Sleeping Issues - Reseda,CA

Sounds like night terros to me too. He could be having so much trouble because he is over-tired. He also could be getting his 2yr molars. Try tylenol (or motrin, it lasts longer) for a night or too to help him relax or to stop any pain from teeth. Be consistent about his sleep schedule and try to get him to take good naps. He's a little young for nightmares, which are different than night terrors.

Have you heard of the book, "Secrets of the Baby Whisper" How to calm, connect,and communicate with your baby. ? It's by Tracy Hogg with Melinda Blau.
It is a easy read, broken down in wonderful sections.
VERY WORTH THE READ !

Hi A.,

It sounds possibly like "night terrors". It may be just a stage but, if possible, try to stay with him as he drops off to sleep and come to him if he cries in the middle of the night like that. There may be something he's feeling around the change from "only child" to having to share you so be sure you give him lots of attention during the day. Let him "help" you raise his little brother. Give him special "big boy" privileges, etc.

V.

V.

When your child becomes histerical in his sleep, is he difficult to wake up? If so, you may be dealing with the same thing I did when my oldest daughter was his age.
A friend described these fits as "night tremors"
I don't know if that's a technical term, but the name seems to fit.
It can happen to children who don't feel secure in their environment. When my daughter began this very scary behavior, her father and I had seperated, and she and I had moved around a lot to different friends houses. I was working a lot to support her, so I wasn't around as much as I used to be. I belive these series of events to be what triggered her nightmares. It was really scary for me because I would turn the light on, and call her name, I'd put a cool washcloth on her forehead, I'd try to hold her and comfort her and she would just scream and scream, not waking up.
Now, maybe nothing that extreme has occured in your household, but if your son just started going to daycare, or maybe he moved out of your room into his own, maybe a family member has passed away and you're really upset about it, it could effect him, even if he doen't understand what's going on.
Don't worry. This won't last forever. Just keep up a good routine and let him know how loved he is, try to not stres out with him around, and things will get better rather quickly.
I hope my advice was helpful to you!

Hi A.,
My name is Terri Ramey and we came up with a new product that helps children with sleep issues. It's geared more for ages 3 - 7 or even as old as 10 (depending upon the child). The 2 year olds enjoys the DreamCap Lullaby - very soothing which will relax your son to sleep at nights or naptime. Daycare Centers have used it for naptime and they enjoy listening to the song. Please take a look at our website at www.StopBadDreams.com. There's a few testimonials that have been written by parents with the same problems; hopefully, this can help your child as well. Thank you for your time.
Terri

SUGAR as in desserts or any food eaten too close to sleeping time will give bad dreams/nightmares. Last food should be no less than 1-1/2 hours before sleeping.

TRANSITION TIME. In the half hour or hour before bedtime, develop a quiet, serene atmosphere that makes him feel secure about going to sleep. No loud music, no loud games, no running around, no TV/DVD. Try reading one "5-minute Bedtime Stories" every night which you can get at any store. Hearing your voice next to them is soothing.

What is he watching on TV or MOVIES? Small children cannot differentiate between TV/movies and reality. Even Disney movies may have scary things in them -- scary to small children.
Sounds like he saw something lately through media or something happened to him that made him fearful. Fear will be expressed at nighttime through dreams. Ask him what he is afraid of, what is bothering him. Even if he can't express himself well, he should be able to give you some clue.

Hello A. B,

your son may be having bad dreams, therefore he can not differenciate between reality and a dream. Try to get him to tell you what's wrong.

my sister's husband and son (who's now 11) both suffer from night terrors. I don't know that much about it but you might want to consider researching it. If anything, just to rule it out.

