution. Good luck.

Hi B.! It truly sounds like night terrors to me, but like you said, he's pretty young to experience that. My son went through that as well, but he was a little bit older. We had to try and wake him up (which was rather hard to do), but after he finally woke up, he did just what your son does... went right back to sleep. I would check with a sleep specialist rather than your pediatrician. Just give them a call and ask them. Not that you want to take him in for a sleep evaluation, but maybe they can at least let you know if this is somewhat normal or not. Good luck!

Is anyone here a professional? Like a pediatric neurologist? I would like to hear what they have to say about this. I myself have had night seizures. Yes, seizures in my sleep where I cannot wake myself up. My daughter, on numerous days, came home to find me in such a deep sleep, I knew she was there but I could not open my eyes. The similar experience you are discussing of a otherwise happy baby crying out in the night unable to be awakened, eyes fixed and closed. We tried rubbing her, walking her, talking to her, trying to stand her on her feet with no response except the continued screaming. I tried prying one eye open only to find it completely dilated. She came out of it withing about two minutes, but that was eternity. I don't buy that it is just teething and to ignore it! You cannot say they do not feel pain. They are screaming their lungs out. Good grief, what does it take to take notice of these things and check them out. Especially if they come again and again. I wish someone had found out earlier with me. The brain is still the unknown....careful with the little ones.

This sounds so hard for you and your husband. My friends child had these as well and the doctor had told her NOT to wake the baby. Just wait it out....harder said then done. If was noted that it happened most when the baby was overtired and did not have a good nap. Not sure if this helps....good luck.

hello i just wanted to say that I have a 22 month old and a 6 yr old that still to this day scream like they are in pain during the night every now and then. They will still be asleep and not realize what they are doing. I have asked my doctor about this and he has told me that it could be due to growing pains. My oldest child never went through any of these symptoms. All we could do is rub their legs or just sit in a warm bath with the girls. yes even when they are a sleep it is okay you just need to hold them. The warm water relaxes the muscles.

Or could be the night terrors both of my girls still get them. My 22 month old has been getting them more often now. My oldest who is 8 never when through this. My 6 yr old still has them every now and then.

i don't know if any of this will help you. but jsut to let you know that you are not alone with a sleeping crying child in the middle of the night.

Hey, B.! I suggest you go with the responses about sleep routine or lack of sleep, rather than focusing on actual nightmares and such. Also, check out Marc Weissbluth's book, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." He says an overtired child sleeps more poorly which can lead to night terrors about an hour after going to bed. (For that and other reasons, he is a big advocate of getting to kids to bed early.) My second son has always gotten night terrors easily and at 5 years old still gets them if he is over-tired. For us the trick is getting him to bed early from then on. It can take a while to soothe a child in the middle of a night terror and that is frustrating. Hang in there! They don't last forever. Hopefully, if you make sure your little guy is well rested they will go away. Good luck!

If your son is suffering from night terrors, which it sounds like it. The worst thing you can do is to try and wake him. Just monitor him, but leave him be. Even if your child seems to be awake and still cries, leave him alone. Even if he calls your name, he will not recognize you during a sleep terror and reaching for him will only make it worse. Heres a good article that explains night terrors vs. nightmares. I really like this one. Good luck..I know they are scary. My son had them.

http://www.drgreene.com/21_155.html

I have heard of infants having night terrors. This is what your situation sounds like, since you have a difficult time snapping him out of it. Hopefully it is just a phase that will pass, but some kids have night terrors for years. Maybe talk to your pediatrician? Hope he gets some sound, peaceful sleep soon!

My daughter is 15 months now, but we had a period of time when she would just scream in the middle of the night, but she was still asleep. (It MAY have coordinated with teething -I didn't think about that until reading these posts). With the first scream, I would run right into her room and pick her up. Soon, I realized she was still asleep, and I was just waking her when I picked her up. Finally, we learned to wait it out. She would scream a couple of times, cry a little, and then stop. It was really hard to sit through, but we soon learned the sound of a "sleep scream" as opposed to a true "I'm hurt or scared" cry. She is also a very mild tempered and happy child. If he only screams a couple of times, I would wait it out.

