Anyone have experience with night terrors? - DD diagnosed with these today by her ped

MylittlePaige wrote: Paige has been having these spells almost every night since Easter and finally I took her into the Ped bc I just thought for sure something had to be wrong with her despite absolutely no symptoms during the day. During these spells at night she wakes up screaming bloody murder and no matter what you do you can't console her, the more you do the more she gets upset. I had never heard of night terrors till last Friday and after reading a little about them pretty much figured this is what she must be going through.

Has anyone had previous experience with this. What worked for you? I am desperate for advice and also curious to see how long they lasted...

Ped said to try and get her to nap consistently and take some down time during the day to unwind so she doesn't get overly tired. She also said that some kids go through this stage when they reach a milestone or having a rapid growth. Paige is really advanced in her verbal skills and is potty training so this would make sense. Someone suggested waking her prior to the time when she has the night terror bc it is actually something with the sleep cycles as opposed to being a a nightmare where she is scared. This worked the last 2 nights so hopefully that continues. The thing that I am most worried about is letting her CIO. The Ped said if I pick her up during one of these terrors it only escalates the terror and upsets her. This has been what has been happening almost every night when she has one. The Ped said as hard as it is I can't pick her I just need to let her cry and work this out. She did say it was ok for me to talk to her or try and rub her back but if she got upset to walk away....hmm I am not sure about this. I am not trying to start a CIO debate but I just have a hard time doing this, it just doesn't feel right.

Alli and Paige 09/05/02

alice&arik replied: Sorry I don't have any advice. Sounds like it is really hard on both of you. I hope it gets better for you both soon. That is great that you are potty training. I am trying with Arik, but he has only peed on the potty twice and farted on a few occasions.

MommyToAshley replied: I think Kaitlin'sMom posted about a night terrors not too long ago. I don't have any experience with them, but how frightening. At least you know what is going on now and can try to work through it.

I know what you mean about CIO. I don't think I could do it either. Although it works for some people, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Hopefully a new nap routine will help!

MylittlePaige replied:
Alice-We have had our fair share of false alarms with just a few little toots as well! Peeing twice is a great start. Before you know it he will be pulling you to the potty. We started taking Paige to the bathroom everytime we went so she would get used to it and she just one day started telling us when she had to go. Hopefully it continues. I have heard a lot of kids when they are younger are interested and then digress (sp?). Good luck!
Alli and Paige

kimberley replied: i often wonder if James had night terrors from birth, but i know he had them as a toddler. James would wake 2 or 3 times from sleep just screaming blue murder. the problem was, he was not really awake. all the advice you have already been given is good. if they happen around the same time every night, waking before they usually happen helps. and holding them is the worst thing you can do because it does agitate them and it is so hard not to do as a mom who wants to comfort her child. i spent a lot of sleepless nights just sitting on the edge of the bed rubbing his back. he outgrew them when he was about 3 or 4yo... not exactly sure. ((((hugs))))) to you both! i hope they pass soon.

amynicole21 replied: Alli, I'm glad you've had some success the past two nights. The night terrors sound horrible, and are just as stressful for you as for Paige! Does she seem to remember them in the morning? I guess it's pretty difficult to tell at this age. Sending you and Paige some ~*~*~ restful sleep vibes ~*~*~


PS. Kimberly, apparently the definition of night terrors is that they aren't really awake when they are having them. So it sounds like James was having them.
I was just reading about them last week...

MylittlePaige replied: Amy-No she doesn't seem to remember them and what is even weirder is when she seems to "snap out of it" she just looks at me and says Momma. It is really bizarre to say the least. She could cry in my arms for an hour and not say one word and then when she stops crying she finally looks at you like -Where have you been? It is so hard to see her upset. I am keeping my fingers crossed that if we cont to wake her up at 11:30 and change her diaper/put her on the potty and give her some soy milk in her sippy to keep her up for a few minutes this will pass. I am not happy she has this but I am happyt that I know what it is. I truly thought she was in pain during these spells. Poor baby!

Kimberly-you hit the nail on the head. It really makes her upset when I hold her during this which is my only instinct. Is your son a sensitive child? My Ped mentioned some kids are more sensitive and this is an emotional outlet for them? I can see Paige as being a sensitive child but I guess I am not getting the connection. At first I was all freaked out after reading things online that somehow she was "emotionally distraught" but I think it is emotions coming out and not really emotions like I am thinking of them if that makes sense. Also I was reading on I believe kidshealth.org that they think that infants can also possess this problem so your son may have had them ealry on. Paige has never been a a great sleeper but this is much different then not sleeping well as you can relate to I am sure. Thanks for your advice-it means a lot to hear this from others that have BTDT.
Alli and Paige

kimberley replied: yes, James has always been sensitive on the inside but 100% rough and tumble boy on the outside. he will be 6yo tomorrow, and only in the past year have i seen him start to show and verbalize his feelings. an example is when he was about 4yo he stuck his finger in a lamp that he turned on and i hadn't replaced the bulb because i ran out. most kids would react by crying and saying they were scared. not James. he got angry and wouldn't let me near him. it was almost as if he was embarassed it happened and didn't want me to fuss. he has always had trouble communicating and expressing himself in a constructive manner. but i am not sure it is related to the night terrors. i mean since i brought him home from the hospital he would scream like someone was hurting him and he was never fully conscious when it happened, nor did he remember the episodes when he got older. almost like sleep walking. i often wonder if his allergies had something to do with them. i did a little research on it when he was smaller but nothing seemed to fit him, KWIM? he has not had any major traumas or anything, he was just born that way. unrelated, James has always been an awful sleeper too but that is because he is itchy from eczema. keep me posted on how things are going for you two.

Insanemomof3 replied: The only thing I can say about night terrors is that DEFINETLY listen to the ped about not picking her up. My MIL/FIL adopted 3 kids and the youngest went through this. When she picked him up one night, he freaked so bad that he broke her nose by kicking and fell out of her arms and broke HIS arm. That was extreme, but please listen to the ped. She can hurt herself or you if it gets really bad. They had to let him CIO at first, but then tried waking him before the usual time, and that seemed to help. He only went through it for about 6 months. Was not fun, but they got through it. Good luck hon, not trying to scare you, but wanted you to know the possibility.

Mom2Boyz replied: I don't have any advice or knowledge on the subject, but I just wanted to say that I hope they go away soon!!! Poor little girl that has to be tough.

jem0622 replied: I have no idea what to advise. Just lots of hugs for you all. Hope that the ped's advice helps a lot.

HUGS

MylittlePaige replied: Thanks for your words of encouragement. It means a lot to be able to have someone to even listen even if they don't have any words of advice. I think my coworkers are sick of hearing about the night time saga every morning..LOL Oh well!

The last few nights have been a bit better. We are continuing to wake her prior to having them and also trying to get her to take a good nap (which can be a battle at times) or just get some unwind time. At this age though they just want to go..go..go though...The upside of that is I am getting more excercise

Alli and Paige