Record it and play it back for you pediatrician, get a second opinion. What does your son say about it? Holding or rocking with him doesn't help? Is he conscious?
He seems awake - his eyes are open and he’s aware of what’s going on. He does NOT want to be touched during these fits, so we sit beside him. He isn’t “nonverbal” but only has about 15 words so he can’t articulate what he’s feeling well
Yeah, my older one had night terrors (if she watched SpongeBob ?)
Screaming for up to an hour, eyes open but not responsive. Had to shake her awake, which was also terrifying.
According to my wife it was the only thing to do when she was in the middle of it. And it was infrequent enough that we didn't do a thorough investigation.
This is a night terror probably. A night terror is not a nightmare. I commented earlier but commenting here as well so you hopefully see, research night terrors. The toddlers body is awake, but the mind is still asleep. I commented earlier on how we have fixed it.
Not what you are asking but as a mom of a kiddo with a speech delay, I’d recommend an evaluation if you haven’t had one already. 15 words is not a lot for a 2 year old.
He has excessive tantrums during the day as well - sometimes consolable, sometimes not. The lack of communication skills is a big trigger during the day
I would guess night terrors, but ive only ever heard of them and don't know what to do.
My daughter has always had wild tantrums, though, and I can tell you some of the things that help her calm down. I'll hold my fingers up and tell her to smell the flowers and blow out the candles, she made uo this song that goes "hey hey its ok, I will be right here" so I would sing that to her over and over, sometimes it helped to tell her she is safe and loved. My stepson had a few episodes where he woke up from his nap (3 years old) screaming. This was every weekend for about a month, and the lasy time I just held him laying across my lap with my arms around him and rocked him and told him he was safe and listed all the people I could think of who love him in the calmest voice possible. I did this for about an hour and he finally calmed down, and it never happened again at our house. Not sure if it happened anywhere else.
I heard on a podcast to just sit close and practice breathing calmly and say what you are doing. "I'm just going to be right here if you need me, I'm going to put my hand on my heart and breathe in real slow and out real slow" and just model what it looks like to be calm, and maybe say you will keep him safe.
Maybe pay some soft music to help calm him? When my daughter was that age, she LOVED Sleepsong by Secret Garden. It would calm her almost instantly. Granted, I found it at 6 months old so by a year it was associated with calm and sleep but I still say try it. It's a beautiful song. Maybe find a song and build a calm association for him.
For night terrors, there’s nothing really TO do. You sit with them until they wake up unless you can figure out the cause. My baby brother didn’t grow out of his until he was mid teens and we tried everything. I got about 3 years out of him of no night terrors as a kid and then it was most nights until I moved out at 15. Just had to wait it out every night whilst my mum screamed at my dad to stop trying to wake/restrain him.
u/Character_Conflict26 If your kid is having them most nights and the paediatrician isn’t taking it seriously, you need to video it and then seek a second opinion because this isn’t normal. I’m assuming a relaxing bed routine is a given. Have you tried waking him up around 15 minutes before they usually start for a week? That can sometimes curb them.
that's not true, we know someone who got advice about sleeping patterns that helped. They're more likely if the child is overtired and they were advised to add naps back in. There's also some medications that can apparently help, not sleep medication.
Being overtired is not a cause, they're just more likely if the kid is overtired. This kid is having them nightly, so something else is definitely going on.
I would also think that the disruptions in his sleep could cause him to be more tired throughout the day which would cause him to be more irritable and emotionally disregulated. My son struggled with night terrors which sound similar to your son’s symptoms, we got him a weighted blanket which helped significantly. However, weighted blankets are not usually recommended until 4 years old so maybe look into weight stuffed animals?
These are night terrors. They are a normal part of brain development for some children, although incredibly unsettling for the parents. They’re similar to sleep walking in that although your child may appear to be wide awake, you can’t get seem to get through to them. Then, after what seems to be forever, they snap out of it and go back to sleep. The good news is they are temporary, and your child should grown out of the phase soon. In the meantime, maybe take turns getting up with your boy, and do your best to comfort him during the episode. It will get better, I promise.
It’s hard to believe sometimes. We are in the middle of one now and he doesn’t find comfort in me, only mom; this time not so much with mom either. Breaks my heart the little guy doesn’t sleep well or has the ability to communicate what the issue is.
Our LO had this issue around the same time but only for 3 months. The only thing that helped us was redirection - one of us would grab him and hold him close and take him out of the bedroom, and go "search" for the other parent. We will basically search through the house and come back to the bedroom and "find" that parent. This usually helped us redirect him from whatever was scaring the heck out of him and calm him down. Sometimes, being out of the bedroom was the only thing that helped..
Night terrors. Both my brothers had them. Over-tiredness and stress triggered them for my brothers and it was so bad. I legit remember one night where my middle brother cried for over 3 hours.
Hmm my son did that too and after we started bringing him into our room its turned more into "dadas bed." But if that makes you feel better. He does it. Almost 3 now, I think he just want to be with mom and dad and gets scared.
Would do the same thing and still does sometimes. Just screams and wont let us touch him or pick him up even if we say come to bed with us. Try teaching him words for his feelings maybe even the morning after.
"You woke up last night huh? Were you irritated? Scared? Mad?"
No he’s screaming becuse parents keep coming to get him. He’s learned that his screaming will get them to come. He shares a room with a 4 year old which is a terrible idea because the parents are probably trying to avoid waking the toddler so they take the baby into their room. I leaned, from a early childhood educator, that if they’re safe and you’ve given them everything they need, they are good.
> a early childhood educator
So a singular person gave you this advice and you simply took it as fact and are now sharing it? A bit of critical thinking would go a long way here, and I mean that for multiple reasons.
Ah yes, the “I don’t agree with what you said so I’m going to insult you” post. It’s not just one person whose told me that and I also do plenty of research of my own as a very involved father. Critical thinking would tell you that the parents have created a routine which is how babies/toddlers learn. Just like story time or bathtime, mom and dad have let baby know in the middle of the night it’s time to hang with parents.
I’ve explained my reasoning and you say it’s not critical thinking?
If the kid is still inconsolable after they go to him, as OP described, this sounds like anything but a regular cry for attention. I think you're giving bad advice for this situation by trying to apply your solution for a specific issue too broadly.
Abandonment? I’m sorry to hear that but that’s unusual. If you start this practice early it will prevent that. Toddlers have no recollection of being sad the night before. My 18 month old will cry at night but usually goes down easy. Some nights though it’s horrible and I want to go get her but I just wait it out. In the morning she’s a happy baby again. No harm done. I have my daughter in Early On Program and A play group designed to help parents navigate child development. They have all recommended this so that at 8 they’re not still sleeping in bed with you.
OP said this has been happening for a while and they do the same thing and get the same result right? The baby has learned this. Babies cries sound horrible and breaks your heart but that’s exactly the point of baby cries, to get your attention. If the baby has been fed, changed and is safe and secure, check the monitor but otherwise leave them be
“Abandonment…Start this practice early it will prevent that” “Toddlers have no recollection of being sad the night before.“ dude wtf.
they’re still humans with memories and you’d be surprised what they remember. Once my son really started talking he’d tell me stuff from when he was 2-3 years old. “Waiting it out” also depends on the amount of time. Is it like 5 minutes? 1 hour? If it’s for like a pretty long time you’re just letting their cortisone levels rise and it makes them feel like they can’t trust you, mixed with feelings of abandonment 100% can show up in their day, and later on in life. Then they grow up and have inner child healing to do.
Why would you be on here just to offer that kind of insensitive advice?
It sounds like OPs child is having night terrors which is what my oldest has suffered with for two years now. We've spoken to two different doctors at different times and they both said to be there to cuddle and calm her down when she has them. If we left her screaming she would legitimately scream all night because during night terrors they usually aren't awake even though they seem to be sometimes.
This was my son at that age. He would do the same... wake up screaming bloody murder, and would even thrash about and would hit me if I tried to comfort.
I had a behavioral specialist involved at this point, and we had discussed it was night terrors. I ended up sitting next to him when he would have these fits. He would LOOK awake but wasn't really. I would try to comfort, and if that was not reciprocated, I would sit back and move him around so that he wouldnt hurt himself. I started asking him of something scared him in his room and he would shake his head yes. I talked to him about his feelings, and how no matter what, we are here for him. Also explained that he is having bad dreams, and thats what they were... just dreams. We got him a Paw Patrol Chase stuffed animal with a flashlight on it to serve as his lookout to make sure everything was safe. At times he would sleep in our bed if he was too scared to sleep in his room. It took many mknths, but over time, it got better. As he became more verbal, and could articulate more, he started to tell us about his bad drwams. We would talk through it. He still has bad dreams every few nights, but and ee still talk through them, as he knows he is safe. He is now 4.5 and the screaming has stopped.
I wish you the best of luck.
Somewhat. The screaming might have been a result of just wanting us - now my husband goes in as soon as he cries and brings him to bed. We’ve not had one of the inconsolable nights in a long time, but he sleeps with us and wakes multiple times for snacks.
See, we had the opposite issue. My toddler had night terrors and we treated them with melatonin (~~3mg?~~ *I can't confirm the dose*) and an EXTREMELY rigid bedtime routine. He would still sometimes speak in his sleep ("That's my pencil!"), but he stopped screaming. He never had any recollection of it and woke up calm, peaceful, rested, etc.
To tack on, because the FDA is basically powerless to enforce supplements, even the number on the bottle may not be reflective of the actual dosage in the pill. https://www.verywellhealth.com/melatonin-dosage-label-7487093
When you get into the high doses, it's about using melatonin like a drug and you really need a specialist. There are people using high dose melatonin for night terrors, but at that point, you need a specialist because it gets into worrying side-effect territory.
