14 Month Old Wakes up Crying, Could This Be Night Terrors?

My son out of the clear blue sky had a few night terrors. They are HORRIBLE. All i could do was rub his cheek and talk softly to him. I didn't even try picking him up because he just flung his arms and legs about. Then.... POOF, they were gone and he hasn't had one since.

Is he just crying? Or is he shrieking and not recognizing that you're even there? My DD had night terrors at about 18 - 24 months (I can't recall exactly - but I know it was before my son was born). With a night terror it looks like they're awake - eyes open - but no matter what I did she didn't respond. Shrieking, screaming and crying as if a horrible creature was after her. She'd cry & scream for "mommy" - all the while I'd be holding her, stroking her little face, saying,"mommy's right here honey, mommy's here, I'm holding you sweet heart, everything's OK" - but she had no idea I was there.

It happened probably about 6 times over about 4 months I'd say. And then as suddenly as it occurred, it stopped. No idea what made it happen or what made it stop. But while it was going on it was terrifying - you can't console your child - there's nothing you can do and it seems like she's possessed or in violent physical pain, or literally scared to death. My husband thought I was exaggerating until he was awake for it and saw it with his own eyes. Then he insisted that we get her to the doctor, insisted something was wrong, etc.

It will pass - it just really spooky and weird. I prayed alot during those nights.

My son went through the same thing about that age, and our doctor told us that if we tried to console him it would just make it worse and make it last longer. I would sit outside his bedroom, or just inside, and just watch to make sure he wasn't getting hurt. Sure enough, they were shorter when I didn't talk to or touch him. It was absolutely heart breaking because you always want to hold your baby when they are upset, but they did pass. For my son, he was more likely to get them if he skipped his nap or was over tired.

They are not awake when this happens, and they have no memory of it later. I know you have received advice to try and wake him up, but our pediatrician warned us NOT to do that because they would make them worse and last longer. I would get an opinion from your doctor, but if you have been trying to wake him up then maybe tonight you should let it runs its course and see if it is any different than usual.

Sorry that you are having to deal with this!

My daughter went through a phase like that too. After a couple weeks it stopped. I never really knew what the issue was, could be that something is waking him up (say a noisy neighbor) and he's not very happy about it. If it is an outside thing then once he becomes used to it then it should stop. I had night terrors as a child, they started when I was about 4, but I don't know if they could start any earlier.

It could be teething or a bad dream or perhaps he's mad because he's awake and doesn't want to be. My little girl wakes up and cries at 530 every day. She's 15 months. This started around 12 months. The first few times I went in and she seemed to cry harder and get even more mad. I would put her back down and she would cry for a few minutes and then go back to sleep. After doing that several times, I stopped going in and now she either doesn't wake or she wakes, sits up, lets out a cry for about 30 seconds and goes back to sleep. He'll probably eventually give it up. I don't know if I would be comfortable letting him cry inconsolably by himself for 10 minutes, but maybe try not going in. Do you usually give him a few minutes before going in or do you go right away? I would say to wait a few minutes. Don't know what kind of monitor you have, but we have a video monitor which is VERY helpful in a situation like this. I can see if my daughter is still laying down when she's crying or sitting up or standing. Usually if she's standing then I know she won't put herself back down.

It's hard to tell what the reason is for these things but just remember that as quickly as these things start, they stop. One thing worth trying is giving him some Ibuprofen before bed once and see if it helps. Sometimes teething *can* look like that. It won't go on forever, and if it is ongoing at his next well child visit or his next visit to the pediatrician, be sure to mention it.

My ped Dr said that if it is occuring at the SAME time every time it happens and they are inconsolable, that it is probably night terrors. And unfortunately if this is the case, there really isn't anything specific to do to help other than just try and wake him up.

My 22 month old had a couple bouts of nightly wake ups and his eyes will be open but he doesn't even blink!! literally! he just screams and it creeps me out! But after about 4 weeks of it, it has gone away for the most part.

My Dr said if they do get night terrors it can go all the way into 5 years old but that it should be more patterns of a couple nigths on and many weeks off. Just try and wake him up by bringing him into the lighted room or putting some cold water on his face. I hope your son goes back to sleep easily if you try this method (mine does thank goodness) but if not, I would say just hold him if he wants you to and just wait it out!

Good luck!

I have a 15 month old who has been doing this for about a week. For us, it has been teething- she got a molar and an incisor in just the last few days. We've found that if we just let her cry for about 5 minutes, she settles back down and goes back to bed. Hopefully this is what's wrong with your son too! Good luck...

Mommy 123 is right. Unfortunately, if you respond, that'll become the routine. Give him a chance to work it out and get himself back to sleep. We occasionally have gone through this with our now 2 yr old and 10 month old and they now just get themselves back to sleep within 5-10 minutes. But good luck to you. It's never easy, is it? :-)