Night terrors/nightmares

My youngest woke up twice last night with blood curdling screams. I tried to comfort her in the crib, not she just did not acknowledge me at all. So I picked her up, picked up her lovey, and held her for a bit. In a few minutes, she calmed down, I put her back in her crib, and she did a face plant into her crib. (which she does when she is really tired, and I think it hurts, but when she is awake, she giggles... but I digress) I'm not really sure she was awake through these two episodes last night.

She has all of her teeth for now, no fever, wasn't really fussy, got to bed at the normal time - so the only thing I can think of is a nightmare or night terror, but this is supposedly too early for that. But if it wasn't that, do you have any ideas what is was, and if I should do something else?

Thanks!

 

mine get like that too - I assume its nightmares since they go right back to sleep with some comfort...

the only other thing could be a gas pain - I know Abby gets those once in a while but if its that she usually farts when I pick her up...

 

QUOTE(AmynTony @ Jan 14 2008, 08:23 AM) [snapback]571327[/snapback]
mine get like that too - I assume its nightmares since they go right back to sleep with some comfort...

the only other thing could be a gas pain - I know Abby gets those once in a while but if its that she usually farts when I pick her up...


Georgia goes through the same thing. Usually it is gas pain.

 

:unknw: Hopefully it was gas and she's not going to do it again. It's so sad when they have night terrors. I am obviously no help, but hate when they cry like that! :hug99:

 

QUOTE(HRE @ Jan 14 2008, 08:52 AM) [snapback]571358[/snapback]
:unknw: Hopefully it was gas and she's not going to do it again. It's so sad when they have night terrors. I am obviously no help, but hate when they cry like that! :hug99:

Mine do the same thing. I always wondered what it was all about. Maybe it's a nightmere like you said. I never thought of that, though, because they are still so young. Hmmm!

 

I was reading online about "confusional arousals" which is a lighter version of night terrors after experiencing something similar. I don't think they're too young at all because I recall dealing with this during the first couple attempts at transitioning from two naps to one. My guys both got them when they were overtired and their schedule had been very disrupted. The difference between a normal waking with crying and a confusional arousal is pretty obvious. With the CA (or night terror), they don't have any recognition of anyone or anything that's happening so there is no soothing that will work. They seem almost possessed with their glassy-eyed screaming. The advice I read claimed that it runs its course more quickly if you don't attempt to soothe them and that holding them might actually make it worse because they'll perceive it as being trapped but I found that waking with light and letting them go back to sleep was less unsettling for me and their sibling so that's what I did.

Our solution was to wait on the nap transition for several more months and then they transitioned without incident.

 

Lauren has done the same thing, i think it was something like a nightmare. She went through a stage where she would have a couple a week and then none. Sorry I can't be of more help!

 

Here's a link about confusional arousals. Here is another one. It kind of sounds like maybe that is what she experienced and then woke up since she late recognized you. I've read that nightmares usually occur later in the sleep cycle so you may want to note the times that these events occur. Our DS had these experiences prior to their 1st birthday (sorry, I don't remember the exact age right now). If it's any consolation, I know it is difficult to hear her so scared and miserable and you feel helpless at the time, but it did get better and then eventually stopped.

 

Emily-Caroline did this when she was about 28 months. We figured she was having nightmares, because it was almost as if she wasn't awake, but she was crying very hard.

 

QUOTE(debid @ Jan 14 2008, 09:52 AM) [snapback]571439[/snapback]
...it runs its course more quickly if you don't attempt to soothe them and that holding them might actually make it worse ...


This was totally true for me, My ds, Matt, had night terrors something awful, they started around 2, and only lasted about 5 months and they were random (not every night). In fact, the first time, we ended up in the ED, half way there he woke up in the car and was charming as ever...I thought they were going to think I was nuts, but they said,"sounds like night terrors...happens all the time"

So, I guess bottom line is, not much you can do...if it is truly night terrors as opposed to nightmares, no amount of soothing will help , and if I picked him up or touched him, it escalated...Not too comforting...sorry..the good news is, in those five months he maybe had only 5-7 episodes.

Good, luck...I hope it was just an isolated incident!