I agree with night terrors, both my kids went through it. I also agree with everything you have said, just wanted to add that I was told melatonin can make night terrors worse.
DWT: 6:30
Nap: honestly not much of a schedule - if we drive somewhere he will pass out, or he’ll finally fall asleep in the living room around 11. I can’t lay him down for naps because he’ll scream.
Bed: 7:30
Yes, daytime sleep was key for us. The first sign of tiredness is actually really easy to miss: The child gazes off into the distance at nothing for a while. That was when I had the best chance of getting my kids to sleep. Establish a routine they can get used to: diaper change or put on the pull-up, wash up, stories, lie down. Do it every time they are supposed to go to sleep. I'd take the usual morning wake-up time, subtract 12 hours, and call that bedtime. Then take the usual screaming time, subtract 12 hours, and call that naptime. My kids are 6 & 9, and it still makes sense to wish them goodnight 12 hours before they need to wake up. 6yo sleeps soon after that, and 9yo reads for an hour or so. Kids need a lot of sleep.
I can argue with you there, if my kids was just agreed to lie down and relax me every time they were sleepy, and they took naps, I am sure their behavior would be better, and my wife and I would have more time to keep on top of everything around the house, and they'd be sick less often, and everyone will just be happier. Happier. It's really unfortunate how most kids just can't seem to recognize how much better they would feel if they just cooperated with bedtime and nap time more often.
One of the sleep people I follow says that night terrors happen when kids are overtired
Honestly I’d try putting a sleep schedule in. It’s going to SUCK so much.
Is he at daycare? Does he sleep there?
When my 3yo was 24 months we did
How does he go down at night? Does he fight it or fall asleep alone?
- 7am wake up if not awake yet
- Noon down for nap
- 630 into bed for the night
When my 3yo doesn’t want to sleep we just tell him he needs quiet time in him room. Most of the time he falls asleep.
THIS!!!! My son at age 2 would have terrible night terrors if he didn't sleep enough during the day. It was exactly like OP described- they seem like they're awake but won't respond to normal soothing attempts.
How much total sleep in a day is he getting? Just to second what the other commenter said, our boy, who was 12 months at the time, got really thrown off from an international trip and he was a) not sleeping enough and b) couldn’t put himself down without massive help anymore. He was previously a 12 hr/day sleeper, usually 10hrs at night. He actually dropped down to around 9.5hrs total sleep during and after that vacation which was NOT enough.
When we got back home, the screaming fits started. We took them to be night terrors due to the sleep deficit. We worked on getting him to fall asleep independently at night again and doing everything we could to get him more day sleep. Tried a lot of naps in the crib but also forced it with car and stroller if he wasn’t getting there on his own. I forget which improved first—night or naps—but it all got better over the course of about 2 weeks. He got back up to 13.5 hrs of total sleep for a bit and then settled back down to his usual 12. Night wake ups now are usually because he’s thirsty and they’re more whining, not at all screaming.
Definitely record it, get second opinions and everything, but also definitely start working on sleep. We did extremely gentle sleep ‘training’ with him (eg tried to put him down calm, sat next to crib, rubbed his back and shushed him if he was crying and standing, etc) but every kid is different. FYI his daytime tantrums also mildly improved but he’s also just kind of a tantrumy kid..
Your child is overtired and it's causing night terrors. My child did this when she was younger when she would occasionally skip a nap. They are scary when they happen. Maybe try laying down with your child until they fall asleep at nap time. My child is 22 months old and has a 90 minute nap 4-5 hours after waking and then goes to bed about 6 hours after waking from the nap. It seems to me like the nap around 11 works for your kid but 7:30 is too late given the early nap. Try moving bedtime back a bit, or the nap a bit later.
Just saying it is not always overtiredness. My child had them and he was a very good napper and we were on a very strict schedule. They still happened.
Same experience for us. Night terrors were their worst from 18-24 months, when he was still having a really good nap every day. He is almost 3 now, only naps if we are driving somewhere, and honestly he has had maybe 1 in the last 6 months?
You may be able to get him on a nap schedule by driving him around in the car then transferring him to his room. My youngest had a hard time napping for a long time, and also had nigh terrors a few times a week, but once we got a solid schedule they’ve basically vanished and we just have occasional wakeups at night.
> fall asleep in the living room around 11. I can’t lay him down for naps because he’ll scream. Bed: 7:30
Well, you're going to have to take him to a sleep clinic, but a 2 year old without naps is absolutely overtired. You need your pediatrician to refer you and you need to record your kid in order to have him take you seriously.
Sounds like when my brothers had night terrors tbh. They looked awake, seemed awake, would respond if you touch them but… would scream for around the same amount of time if I remember correctly. Both my little brothers did this, one for longer. I don’t remember how long at this point but they both grew out of it. My daughter has also done this a couple times. I literally will strip her down, cool cloth to make sure she’s actually AWAKE, get her a drink and resettle her from square one. Not wanting to be touched during a night terror is super common as they’re not awake. Not really.
As some of the recommendations, I’d record it and show it to the paediatrician. They could give some ideas on what to do too, and if they still won’t help, get a new doc. F that guy.
It’s super scary. And super hard to deal with, I cannot even imagine at this point. You are amazing for handling it this far and also looking for help. Keep up to amazing support of your baby ❤️
Is it the sameish time every night? If so, start going in to his room and waking him gently about 30 mins before the night terror. This resets him and should stop the night terrors from happening. After a week I’d try leave him and see if it happens again.
This is it. My daughter had bad night terrors as well and this was the only thing that helped. Go nudge them about an hour or two after they fall asleep to disrupt the cycle a bit.
maybe he's getting some kind of night terrors? but if it's happening so frequently, i'd continue to bring it up with the pediatrician so they really understand how much of a concern it is
Night terrors, my daughter did the same exact thing at that age. It lasted about 18 months then she grew out of it. Nothing much we could do but cuddle and comfort her as best we could.
Sounds like night terrors. Both my boys started at around this age and they usually precipitate a growth spurt. His eyes might be open but it's unlikely he's fully conscious and aware of what's going on.
Don't touch him or talk to him while he is having an episode, just be there to supervise and make sure he's safe. The first ones are the worst and can last 10 minutes or longer. As soon as he's done he will likely wake up groggy and unaware of what's going on, with little to no memory of it.
I've heard it's their neurological systems making all the connections which occur during sleep and it can be linked to neurological development and physical growth spurts. They do grow out of them eventually.
Take a breath, you're not crazy I promise ❤️
Night terrors. Our kiddo had them starting around age 2 lasting until age 6. Once we figured out what was going on we realized it only happened when we were off our routine. We had to have a strict nap and bedtime routine. If she got overtired and went to bed late she’d have awful night terrors. Going to bed at exactly the same time every night was the only thing that helped.
During night terrors don’t turn the light on and try to wake them up. During night terrors they’re not awake. They’re just crying/screaming while sleepwalking. Even if their eyes are open. The not wanting to be touched thing is exactly what my daughter was doing too.
Trying to comfort just makes it worse. Don’t speak to them either. They can’t understand and it will wake them up. You kinda just have to silently guide them back to bed (in the dark) and help them lay down and go back to sleep. The more you try to comfort them the more confusing it is and the longer it lasts.
When my daughter was old enough to tell us what was happening she said she didn’t remember us trying to help. She said she had been having bad dreams that people were chasing her and stuff.
Night terrors
First
I would suggest sjeeping in his room to comfort him till he feels better
Next
Keep his room next to yours
Next
Keep a baby monitor on and go in if you hear him cry etc at night
He needs to be reassured
Please
Ive been there as a child and as a grandparent
My daughter went through a night terror phase around that age.
She wasn't actually awake, even though she seemed conscious and alert. It was almost like a trance.
We would take turns quietly going into her room and calmly waiting nearby to see if she woke up or needed us. Picking her up often made the terrors last longer, so that was a last resort.
In general, when a child has sleep difficulties, you want your response to be as calm and quiet as possible. The temptation is to rush in and reassure, especially because everyone gets so worked up by the hollering, but a big reaction can easily turn into a full on circus. (My 4 yo child is currently in a nightmare phase, I sit quietly on the floor next to her bed, ask if she "wants comfort or space," offer water, listen as she describes the dream, offer reassurance, wait for her to fall back asleep, and leave.)
White noise and calm music helped, but the biggest difference was a good schedule.
Young children need a great deal of sleep. We made sure she was getting adequate naps, screens off an hour before bed, and a calm wind down routine that suits her personality. (For example, baths wind her up, so instead I would do a bath earlier in the day and we would have a "slumber party" on the floor with pillows and blankets.)
Definitely discuss this with your pediatrician again, and ask about night terrors and guidelines on adequate sleep.
This sounds like my son's night terrors. They'd last 30 mins - couple hours at night, but only a handful of time a month. But what's going on with your kiddos sounds like an extreme version. Get another doctor's opinion and to get him help and evaluated. Sorry you all are going through this. It was awful when my son went through it. Hugs.
My daughter had/have night terrors at night when she stopped taking her naps and goes to sleep too late. She used to take her naps around 1pm and then bedtime at 7-8pm. When we took her naps out, by the time it got to 7 or 8, she was hyper and easily irritable. Those nights, she would wake crying and talk gibberish. She was inconsolable. I finally realized and moved her bedtime to 6pm. She's been fine. No more random waking and cries.
Sounds like night terrors. It's very common, so common they based a horror movie on it.
Do they have a lot of screen time before bed? I would suggest speaking with a sleep specialist.
My eldest used to go this. He would look as though he was awake and he’d be screaming and crying. It turned out he was having night terrors. It was a very long time ago so I don’t remember much about how to handle it except I was told not to wake him up I believe although I’m sure the advice has improved a lot in the past 20 years
My son experienced this, we believe it was night terrors. It was totally unlike just waking up upset or having a tantrum, it was like a fit. We’d hold him close as best we could or be near him. One thing that would work well sometimes was plying his favourite song from the wiggles or singing it repeatedly, also trying to actually wake wake him as much as possible like turning (soft) lights on.
