Daughter up in the Night Screaming for 3 Hrs

I may have some suggestions but do not want to post. If you are interested, please contact me.

S.

She was probably having "night terrors". My niece had them for a little while. Just comfort her in any way that helps calm her down and eventually they just go away. Sometimes I found w/ my niece if she was over stimulated that particular day she would have them. It is nothing to get overly worried about. Just be there for her.

My daughter when through a night terrors phase around this time. I've no idea what brings it on, what could possibly be scary in her little mind. But, she started to wake and scream like she was in fear. I'd come in her room and sometimes she'd be trying to crawl up the side of her crib, another time she said "bear," and pointed at nothing, and another time she pointed to her closet door. She does NOT watch scary things on TV even remotely. So, no clue what brought it on. But, anyhow, I'd just hold her until she calmed down. Then lay her back down and keep my hand on her belly until she fell back asleep. The phase didn't last long.

night terrors maybe? try leaving a light on or a night light.

Hi J.-
I have a 15 month old daughter who also sleeps very well. She has done what you descibe 2 or 3 times in the last few months. One time I got so freaked out I almost brought her to the hospital! She would not stop screaming! What it appears to be to me is some kind of stomach/gas issue. She seems to be in a great deal of pain. She won't let you hold her..she writhes around on the floor. And it stops as abruptly as it starts. It's all I could figure.
It could be nightmares/night terrors also.

Hi J.,

Something similar happened with my daughter earlier this year and it turned out to be constipation. It came out of nowhere and now I have to be so careful that she gets enough fluids. She screams like someone is hurting her so badly, it's very hard to take.
So, just in case it's not teething then you might want to keep track of how often she's pooping.

Good luck,
M..

I have 15 month old twin boys and one of my boys did the same thing a few weeks ago. As it turns out he's cutting his molars, 2 or 3 at once. The pain is unbearable. The next night we gave him some tylenol and all is fine.

Could be something called night terrors...there is a whole section on sleep problems like this in the book Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems by Ferber. Check it out quickly if you have easy access to a bookstore...maybe an answer is in there.

Hi J.,
Did you check for an ear infection? Maybe some serious teething going on?
Julia

J.,

It could be night terrors,ear ache, stomach ache, or other discomfort to your little one. My daughter had the night terrors problem and has had stomach problems since she was very little. My daughter responded well to watching Baby Einstein videos. The music and images were very calming to her. She is much older now but still likes to pull out the old videos from time to time. I think they are still just as calming to her now as then. I hope this helps. I know that 3 hours of screaming can be as scary for you as a parent as it can be for your child.

good luck
M.

I can remember nights like this with my son (who's 16 months) Could it be teething? Gas pains? Onset of an illness - he contracted coxsackie virus once and a night or two before his rash came out - he was SCREAMING so bad I called the pedia and was ready to bring him to the ER. I was told its VERY PAINFUL right before the rash comes out. You'd know if she was sick though by now, I think. My guess is teeth or gas - if it happens again - try treating that. My son looked scared and so upset too and he only wanted me - wanted NOTHING to do with his father. I can remember him passing gas a lot - but its hard to know b/c that can come from the crying too (he always had painful gas issues since birth so I am quick to think that whenever he has a sudden crying bout - very painful!) Personally we give our son mylicon and infant tylenol when need be - not everyone agrees with that so its up to you how to handle it, if you think it could be one of those things. Its hard to tell when they can't talk - so whenever this happened/happens we just gave a "triple play" - bottle first, if that didn't work then mylicon, if that didn't work then tylenol and eventually something worked. I'd sit up with my son until he was well asleep and then I'd put him back down and each time he'd finish out the night just fine. My son has a lot of teeth now and his molars came in around then - take a look - could really be that. It also seemed he was extra gassy when teeth were coming in - I know theres no proof of that but I've "heard" theres links. We all know the truth about teeting and symptoms is SO CONVULUDED! She may just have been in pain if sickness is ruled out. I definitley had nights where he'd scream, fall sound asleep in my arms and the minute I put him back down would scream again. It would last a night to maybe two -three nights sometimes.

Could be night terrors.

My best friend's son is 18 months old, and just started doing the same thing. Their doctor told her that it was night terrors, and that it's a stage. A terrible stage, but apparently a pretty common one.

