Night Terrors or Something Else? - Jersey City,NJ

In my son's case, same problem at the same age.. I assumed night terrors, mayeb from being woken up by a noise, a dream, an erections or maybe the his teeth/molars were a discomfort. So many things to get a kid rattled in the middle of hte night.

I can only say that I am sure he was not thinking clearly, and could not communicate much of anything. Therefore, I stuck with one plan....
I would hold/hug him firmly and sing "you are my sunshine", and lots of whispering "ssshhhhhh, you're ok, I'm right here"
He really tried to squirm out every time, but I was on the bed, so I would just keep him contained and safe from hurting himself....the fetal position in my arms seemed to be most successful. He would scream and flaling his arms, trying to get me away.. So bizarre.. and it's all over in 5 minutes.
I never really knew it meant anything until 6 months later... he was upset about something and asked me to sing him the "deer" song.
what? I tried every song I knew because I had no idea what one he wanted..... it turns out he was asking for
that "you are my sunshine" song.. there is a line in there "if you only knew DEAR, how much I love you......"

So even though they are "out of it" during the episode, they can hear you.
I vote to add some soft words or song to your effort of holding him.

My daughter went through this for a long time, the doctor told us it was night terrors and to wake her after about an hour after she falls asleep. Then let her go back to sleep. Do this for a couple of nights, it breaks the cycle. Worked like a charm for us.

My son was about that age when he started having nightmares. It's pretty normal, but tough to get through. He'd be terrified to be alone in his room. Sometimes we'd bring him to our bed (bad habit, but the only way to get everyone sleeping again quickly). After awhile he'd wake up in the night and come to our room and tuck himself in at the foot our our bed and we never knew it till morning. When he was older, we moved to a new house and he had a hard time getting use to the new house sounds at night. We put a camp cot at the foot of our bed and he slept there for a month before he was fine with his own room. He'll grow out of it eventually.

Night terrors are linked to other things - I'm sorry at 0300 it's a little fuzzy what they are - not just sleep. I think proper vitamins (and vit D at that) as well as exercise (no, not chasing around the house just before bed ; ) during the day are important.

Wish you luck. My son also wakes at times during the night, but at least he is waking now and not going from zero to shriek in the past couple of weeks.

M.

PS: and no, we didn't get a diagnosis of night terrors. Go with your gut.

My son had an episode or two like this when we took away his binky. It was to soon for him and it was very tramatic in my opinion. It was SCARY and terrible b/c not only did he have the night issues but he was over tired and cranky during the day from not napping. At one point he was so bad that I thought there was something mentally wrong with him. We gave him his binky back after about two weeks. He said to me after one daytime tantrum that he was "sorry, he loves his binky and he didn't know how to stop" He was about 2 - 2 &1/2. WORST parenting moments in my life. Anyway - with that being said. Aside from therapy has any other stressful issue occurred? I knew what our issue was so it was easy to correct.

My daughter did this for a while, starting right around the same age. I read this book about night terrors (I will find it and give you the author). The author lived with night terrors most of his life. I learned that there are triggers, like sleeping in a strange place, (hotel), not enough sleep, too much sleep. etc. Then by documentation you find the triggers and remove them. Then what you do is check the pupils. During a night terror they could look very much awake but you can tell the difference because the pupils are dilated during a night terror. The author described them as tremendous horror, worse than any night mare. He said you usually don’t remember them but remember to be afraid to go to sleep. We had 3-5 a night every single night for a long time. We even took her to the ER once thinking he appendix might have burst. Lol oops. I do remember her being very frightened. One thing we noticed all the way back to crib days. If we were touching her all night she did not have a night terror. If we were not and she started to stir and we touched her , no night terror. If we were not touching her she would more than not, have one. I slept with my hand through the side of the crib. It was long and tiring but it passed.

I can definitely relate. My daughter is now 3 1/2 yrs old and she still gets night terrors( it use to be a lot worse ). I noticed that with her it is usually when we do something really exciting during the day or she sees someone she loves to see during the day. Something that over excites her and that is out of her normal routine. My daughter also suffered from obstructive sleep apnea which we resolved with surgery. I think with time, the night terrors will lessen and eventually it should hardly ever happen. I know that doesn't help much right now but know that there is nothing wrong with your child. Maybe a soothing bath before bed might help. Good luck!

I went through this with my son at around 22 months, and it was awful. Everyone told me it was night terrors, but I found the difference is that with night terrors they are not really fully awake, but my son was fully alert and awake so it was something else. Sounds like your son is not fully awake, so it is likely night terrors. Everyone said that they eventually get past it - some kids like to be comforted, other kids do not and it makes the situation worse. I don't think it is just over-tiredness that causes it, their brains have to process a lot of stuff every day and they don't always process the info in a logical manner!

Our situation went on for about 4 weeks, during which time I got to the end of my rope several times! I tried comforting him, sleeping in the room with him, all the usual tricks - and as long as I was in there touching him he was fine, but the moment my hand slipped or I tried to leave it was screaming again. I think it was some separation anxiety combined with other things, and eventually I had to let him cry it out because nothing else seemed to really work.

good luck, hang in there.