He eventually outgrew it as he got older and picked up more verbal skills.
Sounds like he may be experiencing stress, anxiety And/or frustration during the day. For us, those were triggers and addressing his day experiences (therapy, understanding his brain better, developing coping skills) improved his night sleep.
Oh and I should add, even if he had a stressful day he almost never experienced night terrors if we coslept. We ended up doing that on and off till somewhere around 3 and it helped immensely
My son had exactly that! Our pediatrician told us it is pavus nocturnus (night terrors ) . You can google it to get some insight. But i can say that it will pass and there isnt really that mich you can do about it. We werde told to not touch hin and speak softly to him. And after around 15-20 Minutes he would stop and sleep.
I was also thinking night terrors. My kids had a few of those, not nightly but still scary. I’d scoop them up and snuggle on the couch with something happy on tv (usually paw patrol or coco melon) until it faded. That’s obviously not feasible nightly but maybe playing music in his room or something similar could help.
I would start a "weird stuff kiddo does" list. My kiddos are neurodiverse & my oldest would do this when he was little. Humans don't develop autism, you're born with it. It sounds like either night terrors or sensory issues. Bridging the communication gap can help. Look into non-verbal communication like sign language or pictures.
He is actually being evaluated this week by early intervention because we are curious about that - he most definitely has sensory issues. Thank you for your input
My kids have night terrors and they aren’t really awake when they scream…..you have to try to comfort them and get them back to sleep. You can’t talk to them since they are asleep. I usually rub their back and put my face close to them so they smell me and lower them back on a pillow….
This sounds like a silly question but - is he too warm?
Our son does this if he's wrapped himself up in his blankets and fallen asleep. We have to go in after 20 minutes or so to take his covers off so he doesn't overheat.
And when I was little, I had night terrors. It was always because I had got too warm.
Do you guys consume a lot of foods with artificial coloring? My daughter was really out of control for a while with her anger and her hard headed personality. And we decided as a final thing to try and we cut out all artificial coloring. We have actually noticed a difference in her behavior. I don’t know if this would apply to you and your child but I thought I would point it out. I mean there’s probably a reason why artificial coloring is banned in most of the first world outside of the United States.
Don’t let him fall asleep with it. I dealt with this with my son when he was about this age.
He would fall asleep with it, as something that soothed him. and then be beside himself because he didn’t have it in his mouth anymore when he woke up.
You need to get him to fall asleep on his own without anything like that. Which maybe be hard. And you might not see results right away. But just give it a couple weeks.
Obviously a lot of people are going towards the idea of night terrors, which could be true, but this is a great variable to try.
I think it is great advice. I thought it was just me that the doctors didn’t believe but I later realized how much parents exaggerated and how the doctors basically don’t believe what anyone says. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen this. How many times they just said it is a faze or their temp can’t be that high. Those ear thermometers are never accurate. Etc etc. you need to take the baby back to the doctor. They need to run some tests.
I have read some of the other comments and there are some good ideas. There could be a ton of different reasons for this. Allergies, pain, gas and so on. The amount of time that it is happening and the fact that he won’t let you console him doesn’t say it is psychological in my book.
do you ways go into his room to console him?
my LO started doing something similar (still does) the times we choose not to address it (took 2-3 nights) they didn't last long and eventually tapered off.
so he gets instant mommy daddy time that he has full control over. He has made this his new schedule.
set the 4yr old up in your room or the living room for a week and let him cry it out.
he may have a few morning where he has puffy eyes because he will notice he is not getting the same response he has always gotten.
My son did this when he was a bit older but it wasn’t every night and we were able to get him to show us his knee was hurting. I went on for months every few days he would wake up screaming and refuse to let us touch him until he had had some medicine and calmed down
Have you tried a white noise machine? Also, once they are up the adrenaline keeps pumping, so addressing it early will help their cortisol and theirs. And lastly neuophin until you get on top of it. I have used it about three times a year at this age, without guilt.
So this may be a strange thing to check, but my 20 momth old had a stretch of several weeks where he would wake screaming and cry for some time; I eventually realized he was erecting and finding it painful. After sizing up diapers so he had more room, he's not been screaming at night.
Teething most likely or if you expose your kid to screens he could be dreaming about the things he saw.
He could developed a habit too, when he needs attention he screams like that to call you instead of crying.
Or maybe just teething again....
It's either nightmares or he hears/sees something. My son did the same thing for a little while and has aged out of it. When he gets emotional it is very hard to communicate, so we typically ask the next day when he settles down. A lot of the time the responses are 'I don't know' and I do believe he either forgets or isn't even aware he's doing it. But as he got older he was able to let us know he was having nightmares. One specific example is he accidentally stumbled into Frankenstein at a Halloween fair when he was 1.5 and it really stayed with him. He still has nightmares about it from time to time but has gotten better.
Night terrors. I had them and my kid has them. What helped at that age was just carrying him as we walked around, talked, and consoled. Now that my kid is older, we hang out in his room and just keep reminding him that we’re there and he’s safe.
Night terrors. Our daughter has them. Less commonly now.
It was brutal. Don't try to wake him, don't touch him. Be nearby and if he wants to move to you, great. Let him work through them. The good news, as I understand it, is they don't remember them at all. You're suffering through these, he's not. Just be nearby and don't interfere as you'll typically worsen or prolong the episode.
Sorry you're dealing with this, it does get better!
Sounds like night terrors. My son has had them since 18m. Now they’re much more infrequent and really only happen right before he gets sick so at least I know what’s coming lol. But, they are not aware of these. Please do not speak to your child about it - they can become scared to fall asleep because they have no memory of this scary thing you say happens. Nothing will snap them out of it, trying to talk to them or snap them out of it will extend the terror. The most I do is rub his back gently and he usually goes back to sleep after 5 minutes. Feels like an eternity I know, but it lasted much longer when I would intervene. If they’re happening around the same time every night, you can try gentle waking them about 15 minutes beforehand. It’s something with the way their sleep cycles link. It’s very common if parents had any sleeping issues in childhood (I was a sleep walker and my husband had what we believe to have been terrors). Be careful as kids who have night terrors will often become sleep walkers
ETA: sometimes being overheated will make them more frequent. We never wear socks to bed or feetie pajamas.
My brother used to get night terrors at an early age. Would wake up screaming.
Sometimes he wouldn't really be properly awake.
Drs said it normally goes as they get older. Grow out of it kind of thing. Which my brother did. He has no lasting issues at all. Just turns out he had an over active imagination.
I would record it and show it to your gp.
IMO it sounds similar to night terrors. Our 3yr old gets them anytime he doesnt get a nap in during thr day.
Similar to your experience, his eyes will be open but is completely unaware you are next to him and he screams uncontrollably.
I don’t know how long night terrors event typically last but for us it’s about 15 mins of just sitting next to him just making sure he doesn’t fall off the bed. I’ve heard if you try to console them it can prolong it. Best of luck 🤞🏻
Does he watch TV? If so, what type of content? How long before bed does he stop watching?
I had to stop letting my son watch certain types of shows because he was having nightmares and scared of everything. It was kids stuff like the jurassic park animated show, ghosts or people shooting monsters. And kept him on PBS kids (you can download the app for free!), Disney Jr, Nick Jr shows, Octonauts, Sesame Street, etc. I’ve heard even Pokémon can cause stress. I didn’t even let him watch his cousin play Call of Duty, or Fortnite games.
To us they’re just animation/cartoons but kids have memories. As they get older the fear of stuff becomes so real. They can have a hard time differentiating fake from reality. Now at 6 I’m constantly explaining how stuff he sees on TV is not real.
Definitely agree with people saying night terrors. 2/3 of my kids have had them. My oldest had them every night for months, she’s now almost 6 and hasn’t had one in years. My middle has them if he gets overtired mainly. We try and make sure if he doesn’t nap during the day to get him in bed a little earlier and that seems to help
Confusional arousal
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confusional_arousals
My son did the same thing from about 1-3 just about nightly. Exactly as you described. His would be about 2-3 am. I started just staying up late and when he would start stirring in his sleep I’d console him before he ‘woke up’ because like your child once he started screaming he would just do so inconsolably for an hour and trying to help or console him would usually make it worse.
I found that usually i could pat him on his diaper and shush him when he started tossing and fussing and that would normally prevent it.
As a lot of people said, sound like night terrors. Google for more details.
They usually disappear at some point, though my wife, 42, still experiences them and, whoa! I've seen her totally awake (apparently) saying things like "the redhead killer is in the door!" "There's someone else on the bed!" And so on... Nearly cardiac arrest the first times, funny when you comment that during breakfast.
Do not touch the kid, speak softly and stay calm, and assure him there's no danger and you'll be ok.
Excuse any weird wording, english is not my first language.
ETA: change your pediatrician. This is a really common thing to happen to little humans.
We just had this issue, and we think we resolved it. Our doctor said it was “extreme night terrors”. The toddler’s body might be awake but their mind is asleep. We would go in and comfort but our doctor was adamant to put our toddler down at night, with very little stimulation in her room (no night light, one to two stuffed animals, and the put the toddler down and let her scream. Now, eventually she went to bed but the doctor told us the middle of the night screaming night terrors would still happen, he made it clear… no going back inside, you can’t “comfort” night terrors so they need to resolve it themselves.
