Restless Sleep at Night

I am going through the same type of thing with my 2 1/2 year old son. If you get some responses, can you send them my way? My sister's son had night terrors but I think it was different then what we are dealing with because he would not wake up and they were not suppose to wake him up. She said he grew out of it.
Thanks, G.

Hi N.,
my 2 y/o went through this & still sometimes does, she's having Night Terrors. It's like nightmares, but she looks like she's awake. It doesn't have to do with any trauma or anything, so don't worry about that. When that happens, just hold her, tell her it's ok, that you are there, DON'T EVER TRY TO WAKE HER UP!! The Dr told me that. He told me that it could happen because of a parent not being there or any other minor stress that makes her have this night terrors. So, don't worry, it's completely normal, just always be by her, they are kinda of sleep walkers that scream! Best of luck to you!!
Val

Pray for your family! The spiritual armor in Ephesians 6:10-18 is important: imagine standing your daughter up and putting on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of peace, the helmet of salvation, and the shield of faith. Take the sword of the Spirit firmly in hand and claim the name of Jesus--after all, he created the universe, he can handle this, too! Take your case to the King, who promises sleep to his beloved.

Hi N., just wondering if your daugther snores when she is asleep the rest of the time? Is she irritable during the daytime? If so, you may want to talk with her doc about sleep apnea. Sleep apnea gets misdiagnosised so often as other things such as ADHD. Anyway, hope this helps.J. L.

yeah this definitely sounds like night terrors. My 3 yr old son has had them since he was a year old and still does. I have a website that I go to that is specifically for night terrors. Its all about people who have them or have children that have them. I hope this helps.

http://www.nightterrors.org/SMF/index.php

My daughter, who is now 5, did that a lot and it started at around 2. They are nightmares, but more specifically they could be night terrors. My daughter's progressed into sleep walking. She still does it occasionally, but not too often. The good news is my ped. said that most kids just grow out of it. I would suggest keeping an eye on her though just to be sure it doesn't get worse. Also if you can stand it, don't wake her up. The doctor said that can actually be more distressing because she could involve you in her nightmare. I wish you luck, because I know how stressful it can be.

Does your Daughter sleep in this room by herself? If she just recently moved into this room by herself or yourhusband has gone TDY or been Deployed, that could explain the behavior. It would be stress and she is fighting to stay in the old room or with Daddy to keep him home. When they are this young it is really hard to talk to them and understand what is going on unless they have good language skills. Does she have any memory of the "nightmares" during the day? Can or have you tried to talk to her about it? Hope this helps.

It sounds like she's having night terrors. They're kind of like nightmares, except they don't remember them at all. I don't know much about them, but I do remember that it is best not to try to wake them up. They're much scarier for us than for them. My son had them a few times - really freaked me out - but then they just stopped.

My son had these issues around 2 yrs old as well. He is 3.5 yrs now and rarely has an outburst. I was told that it was just a good sign that he has a very active imagination. We were told the best thing to do was to discuss the nightmares with him in the morning or when he woke up later in the night. Have him describe everything that he could remember and then come up with ways he could fight back in the dream. He's quite fond of HeMan comming to the rescue in his dreams and we also talk about HeMan before he goes to bed to help him remember. Good luck, but this will probably pass. I wouldn't jump on any ADHD bandwagon just yet or become paranoid about Night Terrors, try just talking with her before running to the doctors or even try giving her some Bauchwohl-Tee (you can find it at a Kaufland or Real in the babyfood sections)... an over active stomach at night can also trigger nightmares.

Hi N. B,
Is she having any memory of this the next day?? I saw on a show about night tremors and they almost never have a memory of it the next day and it doesn't affect them emotionally through the day. So it's a little different than nightmares, because they could wake up with those still fresh on their little brains. The show suggested not to get upset when it's happening (easier said than done) and to let it happen. Not to try to wake them up and the next day not to show them to much upsetness about it so they don't feel like they are doing something wrong. Somethings they suggested were to change sleeping patterns. Change what time she goes to sleep or time she wakes up to change the REM cycles. Also to put some soothing music on and anything else that would make them feel more comfortable when falling asleep.
The family that was on still had instances where it was happening but the girl was happy during the day and it wasn't affecting her emotionally. I'm not sure if this is what is happening with your daughter and I'm certainly not an expert; just thought I would share one option to hopefully help you.
J. H

It could be night terrors, which are different than nightmares and kids tend to be more active during night terrors, but do not remember them the next day. Most kids outgrow night terrors, but some don't. My nephew has them, and he is 9, it's rare for a 9 year old to still have them, but his have decreased in frequency lately and we are hopeful they will stop completely. I think his were always more severe than other kids, he would even go to the extreme of looking for weapons to defend himself during his terrors, and he would have the whole household awake and he would not remember any of it the next day. Your daughter's sound mild, just keep an eye on her during them but don't wake her up. You can try talking in a soothing voice to her, but most often during night terrors they won't hear you. If she starts getting out of bed or does anything that could cause her to get hurt, call your pediatrician and try to get a sleep study done to see for sure what is going on.

Hi N.,
I have a 2 year old son who does the exact same thing. I also think it is nightmares. He used to do it more than he does it now, but he calmed down once I started either leaving calming music or something quiet on the television in his room. I also make sure that he knows that his father and I aren't far away from him, so when it happens, one of us will go lay with him or sometimes I even put him in our bed to give him some security. I don't know exactly what it is that is happening to them, like I said I think it is nightmares, but I can't be certain because I haven't gotten a professional opinion on the matter. Try to not let her watch television right before bed, and leave on a night light or something. These things seem to be working for my son. If you find out anything more, please share your information with me. Have a beautiful, blessed day!!!

It sounds like night terrors. My son (8) has had them off and on since he was a toddler. I have been told it's related to sleep walking and I believe it's genetic - my mom says I had them too. The child may appear to be awake, but really isn't, and typically doesn't remember anything about it the next day. We've mostly just made sure he's safe and let him ride it out, I don't think there's much else you can do. My husband will sometimes climb into bed with him, and the closeness of another person seems to help him relax, but my feeling is that it's only temporary, and that on the nights he's having them, unless you stay in his bed all night, he will continue to have them off and on. I prefer to let him ride it out, I think he actually does better, and gets through them more quickly if he's left alone, but maybe that's just because I'm a heavier sleeper than my husband and don't hear him all night. If it's keeping you up, I would maybe just ask your doctor if they have any recommendations to deal with it. If it is night terrors though, don't worry, they're really pretty common, I know many people who's children have gone through this and it doesn't seem to have any repercussions other than loss of sleep for the parents.

Night terrors are actually a slow wave sleep disorder i.e. stage 4 sleep (the one where you sleep the heaviest) as opposed to nightmares which are while you're dreaming in REM sleep. Night terrors are mostly an issue during childhood and most doctors recommend no treatment since the disorder normally dissolves itself. Night terrors are like the other advise said very rare. If your daughter seems to respond to your voice or comfort it is not night terrors.
My 2-year old has also been waking up screaming anywhere from 2-6 times a night. It seems she mostly does it when she is not feeling the best and maybe not sleeping quite as heavily. I would just comfort your child, tuck her back in, and this too shall probably pass. Good luck
Søs