A., I have the same problem with my 11 month old.
I thought I was reading about my daughter. The only difference is that she has never been a good sleeper. It can take her any where from 15 minutes to an hour to fall asleep. It can be so frustrating! In fact, just this morning she cried off and on for over an hour. I finally gave up and took her out of her crib. I just don't know what is wrong. Last night was bad too. I wasn't sure if it was gas, or just wanting to be with me. I never take her out of her crib, I just lay her back down and she eventually falls back to sleep on the good days.
I need help just like you. :)
I'll be looking for responses to your statement. Thanks!
M.

When my son was 2 and our daughter was born, we were going through the same thing. It was so hard because we were up all night with her and with him. Personally, I think yours is starting to have nightmares and possibly dreading sleeptime because it is scary. Thats about the time he started having nightmares too. Anyway, we got rid of the nap at about 2 1/2 and that helped him sleep more solidly, plus he got on Singulair and was able to breathe better so was able to achieve a deeper sleep. The nightmares lasted about 4 months regularly and tapered off to a normal once a week after about 6 months. I know that seems like an eternity for you, but just giving you my experience! Good luck!

Hi! I know this may silly to point out, but has there been any recent break to his routine or ny new experiences, even small ones? It sounds to me as if he has some new fear that has left him with anxiety that is somehow getting triggered by sleep time. Maybe he is afraid of being left alone or had a nightmare? Very often children of your son's age cannot put words to their fears or anxieties.
Do you ever lie down with him? I've done that with my daughter whenever she has had a hard time around sleeping. I make it very clear that lying down with her is a "special plan" that I do not plan on repeating every night. Since your son is still pretty young or if this does not work for you, I've also had good results with giving a stuffed animal extra hugs, kisses and even appropriate super-powers to combat individual fears.
Of course, the new bay is a big change and this all may be in response to him somehow. If he is able to talk well now he may be able to tell you more of what is going on for him if you ask during a relaxed, quiet moment. LOL!
I hope this helps and you and your little one get some good rest soon!

Hello A.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that since the baby came, his life has been different. He's too young to help with the baby, this may make him feel left out and alone. Newborns require a lot of time and attention and he had you to himself before the baby. So...make sure he is getting loads of positive reenforcement from you, his mommy. Make sure you are not overly correcting him for noise or other nearly 2 year old stuff...we sometimes want them to not wake the baby because we are so glad the baby is finally sleeping or some such thing. Anyway, little ones view this as rejection...negative feedback to a little guy is negative, period. When a newborn is in the house, it's hard to remember that a 21 month old child is a baby too. We measure their age in months still...
The other thing to check is diet and entertainment...Make sure he is not watching things on tv or by planned children's movies that can be over stimulating.
Diet changes can also cause night time bad dreams or feelings that manifest themselves with crying while still sleeping...or even not wanting to sleep. Remember, he's almost 2 so he will be willful to the point of tantrums on frequent occasions.
If you make sure you are giving him all he needs, watch his diet and entertainment the rest may just be the fact that he's nearly 2 and will try to assert his will.

I recommend a great book...Bringing up boys...Awesome insightful and real...none of this theoretical stuff by shrinks who have no kids or who's kids are a total mess...

Good luck!

Is he watching TV? If so stop him, turn it off, get rid of it, whatever, he cann't tell the diference between real life and what he sees on TV, and it is scaring and confusing him greatly!
E. H

Night terrors, its normal but a pain in the butt. Talk to his doctor for advice on what you can do to help him. It will just continue.

Hi A.,

I think it's really normal, I've noticed. Around the age of 2 a lot of kids go through a change in their sleep. My son, now 2 1/2 was converted to his toddler bed because he refused to sleep anymore in his crib. He'd jump in it screaming at the top of his lungs forever if we let him, so we started letting him fall asleep in our bed, then putting him in the crib until we got the toddler bed. When he woke up at night, he'd end up in our bed. We finally bought him a regular bed after several attempts at trying to convert him to the toddler bed, but he didn't like it, so now he sleeps well all by himself in his full sized bed. He looks so small, but I think it reminds him of our bed so he's comfortable there. I think maybe it's time for a change for your son....

Good luck,
M.