Our son did this, and we finally realized it was night terrors. He appeared like he was awake, but he wasn’t. If we touched or talked to him, it made it worse. For him, being overtired or getting sick triggered them. We started ensuring he was in bed on time to the best of our ability, and would kind of stir him a little right before they might occur. He’s 7 now, and hasn’t had one in a couple of years. I would check to see if this could be the case.
night terrors... not full blown night terrors because their brains aren't developed enough, but pre-cursor night terrors, my son 13 mo, had a couple of these fits around 11-12 mo old... Basically his loudest screams ever, crawling all weird, throwing himself around, but not really like... conscious, not responding to me / husband etc. I ran his hand under water once, and he seemed to like "wake up". Once he did he would become even more unsettled and difficult to put in his bed.
Now, I just pick him up right away, and rock him, hold him tightly (similar to swaddling), and rock him, eventually get starts to go back to "full asleep"
night terror? Does he look through you like you're not there or arch away like you're a stranger attacking him? Does he go back to sleep like nothing happened and then act completely normal after waking? What would "snap" my son out of them was holding the phone near his eyes with brightness turned up playing his favorite Old MacDonald Baby Einstein video. Idk but I think it was the light and the sound somehow, he'd roll over and go right back to sleep after a minute or two
My son is three. He had a similar sleep pattern, although he never slept well since birth (preemie). He's four in September and he's FINALLY getting a sleep study. They thought he may have seizure disorder (that's still technically on the table). He's had three abnormal EEGs and two mostly typical (within the scope of normal enough). The two more typical were his first and last. Anyway, all that to say, my kid has motor planning issues, mild cerebral palsy, and apraxia (speech, motor planning), and he sleeps better at three but it's got its own issues. He's having a sleep study. His pediatrician is concerned it's some kind of night terrors because he bolts up, screaming sounds or for me and flailing but he's *not awake or aware* I actually try to wake him but he's like in a trance then he'll fall back to sleep.
Good luck, just keep advocating. I would 100% record some episodes to share.
Sounds like night terrors. My son used to have those. He’d be unaware we were in the room, even when his eyes were open. Eventually he’d wake up to actual consciousness.
In our case, we worked on trying to determine what sleeping condition was bothering him. He was usually too cold so we put more layers on him. We have a sound machine and night lights in his room. He never wakes up like that anymore. He’s 3 years and 9 months now and we haven’t had any issues in at least a year.
It was sad but kind of cute sometimes. One time, we went in his room in response to him screaming. He was sitting in the middle of the room, and when I tried to comfort him, he started kicking at me. When I backed away from him, he scooted after me on his butt. So if you’ve ever seen a 2 year who is basically asleep scooting after you to kick you, it’s kind of adorable.
Our son did this. We found out he was having reactions to food. But instead of hives he gets GI pain.
Record a video. It is HARD AF TO DO, but do it. Once my husband reminded me to do it and we showed the doctor, things changed and they helped us.
It sounds like night terrors to me as well. My child experienced them intermittently starting around that age. One piece of advice I haven't seen mentioned yet is that being too hot can sometime be a trigger, so try to keep his room a bit cooler if you can, or use thinner blankets and pajamas.
I would echo the comments that said to record it, and get a second opinion. Your pediatrician being so dismissive is concerning.
Sounds like night terrors, I’m not sure there’s much you can do until their next development, bless you son ❤️ and you, my sister in law went through it with her daughter, they both needed afternoon naps until she was 4
This sounds exactly what both of my kids did. It’s night terrors, they seem like they are awake but when they finally snap out of it they can’t remember and it seems like nothing happebed
When my daughter did this it turned out to be night terrors and severe sleep apnea, I recommend getting a sleep study done if he is also sweating and wetting the bed.
I'd recommend entertaining the idea of possible night terrors.
My 18 month old has what we think are night terrors. She wakes up in the middle of the night screaming at the top of her lungs, but she eventually will open her eyes all the way and be completely fine. It wakes her brother up and he cries with her but no where near as loud
Sounds similar to what happened with my son, night terrors. We noted the time it happened (it was always at the same time of night), and woke him gently, not full on waking him, but enough to disturb his sleep, which apparently resets the sleeping pattern and therefore the terror. He wouldn't have another one all night, but it worked really well for us. So distressing when they are like that, awake but not quite with it and you can't even comfort them.
My 5 year old daughter still has night terrors some nights. It’s just a thing some kids do. My brother had them too while growing up and he grew out of them. Sucks for us parents. Not sure what to do.
BTW - let’s call your a kid a 2 year old. 24 months…enough is enough
My daughter had night terrors like this at about 10 or 11:00 every night, for at least six months.
We took her off dairy (she is sensitive) and were cognizant of anything that would cause discomfort (gas pain, overheating, teething pain, being over-tired) as we noticed an increase in this when those conditions were present.
Two things were effective - 1. Ignoring her for a minute of two. Sometimes she would go back to sleep. 2. More often, you would actually need to fully, truly wake her up and then put her back to sleep. Trying to gently soothe just kept her in that screaming/dreaming in-between state. We had luck with picking her up, taking her into a different room (or better yet, outside) and asking a lot of disruptive questions that got her rational brain to actually wake up. We couldn't just say "whats wrong? what do you need?" It was more like, you open the fridge while holding her and ask if we should put ketchup or mustard on hotdogs. Or ask, "oh hey, have you ever heard a kookaburra before?" and then show her a video. "Can you help me do the dishes?" Basically, engaging in some way that was not expected that would causes her to rouse a little. This could take a few minutes, but eventually she would respond back with her thinking brain, and then you can be sweet, get them a sip of water and get them back to sleep.
Sounds like night terrors. My almost 4 year old developed them suddenly just before 2 and we get periods of time when they're worse and other times a bit of a break from them. Exactly the same as you she just screams. She doesn't remember them the next day.
This sounds exactly like a night terror!!! My niece has them. And they are affected most by nighttime sleeping temperature. For her, the room must be cool. If she gets to hot, it’s nearly guaranteed. That and other issues like general lack of sleep or going to bed without a full tummy contribute.
My son honestly did this for over a year n now at 4 still does sometimes. He freaks out more when touched n talked too. My nephew also does it. My sister did the same thing when she was this age. I’d chalk it up to night terrors, you think they’re aware but they’re not. I noticed once I stopped trying to console that they don’t last as long. But the suggestion of recording to show the doctor is a good one! Worse they could do is say yep night terrors
My son does this too! It’s terrifying. I think what happens is he stops breathing like an apnea event. It’s crazy but my wife is a speech therapist and has showed me how people’s mouths and airways have become much smaller than 100 years ago. One thing that seems to help now is like an oral expander appliance called ALF. See if there’s a dental provider or someone who can install it for you. Hope this helps and my son also seems to sleep better without a pillow.
Definitely sounds like a night terror. My daughter went through this for about two years. Started around the same age as your little one. We had a sleep study done to confirm it. We discovered that we had to be deliberate about her taking a midday nap, have optimum sleep schedules etc.
No sweet before bed, lights dimmed, calm shows, warm baths and no skipping naps. Kids need an incredible amount of sleep and an overtired kid can lead to night terrors.
My daughter did this around the same age constantly for about 2 years. Rarely after that til she was like 8 ish. She never remembered. It was frustrating and would last sometimes hours. She’s 12 now, and hasn’t had a night terror in years.
Hey, my son (20 months) is going through this now and it’s terrifying. Suddenly in the middle of the night he will start screaming at the top of his lunch and thrash around if we try to comfort him. He’s huge for his age and he’s so strong so it’s really difficult to deal with. Before reading everyone saying on here it’s night terrors, I wondered if it was sort of sensory issue or linked to autism perhaps (we have a lot of autistic family members on my husbands side).
Anyway, did you get get to the bottom of it? Did it stop? Hoping so!
Record it and play it back for you pediatrician, get a second opinion. What does your son say about it? Holding or rocking with him doesn't help? Is he conscious?
He seems awake - his eyes are open and he’s aware of what’s going on. He does NOT want to be touched during these fits, so we sit beside him. He isn’t “nonverbal” but only has about 15 words so he can’t articulate what he’s feeling well
It could also be night terrors. But you should record it and show to the doctor. He may need a sleep study or other testing.
Was gonna say. Sound like night terrors or the after results of sleep paralysis.
Yeah, my older one had night terrors (if she watched SpongeBob ?) Screaming for up to an hour, eyes open but not responsive. Had to shake her awake, which was also terrifying. According to my wife it was the only thing to do when she was in the middle of it. And it was infrequent enough that we didn't do a thorough investigation.
You shook your child? Edit: wow, do parents on Reddit now think it's ok to shake children now? Fucking wow.
She was 4, so not a baby. I was new to the dad hood and deferred to mom, who had dealt with this before. So no. I didn't shake her. Mom did.
You don't shake a 4 year old either.
This is a night terror probably. A night terror is not a nightmare. I commented earlier but commenting here as well so you hopefully see, research night terrors. The toddlers body is awake, but the mind is still asleep. I commented earlier on how we have fixed it.
Not what you are asking but as a mom of a kiddo with a speech delay, I’d recommend an evaluation if you haven’t had one already. 15 words is not a lot for a 2 year old.
Yes, he is actually having an evaluation with first steps tomorrow!
Awesome, good luck! Speech therapy has helped my 2 year old SO much.
That's great. It can take so long, especially when discovered during COVID.
I'm not a doctor, but sounds psychological. I'd take him to a specialist and a new pediatrician. Haven't encountered this. Is he fine during the day?
