I am totally at a loss with this one! My son has always been a restless sleeper as an infant and didn't sleep through the night until he was 15 months old and we put him in a twin bed (more space to throw himself around!). Since then, we have had no problems. We have a very consistent night time routine of quiet time with cars, bath, lotion and pajamas, and then reading books in bed. Whenever he woke up, he never cried. He just got out of bed and layed in front of his door until I got him. However, all that has changed!
About a month ago, he started waking up screaming and crying about an hour or two after he falls asleep. He wakes up frantic, his whole body trembling and somewhat tense. He will also flap his arms in the air as if he's so upset he has no idea what to do with his emotions. He also started destroying stuff in his room. If we don't get in there to get him within seconds of him waking up, he will tip things over; toy shopping cart with food, little table with a train set on it, etc.
I'm not sure if what he is experiencing is night terrors, since he does seem to be awake and alert. He did get his bottom 2 year molars in. So I thought his mouth could be bothering him. So I started giving him montrin before bed, which did nothing. I let him pick out a Cars table lamp as a new night light, thinking that seeing his surroundings better would help. It didn't. He just wants me there. I end up falling asleep on his floor for a few hours. And like clockwork, about a half hour after I leave, he wakes up again screaming. By that time, I end up putting him in bed with me because I have to work and I need better sleep.
What the heck is going on?! Is it serious? Do I call the pediatrician or not? Is it a stage? Do I wait it out? What can I do?!
Well, I never did get around to calling his doctor because of my crazy schedule (retail manager!). However, one night, he did ask for the light to be turned off. That night, he did wake up crying, but he did not get out of bed and destroy things. So since then, we've been having him in the dark. He still gets up crying for Mommy, but at least he stays in bed and goes back to sleep as soon as I answer him.
I've always come to the conclusion that I have to do what works for me and screw the "shoulds". If at 3 am he wants in my bed, then so be it, he's sleeping with me! The more mothers I talk to, the more I find that many others do it too! Thanks for all the advice! I'm sure I'll be referring back to it because I don't think this is over!
Hi T.,
My daughter has gone through this.
We tried everything and I can tell you the ONLY thing that got it to stop was letting her throw her fit.
We do not go in at all if she's screaming.
She has really not done it in a while, and if she's screaming in the AM, when she wakes up, we do not go in until she stops. It really nipped the behavior.
He knows it works so until you stop reacting to it, he'll continue doing it. :)
My son had night terrors really bad. They would always start 30 minutes after I would go to bed. I got advice from some people to help. They told me to use lavender. I would give him a bath in lavender, spray his bedding with lavender, and light a lavender candle in his room, shut the door 30 minutes before putting him to bed, and then blow it out before I put him in bed. It took a little while still before they stopped, but it got better. Good luck.
Hi T.,
Can I ask..Did something tramatic happen to him, his surroundings or life changes? If so, he's probably experiencing anxiety or dramatic insecurities. Or something or someone might have scared him and its bothering him nightly because he's alone in his room! Or it could be a psychological break down...and I would get him checked...but it sounds more like an insecurity thing to me.
For instance one of my girls when younger would go to the bathroom when needed and when we had a major happening happen in our lives and had to stay with my sister for a few weeks, her kids had scared my daughter into not wanting to use the bathroom. Since than at times we have had problems with her going to the bathroom. (Psychologically she thought something was gonna get her or harm her in the bathroom) Physically she knew that there was nothing gonna happen. Once in awhile I can get her to go in to the bathroom by herself..and I'm sure that it'll get better within time.
You could be right and this could be night terrors however; I would like to suggest something that helped us and I've told many mamas about it. My son was doing the same thing! He would wake up about an hour after I laid him down. I decided to keep a journal of what he was eating for a bit. I found that he only did this when he would eat anything chocolate! I asked the doc about it and she said that this is very common. The biggest triggers are chocolate and milk. Anyway, she explained that some kids are just not able to properly digest certain foods and it makes their bellys hurt. I eliminated chocolate from my little ones diet and what do you know? He's back to sleeping like an angel. It really could be any food that causes this for your little one. Keep a journal of his diet and try eliminating different things. See if it makes any difference. As far as the destroying the room thing: Welcome to the terrible twos M.! I doubt that you will see that room clean for more than 10 minutes until your little one moves out! haha Sorry, no good answer for that one unless it is for you to make him help you clean up the mess he's made. I hope this helps ya! Shannon G.
T., It does sound like night terrors to me. My son started them about that age, and he would throw himself into things, thrashing around. It is a scary sight to see your little boy like that. Make sure the room is safe for him, so he won't hurt himself. My son grew out out of it, it slowed down then went away. He is 6 now, and only has one every once in a while. He does sleep walk from time to time and move things around in his room. But nothing to bad. Good luck to you.
Yes, you need to make an appointment with his doctor asap. It sounds like night terrors and there is things his doctor can prescibe for that to ease things. Has your son gone through any trama in the past or recently? My granddaughter has this in a mild form. She just turned 1. Your son may seem awake and yet not be till at the end of these episodes. Definately make an appt. for your little guy and see what his doc. says. There could be another reason for this that is health wise.
The baby can be fully awake and concious during the night terrors. It doesn't have to be brought about by a nightmare, as some professionals suggest,,, but since he is destroying things and it's at this level, I'd suggest talking to a pediatrician.. Maybe there's something in the bedtime routine he's missing but you haven't thought of.. When my 2nd child was a baby she'd wake up like this till I filled a spray bottle with some watered down perfume. ( scairy repelent ) that seemed to work like majic for her. We'd spray in closets, under the bed, I'd spritz some on her pillow,etc.... and when she'd wake she'd have the same scent greeting her as when she fell asleep... After a couple weeks of this, she didn't need it anymore.. Just a suggestion,, but it's different with different babies..