I hope that helps - and that you find your solution! Good luck!

Hi B.,

It really does sound like night terrors. We suffer through the same thing with our daughter who is now two. I do however believe that they started almost a year ago. I understand how much it frightens you to hear your child screaming like that. We have found from experience that it really is best to just sit with them in the room and observe to make sure they dont injure themselves. We noticed that if we touch or speak to her it kicks the fight or flight response in and she will run around the room like someone is after her. The panic on your childs face is much worse than the screams. She will usually have her eyes open through most of this but wont focus on myself or my husbands faces.....its like she's looking right past us. We have also noticed that if you talk or touch the child the episode time lengthens. If we leave her alone it usually lasts for about 15 min., but if we try to help her, or rouse her, it goes to as long as 45 min. We have found that if she eats before bed or her sleep routine is changed much it triggers them. Our Pediatrician also said that stress or changes in the childs lifestyle (new daycare, family breakup, ect.) can bring them on as well.

I know and understand that everyone's experiences with night terrors are unique. Im just trying to give a few examples of what we have noticed and what works for us. Its so disheartening to see your baby go through something like that, and not be able to help. Stay strong, you are in my prayers.

M.

It does sound like night terrors. My niece used to get them and scream that there were giraffes in her room. She never woke up and never remembered any of it. It turned out that she was having a reaction to Benadryl. Are you giving your son any new foods or medicines? Any of those things may trigger this.
Good luck!

My daughter had this problem and it was night terrors. The dr told us not to wake her but to gently assure her everything was ok. He said the cause is usually caused by changes in sleep routine. The first time we had problems she had stopped taking a morning nap and her afternoon nap was not as long as it should be. At this age they still need alot of sleep and if their naps are being interrupted or not there at all it will cause problems. Make sure grandma is getting him down for his naps on time and that he is getting to sleep until he wakes up on his own from his naps. It is very hard watching your little one go thru this but if he gets back into a good napping routine you should see it stop.

I dont really have any advice other than what i just read in the toddler years book. It specifically said DO NOT WAKE them up when they have nightmares/nightterrors. They said to watch to make sure they dont hurt themselves but that it is kind of creepy to watch your child to do that. But do not ever wake them up! Just block them off from hurting themselves.

My son was about that age when he had his first night terror. It is frightening! The doctor said DO NOT try to wake them up! If you do, there is a chance that they will actually remember what they were dreaming about and that night terrors are a LOT more frightening than a normal nightmare. He told me to just stand by, make sure that he didn't hurt himself and wait it out. This is HARD to do!!! Good luck. My son has only had 2 since then and he is 8 yrs. old now. Hang in there!

has she bonked her head lately? we noticed a correlation with night terrors and head injuries... my son had them a few times, and often it was the night after he fell and bumped his head.

sorry you're going through this, it's AWFUL!!! i remember how hopeless i felt when he was screaming like crazy and there was nothing i could do to wake him up!

This sounds so typical of night terrors, and all kids develop at different speeds, so he may just be getting to this a little early, our daughter did too, before age one, so it is not unheard of. If you see something else that you think is a medical problem, check it out, but this is probably not medical, my bet is that you are experiencing the developmental mystery that is "night terrors." Night terrors are not night mares, and have nothing to do with being scared, so you don't have to worry about this either, he is neither afraid or in pain, and he is not aware that it is happening at all, which is a very good thing!

We noticed more night terrors when ever our daugher was going through some kind of rappid growth or development, like learning to stand or walking alone. So if he is doing a lot of work all day on a skill, he may be more prone to them when that is going on, which just mean that he is making developmental progress.

The trouble is, no one can make this easier for his Mom! You really do just have to watch and make sure he does not hurt himself while it it going on. Try to reasure yourself that he is not in pain (pain wakes babies up!) and it will pass. One day in your future, he will have a day or night when you know he is in pain and you will be able to comfort him, you will know the difference so there is nothing for you to worry about, truly.