My 24 month old daughter has begun waking up every night around 3 or 4 AM screaming at the top of her lungs. I usually give her a sippy cup w/milk at that time and she drinks it and goes back to sleep. I thought at first she was teething but now I think this is becoming a habit. Anyone have any advice on how to cut this habit? I am becoming a zombie!!!
She may be expienceing night terror,talk with her doctor so you can understand it more throughly then I can explain it. If she does have this, she will grow out of it. Just be patient.
my son is currently going through the same thing and he is almost 2. I just go in and hold him and rock if needed. If come to the conclusion it is nightmares or terrors or possibly growing pains. I never give him food/sippy, etc... that can form a bad habit..just try some comforting. I noticed after about 2 weeks now it is tailing off...hopefully yours will too!
my son is doing the same thing. we talked to the dr. he said that its night terrors. is she waking but not really noticing that you're there? inconsolable? my dr said that my son was not really awake. i take my son in bed with us or downstairs if we're still awake for about a half hour til he really wakes up and can settle down. also, a big sign was that he was sweating so much that i thought he was wetting himself. the dr said that we aren't setting any bad habits by having him up or giving him milk. talk to you dr before you start acting on anyones advice. she might really need you to comfort her.
Switch to just giving her water instead of milk. Tell her the doctor told you she couldn't have milk in the middle of the night if it's a problem. Getting a sippy full of milk, and then falling asleep with that milk on her teeth isn't good for the teeth, can lead to cavities.
I agree, it sounds like it could be night terrors. They do eventually outgrow them. Or a nightmare she is having from her active imagination.
Good luck. Remember, one day she'll be keeping you up because she missed her curfew, and this will seem like a very easy problem!
R.
It might have been a dream that started it, and then she figured out it was a good way to get a snack and a visit from Mommy. I would stop on the milk (bad for little teeth in the night). It also will affect her sleep patterns if you continue this. Your goal is to make your trips to her room less rewarding---no holding her, no talking to her, no eye contact with her. Just lay her down if she's up, and shush her with some patting or back rubbing. This assures her that you're around, but helps her get back to sleep. It should only take a few nights to get her back into sleeping all night. Good luck!
Cut out the milk and give her water. I did that when I was trying to get my 6mos. to stop waking at that time and the dr. said to try it. It works like a charm. After about 2 - 3 nights she realizes she is only getting water and it isn't worth it.
Could be nightmares (dreams of bad things) or night terrors (not dreaming, and not actually awake when the screaming occurs).
What you don't want to do is give milk in the middle of the night unless you are going to brush her teeth as well. Offer water if anything, otherwise, a comforting pat on the back or rocking in a chair for a bit should sooth her enough to go back to sleep.
If it really is a happy her little body is getting used to receiving calories in the middle of the night. It will hard
She may be having night terrors. My grandaughter had them for about one and a half yrs. then they went away. She also was a moderate sleep walker then. She's 6 now and still mumbles in her sleep sometimes.
All I can say is my boy at 2 was doing this for a while. I took benadryl to help me get back to sleep. Eventually he got over it.