I'm so sorry- must be so traumatic for you too!

Actually, doesn't sound like night terrors to me. Generally in night terrors they are relatively quick and the child cannot be comforted. The fact that she grabbed you and calmed down with a bottle and some TV watching says to me it was eiter:
1. Nightmare
2. Sickness

My 12 month old daughter woke up the other morning screaming for 2 hours. She also had a fever and was extremely clingy. Took her to the doc and she has a Coxsackie virus.

If she doesn't seem herself during the day or has a fever at all, I'd take her to the pedi to have her checked, but it does NOT sound like a night terror to me.

The link below has some good info about sleep. About halfway down there is a table comparing night terror to nightmare and you'll see your daughter's wake does not match the night terror info.
http://www.med.umich.edu/1Libr/yourchild/sleep.htm

Night terrors it is! My son did the same thing at 14mos.
I am telling you he looked possessed!!! LOL. Just changed
time he went to bed and that took care of things. Think I
put him in 1/2 hour later. Hope that works for you. That
being said, some children have night terrors for quite some
time. Good luck.

J.,

We've been there. Night terrors. I definitely agree with that opinion. If you google it you will find a very informative website (I can't remember what it is offhand) that will give you lots of info, but the bottom line is that if it is indeed night terrors, there is nothing you can do about it, and they will eventually go away. It is very scary, I know.

D.

My daughter did that. Something with red die #40 gave her night terrors. We have cut back on what she eats containing the dye and nights have gotten a lot better. Good Luck!

Hi J. -

Like most others have said, it could be night terrors...Our 5 year old had them really, really bad, and if that is what this turns out to be, please don't hesitate to contact me for support...

Take care,
J.

It sounds like your daughter has what are called "night terrors." My son had them from about age 15 months to 3 years old. He would wake up in the middle of the night, sometimes more than once, screaming and thrashing about. When we would hold him down to prevent him from hurting himself, he still wouldn't awaken----even though his eyes were open and looking at us. Within a few minutes he would go back to sleep. Later, when he woke up, he would have no memory of the events. It is very mysterious, interrupts a lot of sleep for the rest of the household, but has no known cause and no cure. Your daughter will eventually get over it. Call me if you wish to talk about it. I. Collins, Executive Senior Director for Mary Kay, Inc. ###-###-####.

So sorry to hear that. It is so unbearable to see your kids in that state. I know some people mentioned ear infection. If it happens again, check it out. The pain is worse at night and when lying down. It could be with or without a fever. Sometimes they are calmed when held or sitting upright or when drinking, it alleviates some of the pain. Good luck and I hope she sleeps better tonight.

Sounds like night terrors. My daughter had them too when she was about 16-17 months old. They are horrible but they do pass. One night she was up screaming, no joke, for about 6 hours. My doctor had told me to try and give her a dose of benadryl before bedtime. He said that it will make her sleep a little more soundly and be less likely to wake up. We tried it once and it actually worked. I think after that time she never had anymore. Give a call to your doctor and see what they say. And it does pass, I promise!

My youngest daughter went through this too. I figured she had a bad dream. Try to think if there was anything that happened to her or around her that could've given her a bad dream...yelling..WWE...any movies she might have seen...every day things we would not think of to frighten our children can cause nightmares.

If it happens again, keep holding her until she falls asleep. I sit in the recliner with my daughter then put her back to bed 10 minutes after she's been sleeping.

You also might want to get gas drops for her last meal of the night. She could just have gas pains too.

Nanc

Hi,

If she had a cold recently (or was sick in the past say 2 months) it may have gone to her ear which case she may have an ear infection. I would wait and see if this goes on for another two or three nights and then go to your peditrician to rule out an ear infection.

This is one possibility I thought of when reading your situation.

Best of luck.

R.

Forot to add, it could be teething problem. I give my my baby and I have with the older two, Teething Tablets and prefer the tablets than the Teething Gel because you really don't know if you get the gel all the gel on your finger on their gums. My 10 month old did the same. If I recall, my second son did the same only with my third, his is worst. It seemed as if he had a bad dream. Any good suggestions or opinions from other mothers, let me know if you have the time. I wondered perhaps some the things he watches maybe have gotton alittle out of order in the dreams and seems scary. I don't recall having that with my oldest one until recently, but he's 3 1/2 yo and he can't tell me alittle bit what happened in his sleep and can answer yes and no, but when they are 10 or 14 months old it's harder to know.