Your baby justs wants you there! We all wake up to some extent when we flop around at night and to a little one they want to know you are RIGHT there! My 3 year old will wake up 2-3 times a night and scan the room and literally feel for me with his little hands in the dark. He sleeps with us pretty much every night. I dont know how that works for you but we love it.
T.,
I am not an expert by any means but I am guessing that this IS night terrors. My son, who is now 12, had them VERY bad. He looked like he was awake too & would scream & knock things over. He would sleep if I were in the room with him so I just kept a air mattress in his room for the nights I needed to be with him, it helped me more than it did him. Fortunatly, I am a SAHM & have been for 11 years so I didn't work outside the home like you do. My son had these for several months at a time & they would come & go. The doctor always told me these things would help & sometimes they did but sometimes they didn't. Make sure he is getting enough sleep...night terrors are triggered by not getting enough sleep. Routine, routine, routine.
Having a strict routine is a plus. Do not try to wake him up, it only makes it worse. I found out through time that patience & love are the best things to do in these cases. Good luck & God bless.
R.'
If he's alert, then it's not a night terror. My DS used to wake up screaming too, and it was usually when he was learning something new. I think it was his brain not being able to rest at night.
If he's doing this within a few hours after going to bed, I would try to put him to bed a little earlier. Waking up soon after going to bed usually indicates that he's overtired.
He could be going through separation anxiety too.
You might want note any other symptoms during the day. From your description, it could be a sensory processing disorder. You can google it and see if any of his symptoms match.
i would call your dr. it sounds like night terrors but if he is awake then i don't know. definitely stop giving the motrin unless you know for sure he's in pain. i know a couple people told you to let him cry it out but i think being there for him is way better. then he'll know you will always be there for him. good luck
it sounds like it could be quite a few different things. even the slightest change in a baby's life can cause a big upstir. i would talk to his babysitter & see if he acts the same. my next step after that would be the doctor. good luck & best wishes.
My daughter is 5 and just started having night terrors pretty bad this summer. I asked all the mamas on here too. To me that is what your sons episodes sound like. I think it affects different kids in different ways. For her she usually starts walking around, and you don't know that she is having one right away. She looks alert, but then if you ask her what she is doing she makes no sense. So I lead her back to bed (she cannot find it on her own) and have found that it seems to be a lot milder if I agree with anything she yells out (and I have agreed to really crazy things),and just reassure her I am here, she is safe in her room. When she first started having them I tried to ask her what she was seeing, what was happening to her, hoping to figure out what was stressing her so badly, but it only made her more frantic, and she could never tell me anyway. I checked on the internet, and it says that they are causes by too much stress, and being overtired. It could be that those molars were too much stress for your little guy, or he is stressed trying to learn something new, or that since it is summer he is wearing himself out more than he was in the winter. My biggest question when my daughter was going through them so strong was that I had asked her doctor about it and he said that I needed to wake her about a half hour to and hour after she falls asleep for a week and it will break the cycle. I thought that was nuts but gave it a shot, and we have now been a week without any terrors. I realize now that the idea is to wake them before they get the terror which as you said seems to be an hour after they go to bed. She was almost like clockwork. I do like the idea of keeping a journal to help you figure out the trigger. If my daughter starts having them again, I may do that too just to see if there are any common threads, but I would also jot down what type of day she was having, weather, foods eaten, and how much naps to see if anything seems to be the same. I know weather seems crazy, but when I get migraines I did the journal to see what triggered mine, and it seemed to be they occurred just before it stormed. I doubt weather has anything to do with terrors, unless they just really stress out your little guy, but then again, we really don't know what causes them. Anyway, hope this helps a little. I know they can get pretty intense to the point I felt like someone was standing behind me sometimes.
Hi T.! It sounds like you have your hands full! I would think it is night terrors by the sounds of it. They generally seem awake, but cry uncontrolably. I would call the doctor, or better yet, a sleep specialist just to make sure it's nothing more than that. Who knows, maybe if you call a sleep specialist, they can give you a couple of ideas as to what you can do to help him out. Poor guy! Once he wakes up completely, does he act just fine and wondering why he's awake? My son did that once in a great while, and when he finally woke completely, he looked at me like I was the crazy one waking him up in the middle of the night. He had really no recollection of what happened. Best of luck!
When you said that he destroys things in his room I realized that he just wants your attention.
I would move everything out as much as possible except his bed.
If he sleeps with a night light it is not good for his eyes.
(Your pediatrician should tell you that.)
Each time that he wakes up put him back in bed and leave the room.
I have found that it needs to be quiet and dark with little or no eye contact for the best effect.
Yes, I would ask your pediatrician about it too, just to see if he has any suggestions.
Don't give up until he knows you mean business.
I dont know if this is the same as your case but my first son started doing the same thing around the age of 2. I told his pediat. and he said it was night terrors. He would progressively get worse, car rides, naps, ect. Sometimes he would appear totally awake and yet still be aggressive. It was very frustrating because I didnt know what to do and it was very trying on my patience. I began to just secure his area and let it run its course then he would go back to sleep. This worked for a while. What I ended up trying ( I dont know why) was picking him up and setting him on the potty. After about a min. he would go and then instantly relax and go back to sleep. I think it was his way of trying to potty train himself not liking to be wet in the night. I started doing this and then during the day. He was trained in about a week. I still had to take him in his sleep but it would stop the screaming. He is now 14 and still sleeps restless at times but we really havent had those times since I figured it out. Dont know if this will help you but it is worth a try. Good luck.