I am so sorry you're going through this... My daughter had similar night terrors. Some believe you should just let them work through it, but I couldn't stand it. I'd wake her. Sometimes gently and sometimes with cold water! :o) You know it's night terrors if they have no recollection of it. Most kids remember a bad dream... Night terrors are different. Nothing to worry about, just your sanity! LOL My daughter didn't have them for long, but they sure scared me. Glad she was clueless ... almost wish we had video taped one to show her though! Oh, and I never saw a connection to her being tired or anything... they just happen. Hope your son gets over them soon! Good luck!

Hey there! Just want to let you know that I totally know how you're feeling. My daughter started having them about the same time as your son. She is now 4 and seems to have outgrown it as we haven't had any issues in quite some time. Her doctor had advised us not to try and wake her up but instead, just stay by her side to make sure she didn't injure herself and speak to her in a calm, quiet, whispery type of voice so that she knew someone was there at least. They are asleep when it happens and they have no recollection of it usually, even if their eyes are open. I know it can be frightening as a parent to see your little one crying and inconsolable but just know that he will probably grow out of it and in the meantime, just know that eventually you'll get to sleep normal again. :-) Picking him up could hurt him or you possibly so it's best to just let him stay in the bed and be there to make sure he doesn't fall out. Also, my daughter would have them during naps too, not just in the middle of the night. You might be surprised....if you're able to stay calm and let him hear that in your voice, it might soothe him much quicker since kids can sense our emotions. When I would get frantic and try to wake my daughter up, it usually got worse. But after I learned to stay calm, she would get over it much quicker. Hang in there mom!

Yes, it could be bad dreams...but maybe its growing pains? My youngest son started doing the same thing around that age and was unable to tell me what was wrong with him, it was almost like he was still asleep but crying hysterically! They came and they went...but after a awhile he was able to tell me that his foot hurt...I took him to the Dr. to make sure everything was OK and the Dr. said it was most likely growing pains. My son is now 4 and still wakes up in the middle of the night every so often crying in pain. We massage his legs and if necessary give him some pain medicine. Just a thought.

Hi There,
My daughter, who is now 4, had Night Terrors at that age. She would wake up suddenly, screaming, crying, but not fully awake. It lasted for several months, but not every night. The best thing to do for Night Terrors is to not talk to your child, pick them up or wake them more- because they are actually in a deep sleep when this occurs, and waking them can be more frightening. Simply soothe him by humming and rubbing his back. This worked for our daughter, and she usually would calm right back down and go to sleep. We did notice that when our daughter was over-tired, or something new was happening in her life, it would get worse. However, like you, we were pretty consistant with bedtime and naps and she generally got the average 12 or 12.5 hours of sleep all together each day (night and naps). This is another phase that happens to many toddlers and it will pass. Try soothing without any lights, noise or moving him and see if that works! Good Luck!

My oldest son (now 8yrs) started having night terrors at around 3 (can't remember exactly). His sleeping habits were pretty much like your son, however his nap times were getting progressively shorter at this age. He would "wake up" in the middle of the night screaming and crying and calling for me. When I went to his room, his eyes were open but he was starring at nothing. He would continue to call for me even though i was holding him. He usually thrashed around and sometimes walked around. Then as fast as it began, he would be asleep like nothing ever happened. The episodes would last for about 5 minutes or less, but it seemed like forever. I did research online and spoke to my pediatrician. Results from both were to just keep him safe while he was engaged in the night terror. Really there was nothing else to do. Now my son is 8 and he still has them occasionally (couple times a year) but we know what they are now. I basically just try to comfort him and wait until it's over. I have taken precautions, such as, i still have a gate at the top of the stairs so that he doesn't wake up in the middle of the night and fall down the stairs. I am a light sleeper so i hear him if he wakes up and i will go to check on him. There has been a couple instances when he was sleep walking to the bathroom. I also have a 4yo and he has had a couple of night terrors, but not nearly as bad as my oldest. I don't think it has anything to do with the transitions that he may be going through. Both of my children are completely different and they both have experienced them. Good luck, my advice is to just be there and make sure to keep him safe. I hope I helped a little. A.

Hi J.
Sorry about your son seeming to have night terrors.
My advice is to keep your home as calm as possible, and don't let him watch anything that might be scary. Some of the current children's programing is scary to some children.
Be thankful for the times he is sleeping & get some rest yourself.
Hope you find an answer

My son had the same problem, but he was just bit a little older. The other reason why they say night terrors happen is when your child is at the age to potty train. His body only half way wakes up to let him know it's time to go to the bathroom and they're kind of stuck halfway between sleeping and awake. The only thing I found to help, since talking to them when they are like this doesn't do anything, is to bring them into the bathroom with the lights on and put him on the toilet to go to the bathroom. Sometimes I would run the water for him to help him go. As soon as he was done he was fine. He'd stop crying and I'd walk him back to bed.