Night Terrors

My son Dominic has just started having night terrors. He wakes up to 3 times a night screaming hysterically and thrashing about. Nothing we do seems to calm him. Each terror can go on for anything from 30 minutes to 2 hours. I know it is most probably to do with suppressed anxiety caused by Isobelle's arrival and having to share Mummy but it is so awful. And between Dom's terrors and feeding Isobelle Im not getting any sleep.
Has anyone else experieced this with their children? What did you do when it happened?

So turns out Leah has an ear infection, but the dr also gave us phenergan to try as this helps them to sleep, am trying it tonight so will see how we go.

Hi Lisa, it must be a relief to know what is going on with Leah. I thought Dom might have an ear infection too and went to the doctor to to get him check out ,but he is healthy. I feel awful for thinking this way but I was almost hoping it was something medical that we can fix. I have done some reading on night terrors now and it is apparently quite common between 2 and 6. I really hope it doesn't go on for 4 years! We have had some improvement by keeping Isobelle completely out of his bedtime routine.
Hi Bronnie, they get very clever at getting what they want at this age, don't they? I find Dom is the same, he always pushes the boundaries with me but not my husband. It is very frustrating and can be quite upsetting too. What I would do is put her on the toilet before she goes to bed as part of your bedtime routine. When she calls for the toilet after bedtime you could put her on it the first time and if she doesn't go then put her back to bed and each time after just resettle her in bed. Or you could get a potty for in her room at night, that way she doesn't get to leave the room and it kind of reinforces the toilet training and the bedtime routine. The only things toddlers can really control in their worlds are what they eat and their bowels and the learn very quickly that they can control our behaviour (to a certain extent) through these things as well. Stay strong and good luck

Must be so scary! DD had them but not quite as severe and they've stopped now.

There was an article in the last issue of Little Treasures magazine. Here are some of things they say about night terrors;

"With a nght terror your child could be sitting up in their cot/bed with their eyes wide open but they'll be completely removed from reality. They can be screaming, asweating, paniking and even talking a different language. it can last upto half an hour and they can have 3 or 4 a night but they'll have no recollection of it in the morning.All of this can be extremely scary for parents but it's importnant to remember that nightmares and night terrors are perfectly normal and quite common."

Then it just goes on to say to try and minimise any stress they could be having before bedtime and wind them down instead of up. And make sure they're not over tired.

Then it gave these pointers;
* Dont pick your child up because it can make a night terror worse. Just rub their forehead or make soothing sounds. they'll eventually go back to sleep and have recolleection in the morning.
* Keep bedrooms clear of clutter and make sure any outside windows and doors are locked.
* If night terrors occur around the same time every night, wake your child up for a short spell just priot to this time to help alter their sleep cycles.

(from Sleep Matters consultant Jan Campbell)
www.childfamilypsychology.co.nz

Dominic is just like that. He is often sitting up and screaming. When you lay him back down he starts to thrash about and the screaming gets louder. My husband often picks him up and holds him firmly but he won't accept that from me. Lately stroking his head and shushing has calmed him a bit. We actually had our first night in a long time with out a terror last night, it was brilliant. I have my fingers crossed for tonight DH in Wellington so am juggling babies by myself. I hope he doesn't have any night terrors while Im feeding Isobelle.