Sounds like Night Terrors--so named because of the terror it instills in the parents! It happens between sleep cycles and is scary as all get out. The more you try to stop it the worse it gets because the child only hears a disembodied voice and isn't aware of what's happening. Check out Elizabeth Pantley or Dr. Sears for advice. They suggest letting the child just go through it as long as they are not in danger of hurting themselves. It's different than a nightmare--the child is not in a dreaming state at this point--and she won't remember what happened. It's also wise not to talk about it with her the next day because she might become fearful of going to sleep.

This happened to us one night and it was terrifying--I thought my son had gone blind because I was right there and holding him and he was screaming for me and nothing I did--turning on the light, singing, talking really loud--did anything to stop it. He finally fell asleep--and then it happened again 45 minutes later. We just let it ride the second time and he calmed down and went to sleep for the night.

Luckily, it doesn't happen often.

Good luck--
L.

Hi J.
The first instinct is easy, she probably had a nightmare, night terror. At 14 months it is hard because they aren't as vocal as you might wish to articulate the problem. "Pictures in your sleep" can be very vivid and scarey. Some children are more prone to them than others. Scarey to them pictures make all children more prone. All the things that are known to cause adult's to dream also cause kids to dream.
Be careful with what she sees.
Be careful with what she eats.
Be careful with what she hears.
Be careful with what you read to her.

Don't discount the fact that there may be a physical cause, such as ear ache, which eases with body warmth. Check with MD.
God bless you and I do hope that it is a one time event.
Since I am assumedly old enough to be your mom, I always say check with her if possible because she may have some fun stories and helps for you.
K. SAHM married 38 years with children 37, 32, and twins 18.

I have a 14 month old also and every now and then, he does the same. I am wondering if they have nightmares already? Although, I'm able to soothe him more quickly, he usually goes right back to sleep. I would maybe have her checked for an ear infection or something, sounds like she was in pain? I don't know! Wish I could've been more help.
Lynsey

Hi J.,
If you can rule out ear infection or teething, I would assume it was a nightmare she had. This starts happening around this age. My daughter who is 2 and a half started to have these once in a while around that age. Hence, the apprehension about being put back in bed. Another thought is whether there has been any big shifts or changes in her routine or around the house. This can sometimes upset sleeping patterns also, making her feel the need of closeness to you and reassurance from you in the middle of the night.

Best of luck,
K. G.

Somewhere around this age, my boys started having night terrors or nightmares. The difficulty is, you can't necessarily explain to them what is going on. We never experienced anything as extreme as what you did, but there were a few times when each of the boys have wakened screaming, and a little comforting (and holding them til they are asleep) has worked.

SHe may be getting molars in, very painful! It could be gas but I don't think that would have lasted that long so my best guess are her teeth are killing her. Try something for her teething, gums or just tylenol and see if it helps. Poor thing!

sounds like teething to me. my 18 month old does the same thing when she has really bad teething pain and we do the same thing you did; no other choice. get her up and out in to the living room and put on a calming peaceful video like Charlotte's Web or Teletubbies, keep the lights low and hang out with her. what we also do is we just camp out the rest of the night on the floor w her when this happens; i take a blanket and a couple pillows and lay down w her to watch the show and eventually we fall asleep. at least that way you don't reopen the screaming event.

also don't be afraid to give her a full appropriate size dose of baby tylenol or motrin; if she is teething this is what she needs and if she's not, it won't hurt to give the one dose just to make sure.

also be prepared because if she is teething, this could go on for a couple of days. my daughter has this for about 2-3 days at a time every time she teethes. my son, 3, never did this. all the kids are different. try not to worry too much. you'll have to hit Starbucks for a couple days but you'll get through it.

J.

could be night terrors that sometimes happens at this age does she have a night light in her room or a fav stuff animal that she sleeps with when this happened with our daughter we would just comfort her and reassure her that mommie and daddy where here and would never let anything happen to her

It sounds like either night terrors or possibly that your husband has abused her.