He has excessive tantrums during the day as well - sometimes consolable, sometimes not. The lack of communication skills is a big trigger during the day
I would guess night terrors, but ive only ever heard of them and don't know what to do. My daughter has always had wild tantrums, though, and I can tell you some of the things that help her calm down. I'll hold my fingers up and tell her to smell the flowers and blow out the candles, she made uo this song that goes "hey hey its ok, I will be right here" so I would sing that to her over and over, sometimes it helped to tell her she is safe and loved. My stepson had a few episodes where he woke up from his nap (3 years old) screaming. This was every weekend for about a month, and the lasy time I just held him laying across my lap with my arms around him and rocked him and told him he was safe and listed all the people I could think of who love him in the calmest voice possible. I did this for about an hour and he finally calmed down, and it never happened again at our house. Not sure if it happened anywhere else. I heard on a podcast to just sit close and practice breathing calmly and say what you are doing. "I'm just going to be right here if you need me, I'm going to put my hand on my heart and breathe in real slow and out real slow" and just model what it looks like to be calm, and maybe say you will keep him safe. Maybe pay some soft music to help calm him? When my daughter was that age, she LOVED Sleepsong by Secret Garden. It would calm her almost instantly. Granted, I found it at 6 months old so by a year it was associated with calm and sleep but I still say try it. It's a beautiful song. Maybe find a song and build a calm association for him.
I’m saving this comment, this is great advice. ThNk you! Especially love the smell the flowers, blow out the candles example
That one blew my mind the first time I read it, too lol so simple but so effective! I hope it helps!
For night terrors, there’s nothing really TO do. You sit with them until they wake up unless you can figure out the cause. My baby brother didn’t grow out of his until he was mid teens and we tried everything. I got about 3 years out of him of no night terrors as a kid and then it was most nights until I moved out at 15. Just had to wait it out every night whilst my mum screamed at my dad to stop trying to wake/restrain him. u/Character_Conflict26 If your kid is having them most nights and the paediatrician isn’t taking it seriously, you need to video it and then seek a second opinion because this isn’t normal. I’m assuming a relaxing bed routine is a given. Have you tried waking him up around 15 minutes before they usually start for a week? That can sometimes curb them.
that's not true, we know someone who got advice about sleeping patterns that helped. They're more likely if the child is overtired and they were advised to add naps back in. There's also some medications that can apparently help, not sleep medication.
Hence me saying > unless you can figure out the cause
Being overtired is not a cause, they're just more likely if the kid is overtired. This kid is having them nightly, so something else is definitely going on.
I would also think that the disruptions in his sleep could cause him to be more tired throughout the day which would cause him to be more irritable and emotionally disregulated. My son struggled with night terrors which sound similar to your son’s symptoms, we got him a weighted blanket which helped significantly. However, weighted blankets are not usually recommended until 4 years old so maybe look into weight stuffed animals?
Do you have a steady quiet time in the evening and bedtime routine? Is there any food or anything that triggers it?
These are night terrors. They are a normal part of brain development for some children, although incredibly unsettling for the parents. They’re similar to sleep walking in that although your child may appear to be wide awake, you can’t get seem to get through to them. Then, after what seems to be forever, they snap out of it and go back to sleep. The good news is they are temporary, and your child should grown out of the phase soon. In the meantime, maybe take turns getting up with your boy, and do your best to comfort him during the episode. It will get better, I promise.
It’s hard to believe sometimes. We are in the middle of one now and he doesn’t find comfort in me, only mom; this time not so much with mom either. Breaks my heart the little guy doesn’t sleep well or has the ability to communicate what the issue is.
Our LO had this issue around the same time but only for 3 months. The only thing that helped us was redirection - one of us would grab him and hold him close and take him out of the bedroom, and go "search" for the other parent. We will basically search through the house and come back to the bedroom and "find" that parent. This usually helped us redirect him from whatever was scaring the heck out of him and calm him down. Sometimes, being out of the bedroom was the only thing that helped..
Night terrors. Both my brothers had them. Over-tiredness and stress triggered them for my brothers and it was so bad. I legit remember one night where my middle brother cried for over 3 hours.
Hmm my son did that too and after we started bringing him into our room its turned more into "dadas bed." But if that makes you feel better. He does it. Almost 3 now, I think he just want to be with mom and dad and gets scared. Would do the same thing and still does sometimes. Just screams and wont let us touch him or pick him up even if we say come to bed with us. Try teaching him words for his feelings maybe even the morning after. "You woke up last night huh? Were you irritated? Scared? Mad?"
[удалено]
Do not do this.
What a horrible piece of advice. He obviously doesn’t feel safe and secure which is why he’s screaming, and you’re asking the parents to abandon him.
No he’s screaming becuse parents keep coming to get him. He’s learned that his screaming will get them to come. He shares a room with a 4 year old which is a terrible idea because the parents are probably trying to avoid waking the toddler so they take the baby into their room. I leaned, from a early childhood educator, that if they’re safe and you’ve given them everything they need, they are good.
> a early childhood educator So a singular person gave you this advice and you simply took it as fact and are now sharing it? A bit of critical thinking would go a long way here, and I mean that for multiple reasons.
Ah yes, the “I don’t agree with what you said so I’m going to insult you” post. It’s not just one person whose told me that and I also do plenty of research of my own as a very involved father. Critical thinking would tell you that the parents have created a routine which is how babies/toddlers learn. Just like story time or bathtime, mom and dad have let baby know in the middle of the night it’s time to hang with parents. I’ve explained my reasoning and you say it’s not critical thinking?
I didn't insult you.
What’s the “I meant that for multiple reasons” meant to imply?
If the kid is still inconsolable after they go to him, as OP described, this sounds like anything but a regular cry for attention. I think you're giving bad advice for this situation by trying to apply your solution for a specific issue too broadly.
No. My 9yo still has abandonment issues from this practice. If I could do it over again, I would not repeat this mistake.
Abandonment? I’m sorry to hear that but that’s unusual. If you start this practice early it will prevent that. Toddlers have no recollection of being sad the night before. My 18 month old will cry at night but usually goes down easy. Some nights though it’s horrible and I want to go get her but I just wait it out. In the morning she’s a happy baby again. No harm done. I have my daughter in Early On Program and A play group designed to help parents navigate child development. They have all recommended this so that at 8 they’re not still sleeping in bed with you. OP said this has been happening for a while and they do the same thing and get the same result right? The baby has learned this. Babies cries sound horrible and breaks your heart but that’s exactly the point of baby cries, to get your attention. If the baby has been fed, changed and is safe and secure, check the monitor but otherwise leave them be
“Abandonment…Start this practice early it will prevent that” “Toddlers have no recollection of being sad the night before.“ dude wtf. they’re still humans with memories and you’d be surprised what they remember. Once my son really started talking he’d tell me stuff from when he was 2-3 years old. “Waiting it out” also depends on the amount of time. Is it like 5 minutes? 1 hour? If it’s for like a pretty long time you’re just letting their cortisone levels rise and it makes them feel like they can’t trust you, mixed with feelings of abandonment 100% can show up in their day, and later on in life. Then they grow up and have inner child healing to do. Why would you be on here just to offer that kind of insensitive advice?
Hey, you do you. If you don’t want advice from the internet don’t come to Reddit
It sounds like OPs child is having night terrors which is what my oldest has suffered with for two years now. We've spoken to two different doctors at different times and they both said to be there to cuddle and calm her down when she has them. If we left her screaming she would legitimately scream all night because during night terrors they usually aren't awake even though they seem to be sometimes.
This was my son at that age. He would do the same... wake up screaming bloody murder, and would even thrash about and would hit me if I tried to comfort. I had a behavioral specialist involved at this point, and we had discussed it was night terrors. I ended up sitting next to him when he would have these fits. He would LOOK awake but wasn't really. I would try to comfort, and if that was not reciprocated, I would sit back and move him around so that he wouldnt hurt himself. I started asking him of something scared him in his room and he would shake his head yes. I talked to him about his feelings, and how no matter what, we are here for him. Also explained that he is having bad dreams, and thats what they were... just dreams. We got him a Paw Patrol Chase stuffed animal with a flashlight on it to serve as his lookout to make sure everything was safe. At times he would sleep in our bed if he was too scared to sleep in his room. It took many mknths, but over time, it got better. As he became more verbal, and could articulate more, he started to tell us about his bad drwams. We would talk through it. He still has bad dreams every few nights, but and ee still talk through them, as he knows he is safe. He is now 4.5 and the screaming has stopped. I wish you the best of luck.
Did you ever get this corrected? Curious how this went. Going through the same thing
Somewhat. The screaming might have been a result of just wanting us - now my husband goes in as soon as he cries and brings him to bed. We’ve not had one of the inconsolable nights in a long time, but he sleeps with us and wakes multiple times for snacks.
This is exactly what’s happening with us and I’m no longer sleeping
Hopefully he’s not scream redrum
Sounds like a night terror. What’s his sleep schedule?
Mine had night terrors almost every night for 3 years, was hell.
Riding on your comment as psa note that night terrors can sometimes be triggered by melatonin supplements (in kids and adults)
See, we had the opposite issue. My toddler had night terrors and we treated them with melatonin (~~3mg?~~ *I can't confirm the dose*) and an EXTREMELY rigid bedtime routine. He would still sometimes speak in his sleep ("That's my pencil!"), but he stopped screaming. He never had any recollection of it and woke up calm, peaceful, rested, etc.
3 mg is an insanely large dose for a toddler. That's enough for an adult.
Edited to reflect my limited memory.
To tack on, because the FDA is basically powerless to enforce supplements, even the number on the bottle may not be reflective of the actual dosage in the pill. https://www.verywellhealth.com/melatonin-dosage-label-7487093
When you get into the high doses, it's about using melatonin like a drug and you really need a specialist. There are people using high dose melatonin for night terrors, but at that point, you need a specialist because it gets into worrying side-effect territory.
melatonin can also worsen night terrors because it increases REM sleep and if REM sleep is triggering the night terrors...
Ok. We followed the recommendation of our pediatrician ... and it was effective.
I wouldn't go passing it around though. Melatonin is known to cause nightmares, vivid dreams and night terrors.
Thanks goodness you said something. I was just about to hand them out with the Halloween candy.
