Night Terrors

So I think Holly is suffering from Night Terrors. We think it has happened twice before, but much milder, one time when we were in Virginia. Joel’s mom thought she had fallen off the bed, as she woke in the middle of the night screaming, and we were comforting her, but it only lasted about 5 minutes.

Last night it happened twice and it was the most Horrible experience I think I have ever had. The first time was at 12:30 and I didn’t realize what was going on at the time, but Holly woke up screaming, first I thought she was hungry but she wouldn’t take the bottle, then I thought maybe her Diaper rash was hurting her, so I changed her. (She had a little rash but it was only for one day, I think because her costume is so warm – and it’s already gone today) But that didn’t help either, so then I thought perhaps she is teething, and I gave her two highlands teething tabs to put under her tongue, and tried to feed her an ounce of formula with Motrin, but that didn’t work, she didn’t want her pacifier, and she wanted t do nothing but scream.. The really scary part, is that when Holly gets like that, which is rare, she starts to almost hyperventilate, she doesn’t breath she is screaming so much and then she begins to gag and cough and choke and then vomits. I was able to keep her from vomiting, but she threatened twice..

I would rock her and shush her and sing to her and walk with her and for about 20 minutes nothing would help, and then almost as suddenly she was asleep again, this time with a case of the hiccups so it was like she was catching her breath and whimpering every few seconds as she calmed back into a dose. It was truly terrifying, and I blamed it on teething pain not knowing what else could be done.

So I went to the internet and looked up, My Baby wakes up screaming in the middle of the night and found this: http://www.babycenter.com/404_why-is-my-baby-suddenly-waking-up-hysterical-at-night_1292617.bc The description is almost exactly like Holly and when you read the community responses several of the parents say they have experienced similar things with 7 months old, which is how old Holly is now.

SO I thought it was over, I pumped, went to bed, then at 4:15 am she woke up screaming again, and even thought I had just read this information I could not leave her lying in the co sleeper I picked her up and rocked her in bed, then it was too much to take so I got up and walked around the house with her, this time armed with more knowledge I was more observant, she was staring off, not making eye contact, she didn’t seem to see me but looked right past me, she would calm for a moment but then start again for no reason and when I did try to talk to her it seemed to freak her out more and make it worse, she wasn’t engaged, this was not like getting her shots where she screams, and then looks at me for comfort or with anger and for soothing, she didn’t even know I was there and nothing I did made a bit of difference. Joel took her for a bit and I did some more research to keep myself from freaking out and found this: http://www.babycenter.com/0_night-terrors_142.bc


What are night terrors?

Night terrors occur in at least 5 percent of young children, and can start as early as 9 months. These mysterious disturbances happen during deep, non-dreaming sleep. A child in this state will cry, whimper, flail, and even bolt out of bed. Though his eyes may be wide open, he's not awake and isn't aware of your presence. Once the night terror (which can last anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour or more) is over, your child will return to a sound sleep and have no memory of the incident in the morning.

How are night terrors different from nightmares?

Nightmares happen during rapid eye movement (REM) or dream sleep. A child who's had a nightmare is likely to have a fairly clear idea of what scared him, though he probably won't be able to articulate his fright until he's about 2. He may also be afraid to fall back asleep, and in the morning, he'll probably remember that he had a bad dream.

What should I do when my toddler has a night terror?

Of course, your first instinct will be to comfort him, but your efforts will most likely be futile (remember, he's not really awake and he's not aware of your presence). You just have to wait it out and make sure he doesn't hurt himself. Don't speak to him or try to soothe him, and don't try to shake or startle him awake or physically restrain him — all of which could lead to more frantic behavior. In 15 to 20 minutes, your child should calm down, curl up, and fall into a deep sleep again.

Is there anything I can do to prevent night terrors?

There are several steps you can take to reduce the chances that your toddler will have night terrors. First, make sure that he's getting enough sleep, since children who go to bed overtired are more likely to experience these sleep disturbances. To avoid fatigue, extend your toddler's nap time, let him sleep a little later in the morning, or put him to bed earlier at night. And be sure to schedule plenty of time for calming bedtime rituals, such as a bath, a song, a book, and lots of cuddling.Since night terrors usually occur during the first part of the night, you could also try gently rousing your toddler after he's been asleep for an hour or two — about 15 minutes before the typical episode would start. This should alter his sleep pattern enough to head off the night terror at the pass.


After a few minutes I took Holly back again and with vigorous rocking and shushing eventually she went back into a deeper sleep, again with hiccups and a whimper, it was horrifying, and pitiful, and probably one of the worst experiences I have ever had, I felt so helpless, and just didn’t know what to do., But then she was asleep again after about 20 minutes and it was over, for her anyways. I was restless the rest of the night with a black pit in my stomach full of dread and worry. She of course woke up at 10:30 the next morning happy, playful and rested as if the night before, was simply my nightmare. So today, I am making sure she is getting plenty of rest and talking all her naps as long as possible and going to bed at a decent time, so hopefully this can be prevented, but I don’t know what I will do if it happens again, you simply can’t understand unless of course you have seen your child screaming in agony at the top of their lungs, and being powerless to try and help them. They say you can’t wake them from their sleep it makes it worse, and to not engage them, but doing nothing would be awful. Have any of you experienced Night Terrors before, I would love to hear how you coped with it, and any advice you may have, to let me know this is indeed what is going on and there isn’t something worse happening with her.