Night Terrors

StarKrayzie

My son is 16 months old & has recently started having night terrors. Until now he's only gotten them during the night but today while taking a nap he started screaming in his sleep. I've googled night terrors but I'd like to find moms with first hand experience about this. If anyone has any advice they can share I would greatly appreciate it.

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jbandno3

My daughter had them for about a month before she was a year old. They were scary, but about all u can do is hold on to him or make sure there is nothing around for him to hurt himself on. My daughter would scream and thrash about and she could not be comforted until she woke up. It was crazy, she is 4 now and has only had those episodes 3 yrs ago.

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StarKrayzie

@jbandno3 Did you wake her up when she would have one? I try to wake Brayden up but it's impossible. He just screams & tosses & turns. He is already in a toddler bed so we put his mattress on the floor for the time being so he doesn't fall out of bed or hurt himself.

StarKrayzie

@almost4 I only try to wake him after he's had an episode for an hour or more. We did just move a month ago so that could be a factor. I just hold him & rub his back to try & soothe him but nothing works. How long would your daughter's terrors last?

MommyofAngels

@StarKrayzie I have night terrors.... they started when I was around 1 or 2 and Im now almost 20. I dont have them as bad now but my mom would tell me when I was young and had them I would scream for 30 minutes to an hour and a half before
I would wake myself up or before she could get me awake.... She said one of my worst ones was only 45 minutes long but I wasw screaming and bawling and coudlnt breathe... When I have them no I can sense it myself and force myself to wake up so thats a little helpful. I hope you can figure out whats causing them, we know what caused mine when I was little..

jbandno3

@starkrayzie I did the first time cuz I thought she was just having a bad dream, but then realized what was going on and just made sure she was safe. I would sit in her room til she calmed down, but that was for my own peace of mind.

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StarKrayzie

@mommyofangels I'm glad you were able to find out what caused them & thanks for the input. I'm just hoping to get all this figured out because I'm 34 weeks & I'm nervous that the baby may disrupt his schedule & make them worse. I feel as though he can already sense that things are changing.

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StarKrayzie

@almost4 I don't use music or a nightlight. That's gotta be really scary the first time it happens & it probably doesn't get any easier to witness. My heart breaks everytime I hear him & sit next to him knowing I can't help as much as I want to.

MommyofAngels

@StarKrayzie Have you asked him if something or "someone" (by this i mean spirit) is bothering him when he sleeps? When I was little I had ghost friends, (yes really lol) and my night terrors were caused by something bad happening to them when I would sleep....

StarKrayzie

@mommyofangels We found out the weekend we moved into our apartment that a man died here. My BIL is a paramedic & him & his partner were the ones that responded to the call. He said when he was in basic a few years ago they pulled a dead guy out of this unit. Also I do believe that kids can see spirits & there have been numerous times I've told my husband that Brayden acts as if he's looking at something or talking to something.

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MommyofAngels

@StarKrayzie I bet he is seeing someone or something. Spirits are attracted to children because there so pure and open. I dont really now a way to help because I was very young when I had mine but I know my mom said that she had me sleep with her sometimes, but the end of the line was when I was pushed over into a wood stove and burned my arm... We moved after that....

StarKrayzie

@almost4 You have been so helpful, thank you for sharing your experience & the advice. I will definitely make sure to stick to his routine. I made sure to keep the kids on their schedules when we moved so they had as much consistency as possible and to make things easier when their little sister arrives.

StarKrayzie

@mommyofangels I would've moved too. I don't feel any bad vibes so I'm hoping that it stays that way. Thank you for your advice & sharing your experiences. It helps a lot on how to deal w/ this.

@jbandno3 Thank you as well for sharing your experience and for the advice. All you ladies have been extremely helpful to me.

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MommyofAngels

@StarKrayzie Your Welcome! I hope you figure everything out!

BensMama

My son occasionally gets night terrors. Particularly when he's sick, but usually only at night. The first time I was so freaked out! I didn't know what was happening and I couldn't hold him because he was thrashing and squirming uncontrollably, screaming and crying, but wouldn't open his eyes or wake up. That time I let him roll all over the floor while I blasted mickey mouse clubhouse (his fave), until he woke up... maybe 5 minutes later. It was awful. He woke up perfectly happy. We went to the doc the next day since he was sick and she said several helpful things - 1) it's way worse for the parent because he doesn't know what's going on and won't remember, 2) trying to wake him up is actually bad, it can prolong it, 3) best to just let him be, but make sure be doesn't hurt himself (now I stand next to his crib and adjust him as necessary while it's happening), 4) it's common for it to happen ov relation to being sick because their sleep tends to be interrupted, and 5) kids generally grow out of it. Sorry for the novel, but hope it helps!

BensMama

In case it wasn't obvious, it should be noted - how I handled the first one when I had no idea what was going on, was all wrong. Just wanted to clarify so you don't try that method!

StarKrayzie

@bensmama Thanks for your input. Brayden has had a runny nose for about a week so maybe that plays into it as well. Oh I don't mind the novel LOL.

I did the same thing the first time & did everything wrong too.