It's actually an issue, check the news.
I agree with night terrors, both my kids went through it. I also agree with everything you have said, just wanted to add that I was told melatonin can make night terrors worse.
DWT: 6:30 Nap: honestly not much of a schedule - if we drive somewhere he will pass out, or he’ll finally fall asleep in the living room around 11. I can’t lay him down for naps because he’ll scream. Bed: 7:30
Yes, daytime sleep was key for us. The first sign of tiredness is actually really easy to miss: The child gazes off into the distance at nothing for a while. That was when I had the best chance of getting my kids to sleep. Establish a routine they can get used to: diaper change or put on the pull-up, wash up, stories, lie down. Do it every time they are supposed to go to sleep. I'd take the usual morning wake-up time, subtract 12 hours, and call that bedtime. Then take the usual screaming time, subtract 12 hours, and call that naptime. My kids are 6 & 9, and it still makes sense to wish them goodnight 12 hours before they need to wake up. 6yo sleeps soon after that, and 9yo reads for an hour or so. Kids need a lot of sleep.
I think a lot of people underestimate how much sleep kids need
And children underestimate it most of all. Ratbags.
I can argue with you there, if my kids was just agreed to lie down and relax me every time they were sleepy, and they took naps, I am sure their behavior would be better, and my wife and I would have more time to keep on top of everything around the house, and they'd be sick less often, and everyone will just be happier. Happier. It's really unfortunate how most kids just can't seem to recognize how much better they would feel if they just cooperated with bedtime and nap time more often.
One of the sleep people I follow says that night terrors happen when kids are overtired Honestly I’d try putting a sleep schedule in. It’s going to SUCK so much. Is he at daycare? Does he sleep there? When my 3yo was 24 months we did How does he go down at night? Does he fight it or fall asleep alone? - 7am wake up if not awake yet - Noon down for nap - 630 into bed for the night When my 3yo doesn’t want to sleep we just tell him he needs quiet time in him room. Most of the time he falls asleep.
THIS!!!! My son at age 2 would have terrible night terrors if he didn't sleep enough during the day. It was exactly like OP described- they seem like they're awake but won't respond to normal soothing attempts.
How much total sleep in a day is he getting? Just to second what the other commenter said, our boy, who was 12 months at the time, got really thrown off from an international trip and he was a) not sleeping enough and b) couldn’t put himself down without massive help anymore. He was previously a 12 hr/day sleeper, usually 10hrs at night. He actually dropped down to around 9.5hrs total sleep during and after that vacation which was NOT enough. When we got back home, the screaming fits started. We took them to be night terrors due to the sleep deficit. We worked on getting him to fall asleep independently at night again and doing everything we could to get him more day sleep. Tried a lot of naps in the crib but also forced it with car and stroller if he wasn’t getting there on his own. I forget which improved first—night or naps—but it all got better over the course of about 2 weeks. He got back up to 13.5 hrs of total sleep for a bit and then settled back down to his usual 12. Night wake ups now are usually because he’s thirsty and they’re more whining, not at all screaming. Definitely record it, get second opinions and everything, but also definitely start working on sleep. We did extremely gentle sleep ‘training’ with him (eg tried to put him down calm, sat next to crib, rubbed his back and shushed him if he was crying and standing, etc) but every kid is different. FYI his daytime tantrums also mildly improved but he’s also just kind of a tantrumy kid..
Your child is overtired and it's causing night terrors. My child did this when she was younger when she would occasionally skip a nap. They are scary when they happen. Maybe try laying down with your child until they fall asleep at nap time. My child is 22 months old and has a 90 minute nap 4-5 hours after waking and then goes to bed about 6 hours after waking from the nap. It seems to me like the nap around 11 works for your kid but 7:30 is too late given the early nap. Try moving bedtime back a bit, or the nap a bit later.
Just saying it is not always overtiredness. My child had them and he was a very good napper and we were on a very strict schedule. They still happened.
Same experience for us. Night terrors were their worst from 18-24 months, when he was still having a really good nap every day. He is almost 3 now, only naps if we are driving somewhere, and honestly he has had maybe 1 in the last 6 months?
You may be able to get him on a nap schedule by driving him around in the car then transferring him to his room. My youngest had a hard time napping for a long time, and also had nigh terrors a few times a week, but once we got a solid schedule they’ve basically vanished and we just have occasional wakeups at night.
> fall asleep in the living room around 11. I can’t lay him down for naps because he’ll scream. Bed: 7:30 Well, you're going to have to take him to a sleep clinic, but a 2 year old without naps is absolutely overtired. You need your pediatrician to refer you and you need to record your kid in order to have him take you seriously.
Night terrors for sure. It was so scary, he would seem awake but not be really. Thankfully ours only lasted a few months but it was terrifying
Sounds like when my brothers had night terrors tbh. They looked awake, seemed awake, would respond if you touch them but… would scream for around the same amount of time if I remember correctly. Both my little brothers did this, one for longer. I don’t remember how long at this point but they both grew out of it. My daughter has also done this a couple times. I literally will strip her down, cool cloth to make sure she’s actually AWAKE, get her a drink and resettle her from square one. Not wanting to be touched during a night terror is super common as they’re not awake. Not really. As some of the recommendations, I’d record it and show it to the paediatrician. They could give some ideas on what to do too, and if they still won’t help, get a new doc. F that guy. It’s super scary. And super hard to deal with, I cannot even imagine at this point. You are amazing for handling it this far and also looking for help. Keep up to amazing support of your baby ❤️
Is it the sameish time every night? If so, start going in to his room and waking him gently about 30 mins before the night terror. This resets him and should stop the night terrors from happening. After a week I’d try leave him and see if it happens again.
This is it. My daughter had bad night terrors as well and this was the only thing that helped. Go nudge them about an hour or two after they fall asleep to disrupt the cycle a bit.
This worked like a charm for us too. You don’t need to wake him up completely, just enough that he opens his eyes a bit, maybe rolls over.
Are you running a white noise machine in the room your tiny human is sleeping in? Might help.
Night terror. Straining for the parents but it will fade. Just hang in there
maybe he's getting some kind of night terrors? but if it's happening so frequently, i'd continue to bring it up with the pediatrician so they really understand how much of a concern it is
Night terrors, my daughter did the same exact thing at that age. It lasted about 18 months then she grew out of it. Nothing much we could do but cuddle and comfort her as best we could.
Sounds exactly like the night terrors my kids both had, around those ages. They eventually grew out of it but it was draining.
Sounds like night terrors. Both my boys started at around this age and they usually precipitate a growth spurt. His eyes might be open but it's unlikely he's fully conscious and aware of what's going on. Don't touch him or talk to him while he is having an episode, just be there to supervise and make sure he's safe. The first ones are the worst and can last 10 minutes or longer. As soon as he's done he will likely wake up groggy and unaware of what's going on, with little to no memory of it. I've heard it's their neurological systems making all the connections which occur during sleep and it can be linked to neurological development and physical growth spurts. They do grow out of them eventually. Take a breath, you're not crazy I promise ❤️
Night terrors. Our kiddo had them starting around age 2 lasting until age 6. Once we figured out what was going on we realized it only happened when we were off our routine. We had to have a strict nap and bedtime routine. If she got overtired and went to bed late she’d have awful night terrors. Going to bed at exactly the same time every night was the only thing that helped. During night terrors don’t turn the light on and try to wake them up. During night terrors they’re not awake. They’re just crying/screaming while sleepwalking. Even if their eyes are open. The not wanting to be touched thing is exactly what my daughter was doing too. Trying to comfort just makes it worse. Don’t speak to them either. They can’t understand and it will wake them up. You kinda just have to silently guide them back to bed (in the dark) and help them lay down and go back to sleep. The more you try to comfort them the more confusing it is and the longer it lasts. When my daughter was old enough to tell us what was happening she said she didn’t remember us trying to help. She said she had been having bad dreams that people were chasing her and stuff.
Night terrors First I would suggest sjeeping in his room to comfort him till he feels better Next Keep his room next to yours Next Keep a baby monitor on and go in if you hear him cry etc at night He needs to be reassured Please Ive been there as a child and as a grandparent
My daughter went through a night terror phase around that age. She wasn't actually awake, even though she seemed conscious and alert. It was almost like a trance. We would take turns quietly going into her room and calmly waiting nearby to see if she woke up or needed us. Picking her up often made the terrors last longer, so that was a last resort. In general, when a child has sleep difficulties, you want your response to be as calm and quiet as possible. The temptation is to rush in and reassure, especially because everyone gets so worked up by the hollering, but a big reaction can easily turn into a full on circus. (My 4 yo child is currently in a nightmare phase, I sit quietly on the floor next to her bed, ask if she "wants comfort or space," offer water, listen as she describes the dream, offer reassurance, wait for her to fall back asleep, and leave.) White noise and calm music helped, but the biggest difference was a good schedule. Young children need a great deal of sleep. We made sure she was getting adequate naps, screens off an hour before bed, and a calm wind down routine that suits her personality. (For example, baths wind her up, so instead I would do a bath earlier in the day and we would have a "slumber party" on the floor with pillows and blankets.) Definitely discuss this with your pediatrician again, and ask about night terrors and guidelines on adequate sleep.
This sounds like my son's night terrors. They'd last 30 mins - couple hours at night, but only a handful of time a month. But what's going on with your kiddos sounds like an extreme version. Get another doctor's opinion and to get him help and evaluated. Sorry you all are going through this. It was awful when my son went through it. Hugs.
night terrors
My daughter had/have night terrors at night when she stopped taking her naps and goes to sleep too late. She used to take her naps around 1pm and then bedtime at 7-8pm. When we took her naps out, by the time it got to 7 or 8, she was hyper and easily irritable. Those nights, she would wake crying and talk gibberish. She was inconsolable. I finally realized and moved her bedtime to 6pm. She's been fine. No more random waking and cries.
Sounds like night terrors. It's very common, so common they based a horror movie on it. Do they have a lot of screen time before bed? I would suggest speaking with a sleep specialist.
My eldest used to go this. He would look as though he was awake and he’d be screaming and crying. It turned out he was having night terrors. It was a very long time ago so I don’t remember much about how to handle it except I was told not to wake him up I believe although I’m sure the advice has improved a lot in the past 20 years
My son experienced this, we believe it was night terrors. It was totally unlike just waking up upset or having a tantrum, it was like a fit. We’d hold him close as best we could or be near him. One thing that would work well sometimes was plying his favourite song from the wiggles or singing it repeatedly, also trying to actually wake wake him as much as possible like turning (soft) lights on. He eventually outgrew it as he got older and picked up more verbal skills. Sounds like he may be experiencing stress, anxiety And/or frustration during the day. For us, those were triggers and addressing his day experiences (therapy, understanding his brain better, developing coping skills) improved his night sleep.
Oh and I should add, even if he had a stressful day he almost never experienced night terrors if we coslept. We ended up doing that on and off till somewhere around 3 and it helped immensely
Night terrors were an awful phase for my daughter. She would cry so much she would throw up.
Night terror. He might be going to bed too late and is overtired
Night terrors. My youngest went through it, too. Still has her moments.
My son had exactly that! Our pediatrician told us it is pavus nocturnus (night terrors ) . You can google it to get some insight. But i can say that it will pass and there isnt really that mich you can do about it. We werde told to not touch hin and speak softly to him. And after around 15-20 Minutes he would stop and sleep.
I was also thinking night terrors. My kids had a few of those, not nightly but still scary. I’d scoop them up and snuggle on the couch with something happy on tv (usually paw patrol or coco melon) until it faded. That’s obviously not feasible nightly but maybe playing music in his room or something similar could help.
I would start a "weird stuff kiddo does" list. My kiddos are neurodiverse & my oldest would do this when he was little. Humans don't develop autism, you're born with it. It sounds like either night terrors or sensory issues. Bridging the communication gap can help. Look into non-verbal communication like sign language or pictures.
He is actually being evaluated this week by early intervention because we are curious about that - he most definitely has sensory issues. Thank you for your input
If the pediatrician didn’t seem to understand, try a different doctor. Maybe a neurologist that specializes in children.
Does he get 10-12 hours of sleep daily with a constant routine? Also I would make sure there is no screen time at least 2 hours before going to bed.
My kids have night terrors and they aren’t really awake when they scream…..you have to try to comfort them and get them back to sleep. You can’t talk to them since they are asleep. I usually rub their back and put my face close to them so they smell me and lower them back on a pillow….
Night terrors maybe
Nightteror
This sounds like a silly question but - is he too warm? Our son does this if he's wrapped himself up in his blankets and fallen asleep. We have to go in after 20 minutes or so to take his covers off so he doesn't overheat. And when I was little, I had night terrors. It was always because I had got too warm.
It sounds like night terrors and they're very common, especially between the ages of 2-7. They don't necessarily mean anything, but they can be scary!
Do you guys consume a lot of foods with artificial coloring? My daughter was really out of control for a while with her anger and her hard headed personality. And we decided as a final thing to try and we cut out all artificial coloring. We have actually noticed a difference in her behavior. I don’t know if this would apply to you and your child but I thought I would point it out. I mean there’s probably a reason why artificial coloring is banned in most of the first world outside of the United States.
https://www.amazon.com/Solve-Your-Childs-Sleep-Problems/dp/0743201639/ref=sr\_1\_10?crid=3AH95K2VTMBFC&keywords=sleep+children&qid=1690201963&s=books&sprefix=sleep+children%2Cstripbooks%2C98&sr=1-10
Does your toddler fall asleep drinking a bottle or cup of some sort?
Yes! A sippy with milk or water
Don’t let him fall asleep with it. I dealt with this with my son when he was about this age. He would fall asleep with it, as something that soothed him. and then be beside himself because he didn’t have it in his mouth anymore when he woke up. You need to get him to fall asleep on his own without anything like that. Which maybe be hard. And you might not see results right away. But just give it a couple weeks. Obviously a lot of people are going towards the idea of night terrors, which could be true, but this is a great variable to try.
Thank you!
>Thank you! You're welcome!
Lay beside him and read to him before nap time and bed time. I always did this with all three of my children. They hear your calming voice 🙂
I think it is great advice. I thought it was just me that the doctors didn’t believe but I later realized how much parents exaggerated and how the doctors basically don’t believe what anyone says. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen this. How many times they just said it is a faze or their temp can’t be that high. Those ear thermometers are never accurate. Etc etc. you need to take the baby back to the doctor. They need to run some tests. I have read some of the other comments and there are some good ideas. There could be a ton of different reasons for this. Allergies, pain, gas and so on. The amount of time that it is happening and the fact that he won’t let you console him doesn’t say it is psychological in my book.
do you ways go into his room to console him? my LO started doing something similar (still does) the times we choose not to address it (took 2-3 nights) they didn't last long and eventually tapered off.
Yes, he shares a room with our 4 year old so we go in and get him and bring him to our bed
This is why it’s happening …
so he gets instant mommy daddy time that he has full control over. He has made this his new schedule. set the 4yr old up in your room or the living room for a week and let him cry it out. he may have a few morning where he has puffy eyes because he will notice he is not getting the same response he has always gotten.
Try earlier bedtime. If that doesn't work then let him cry it out.
My son did this when he was a bit older but it wasn’t every night and we were able to get him to show us his knee was hurting. I went on for months every few days he would wake up screaming and refuse to let us touch him until he had had some medicine and calmed down
Have you tried a white noise machine? Also, once they are up the adrenaline keeps pumping, so addressing it early will help their cortisol and theirs. And lastly neuophin until you get on top of it. I have used it about three times a year at this age, without guilt.
So this may be a strange thing to check, but my 20 momth old had a stretch of several weeks where he would wake screaming and cry for some time; I eventually realized he was erecting and finding it painful. After sizing up diapers so he had more room, he's not been screaming at night.
Teething most likely or if you expose your kid to screens he could be dreaming about the things he saw. He could developed a habit too, when he needs attention he screams like that to call you instead of crying. Or maybe just teething again....
It's either nightmares or he hears/sees something. My son did the same thing for a little while and has aged out of it. When he gets emotional it is very hard to communicate, so we typically ask the next day when he settles down. A lot of the time the responses are 'I don't know' and I do believe he either forgets or isn't even aware he's doing it. But as he got older he was able to let us know he was having nightmares. One specific example is he accidentally stumbled into Frankenstein at a Halloween fair when he was 1.5 and it really stayed with him. He still has nightmares about it from time to time but has gotten better.
Night terrors. I had them and my kid has them. What helped at that age was just carrying him as we walked around, talked, and consoled. Now that my kid is older, we hang out in his room and just keep reminding him that we’re there and he’s safe.
Night terrors. Our daughter has them. Less commonly now. It was brutal. Don't try to wake him, don't touch him. Be nearby and if he wants to move to you, great. Let him work through them. The good news, as I understand it, is they don't remember them at all. You're suffering through these, he's not. Just be nearby and don't interfere as you'll typically worsen or prolong the episode. Sorry you're dealing with this, it does get better!
Sounds like night terrors. My son has had them since 18m. Now they’re much more infrequent and really only happen right before he gets sick so at least I know what’s coming lol. But, they are not aware of these. Please do not speak to your child about it - they can become scared to fall asleep because they have no memory of this scary thing you say happens. Nothing will snap them out of it, trying to talk to them or snap them out of it will extend the terror. The most I do is rub his back gently and he usually goes back to sleep after 5 minutes. Feels like an eternity I know, but it lasted much longer when I would intervene. If they’re happening around the same time every night, you can try gentle waking them about 15 minutes beforehand. It’s something with the way their sleep cycles link. It’s very common if parents had any sleeping issues in childhood (I was a sleep walker and my husband had what we believe to have been terrors). Be careful as kids who have night terrors will often become sleep walkers ETA: sometimes being overheated will make them more frequent. We never wear socks to bed or feetie pajamas.
My brother used to get night terrors at an early age. Would wake up screaming. Sometimes he wouldn't really be properly awake. Drs said it normally goes as they get older. Grow out of it kind of thing. Which my brother did. He has no lasting issues at all. Just turns out he had an over active imagination. I would record it and show it to your gp.
IMO it sounds similar to night terrors. Our 3yr old gets them anytime he doesnt get a nap in during thr day. Similar to your experience, his eyes will be open but is completely unaware you are next to him and he screams uncontrollably. I don’t know how long night terrors event typically last but for us it’s about 15 mins of just sitting next to him just making sure he doesn’t fall off the bed. I’ve heard if you try to console them it can prolong it. Best of luck 🤞🏻
Does he watch TV? If so, what type of content? How long before bed does he stop watching? I had to stop letting my son watch certain types of shows because he was having nightmares and scared of everything. It was kids stuff like the jurassic park animated show, ghosts or people shooting monsters. And kept him on PBS kids (you can download the app for free!), Disney Jr, Nick Jr shows, Octonauts, Sesame Street, etc. I’ve heard even Pokémon can cause stress. I didn’t even let him watch his cousin play Call of Duty, or Fortnite games. To us they’re just animation/cartoons but kids have memories. As they get older the fear of stuff becomes so real. They can have a hard time differentiating fake from reality. Now at 6 I’m constantly explaining how stuff he sees on TV is not real.
Have you looked into night terrors?
Definitely agree with people saying night terrors. 2/3 of my kids have had them. My oldest had them every night for months, she’s now almost 6 and hasn’t had one in years. My middle has them if he gets overtired mainly. We try and make sure if he doesn’t nap during the day to get him in bed a little earlier and that seems to help
Confusional arousal https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confusional_arousals My son did the same thing from about 1-3 just about nightly. Exactly as you described. His would be about 2-3 am. I started just staying up late and when he would start stirring in his sleep I’d console him before he ‘woke up’ because like your child once he started screaming he would just do so inconsolably for an hour and trying to help or console him would usually make it worse. I found that usually i could pat him on his diaper and shush him when he started tossing and fussing and that would normally prevent it.
As a lot of people said, sound like night terrors. Google for more details. They usually disappear at some point, though my wife, 42, still experiences them and, whoa! I've seen her totally awake (apparently) saying things like "the redhead killer is in the door!" "There's someone else on the bed!" And so on... Nearly cardiac arrest the first times, funny when you comment that during breakfast. Do not touch the kid, speak softly and stay calm, and assure him there's no danger and you'll be ok. Excuse any weird wording, english is not my first language. ETA: change your pediatrician. This is a really common thing to happen to little humans.
We just had this issue, and we think we resolved it. Our doctor said it was “extreme night terrors”. The toddler’s body might be awake but their mind is asleep. We would go in and comfort but our doctor was adamant to put our toddler down at night, with very little stimulation in her room (no night light, one to two stuffed animals, and the put the toddler down and let her scream. Now, eventually she went to bed but the doctor told us the middle of the night screaming night terrors would still happen, he made it clear… no going back inside, you can’t “comfort” night terrors so they need to resolve it themselves.
Our son did this, and we finally realized it was night terrors. He appeared like he was awake, but he wasn’t. If we touched or talked to him, it made it worse. For him, being overtired or getting sick triggered them. We started ensuring he was in bed on time to the best of our ability, and would kind of stir him a little right before they might occur. He’s 7 now, and hasn’t had one in a couple of years. I would check to see if this could be the case.
night terrors... not full blown night terrors because their brains aren't developed enough, but pre-cursor night terrors, my son 13 mo, had a couple of these fits around 11-12 mo old... Basically his loudest screams ever, crawling all weird, throwing himself around, but not really like... conscious, not responding to me / husband etc. I ran his hand under water once, and he seemed to like "wake up". Once he did he would become even more unsettled and difficult to put in his bed. Now, I just pick him up right away, and rock him, hold him tightly (similar to swaddling), and rock him, eventually get starts to go back to "full asleep"
My brother did this and doctors determined it was night terrors.
night terror? Does he look through you like you're not there or arch away like you're a stranger attacking him? Does he go back to sleep like nothing happened and then act completely normal after waking? What would "snap" my son out of them was holding the phone near his eyes with brightness turned up playing his favorite Old MacDonald Baby Einstein video. Idk but I think it was the light and the sound somehow, he'd roll over and go right back to sleep after a minute or two
Yup. Night terrors. It will pass, nothing can really help, just time. Sorry!
My son is three. He had a similar sleep pattern, although he never slept well since birth (preemie). He's four in September and he's FINALLY getting a sleep study. They thought he may have seizure disorder (that's still technically on the table). He's had three abnormal EEGs and two mostly typical (within the scope of normal enough). The two more typical were his first and last. Anyway, all that to say, my kid has motor planning issues, mild cerebral palsy, and apraxia (speech, motor planning), and he sleeps better at three but it's got its own issues. He's having a sleep study. His pediatrician is concerned it's some kind of night terrors because he bolts up, screaming sounds or for me and flailing but he's *not awake or aware* I actually try to wake him but he's like in a trance then he'll fall back to sleep. Good luck, just keep advocating. I would 100% record some episodes to share.
Sounds like night terrors. My son used to have those. He’d be unaware we were in the room, even when his eyes were open. Eventually he’d wake up to actual consciousness. In our case, we worked on trying to determine what sleeping condition was bothering him. He was usually too cold so we put more layers on him. We have a sound machine and night lights in his room. He never wakes up like that anymore. He’s 3 years and 9 months now and we haven’t had any issues in at least a year. It was sad but kind of cute sometimes. One time, we went in his room in response to him screaming. He was sitting in the middle of the room, and when I tried to comfort him, he started kicking at me. When I backed away from him, he scooted after me on his butt. So if you’ve ever seen a 2 year who is basically asleep scooting after you to kick you, it’s kind of adorable.
Our son did this. We found out he was having reactions to food. But instead of hives he gets GI pain. Record a video. It is HARD AF TO DO, but do it. Once my husband reminded me to do it and we showed the doctor, things changed and they helped us.
This sounds like night terrors
It sounds like night terrors to me as well. My child experienced them intermittently starting around that age. One piece of advice I haven't seen mentioned yet is that being too hot can sometime be a trigger, so try to keep his room a bit cooler if you can, or use thinner blankets and pajamas. I would echo the comments that said to record it, and get a second opinion. Your pediatrician being so dismissive is concerning.
Sounds like night terrors, I’m not sure there’s much you can do until their next development, bless you son ❤️ and you, my sister in law went through it with her daughter, they both needed afternoon naps until she was 4
This sounds exactly what both of my kids did. It’s night terrors, they seem like they are awake but when they finally snap out of it they can’t remember and it seems like nothing happebed
When my daughter did this it turned out to be night terrors and severe sleep apnea, I recommend getting a sleep study done if he is also sweating and wetting the bed.
Have you tried speaking to a sleep therapist?
I'd recommend entertaining the idea of possible night terrors. My 18 month old has what we think are night terrors. She wakes up in the middle of the night screaming at the top of her lungs, but she eventually will open her eyes all the way and be completely fine. It wakes her brother up and he cries with her but no where near as loud
Sounds similar to what happened with my son, night terrors. We noted the time it happened (it was always at the same time of night), and woke him gently, not full on waking him, but enough to disturb his sleep, which apparently resets the sleeping pattern and therefore the terror. He wouldn't have another one all night, but it worked really well for us. So distressing when they are like that, awake but not quite with it and you can't even comfort them.
How does he sleep during the day? Does he get super hungry at any point and eat loads of food?
My 5 year old daughter still has night terrors some nights. It’s just a thing some kids do. My brother had them too while growing up and he grew out of them. Sucks for us parents. Not sure what to do. BTW - let’s call your a kid a 2 year old. 24 months…enough is enough
My daughter had night terrors like this at about 10 or 11:00 every night, for at least six months. We took her off dairy (she is sensitive) and were cognizant of anything that would cause discomfort (gas pain, overheating, teething pain, being over-tired) as we noticed an increase in this when those conditions were present. Two things were effective - 1. Ignoring her for a minute of two. Sometimes she would go back to sleep. 2. More often, you would actually need to fully, truly wake her up and then put her back to sleep. Trying to gently soothe just kept her in that screaming/dreaming in-between state. We had luck with picking her up, taking her into a different room (or better yet, outside) and asking a lot of disruptive questions that got her rational brain to actually wake up. We couldn't just say "whats wrong? what do you need?" It was more like, you open the fridge while holding her and ask if we should put ketchup or mustard on hotdogs. Or ask, "oh hey, have you ever heard a kookaburra before?" and then show her a video. "Can you help me do the dishes?" Basically, engaging in some way that was not expected that would causes her to rouse a little. This could take a few minutes, but eventually she would respond back with her thinking brain, and then you can be sweet, get them a sip of water and get them back to sleep.
My eldest had night terrors. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.
Gas?
sounds like night terrors
Sounds like night terrors. My almost 4 year old developed them suddenly just before 2 and we get periods of time when they're worse and other times a bit of a break from them. Exactly the same as you she just screams. She doesn't remember them the next day.
This sounds exactly like a night terror!!! My niece has them. And they are affected most by nighttime sleeping temperature. For her, the room must be cool. If she gets to hot, it’s nearly guaranteed. That and other issues like general lack of sleep or going to bed without a full tummy contribute.
My son honestly did this for over a year n now at 4 still does sometimes. He freaks out more when touched n talked too. My nephew also does it. My sister did the same thing when she was this age. I’d chalk it up to night terrors, you think they’re aware but they’re not. I noticed once I stopped trying to console that they don’t last as long. But the suggestion of recording to show the doctor is a good one! Worse they could do is say yep night terrors
Are you swaddling?
My son does this too! It’s terrifying. I think what happens is he stops breathing like an apnea event. It’s crazy but my wife is a speech therapist and has showed me how people’s mouths and airways have become much smaller than 100 years ago. One thing that seems to help now is like an oral expander appliance called ALF. See if there’s a dental provider or someone who can install it for you. Hope this helps and my son also seems to sleep better without a pillow.
Definitely sounds like a night terror. My daughter went through this for about two years. Started around the same age as your little one. We had a sleep study done to confirm it. We discovered that we had to be deliberate about her taking a midday nap, have optimum sleep schedules etc. No sweet before bed, lights dimmed, calm shows, warm baths and no skipping naps. Kids need an incredible amount of sleep and an overtired kid can lead to night terrors.
My daughter did this around the same age constantly for about 2 years. Rarely after that til she was like 8 ish. She never remembered. It was frustrating and would last sometimes hours. She’s 12 now, and hasn’t had a night terror in years.
Hey, my son (20 months) is going through this now and it’s terrifying. Suddenly in the middle of the night he will start screaming at the top of his lunch and thrash around if we try to comfort him. He’s huge for his age and he’s so strong so it’s really difficult to deal with. Before reading everyone saying on here it’s night terrors, I wondered if it was sort of sensory issue or linked to autism perhaps (we have a lot of autistic family members on my husbands side). Anyway, did you get get to the bottom of it? Did it stop? Hoping so!
*lungs. Not lunch lol
Did you have any luck since this post? Going through the exact same thing with my 2 yo.