Can very young babies have night terrors?

Question

Our 5 month old baby sometimes wakes up at night crying uncontrollably.

We know for sure it is not a wet/dirty diaper, no scratchy stuff prickling her, temperature is exactly how she likes it, etc...

Once she is picked up, she will whimper a bit, then fall right back to sleep like nothing every happened. She will go right back in her crib and sleep. The whole process is under 5 minutes...

She hasn't done this lately, but for the first three months it was 2-3 nights out of the week, and she did it again last night for the first time in probably a month.

I'm sure she is too young for nightmares, but night terrors are different. My husband suffered from them when he was a toddler, and I was wondering if anyone knew of a genetic link type thing? I have always slept the sleep of the just and innocent, lol... an earthquake couldn't shake me when I was a babe according to my mom...

I forgot to add that she was in the NICU for three weeks after she was born and was 7 weeks premature.

Could she be remembering all of the heel sticks and poking and prodding from her hospital stay?

Answer 1

yeah, that's wierd, but very normal. my 5-month old does the same thing. She will scream out crazily and whimper, then all of a sudden she straightens her face and goes right back to sleep. LOL. At first I was like WTH? What's wrong with my lil' bit? But now I can tell if she is just dreaming or really upset. It usually happens somewhere between the first two hours of sleep after we put her down.
We don't rush to her anymore because she falls back to sleep.
Don't worry, it's normal, my Mom had nine and she said babies just do that for some reason.
My Dad said that same thing, but he siad not to worry about them because they see and hear what we can't, and that angels protect them anyway.

Answer 2

It sounds like your child is simply waking and then looking for comfort. Most people wake or nearly wake several times per night. Most of us don't remember it and have learned not to wake fully when we were babies. It's a testament to your skills as a parent that this is all done in 5 minutes!!

Having spent hours gazing into a cot I am pretty sure babies dream. However you sound a loving and caring parent that is making a safe environment for your baby so i guess she will not have the stress full experiences of older children and adults that are expressed in nightmares and terrors.

I would not be too worried for now. Babies seem to sleep more deeply when the are actively crawling and walking. This may help your child as she gets older (and maybe your husband too). Both my kids have had dream catchers by their beds since about the age of 3 and they definitely had an impact on the frequency of nightmares and terrors. If they wake from a bad dream then part of our settling routine is a big cuddle and then "blowing" the bad dream on to the dream catcher.

Answer 3

I'm not sure about night terrors for babies. But I do know that something as simple as gas for a baby is horrible, especially at night. It can seem like they are in horrible pain and can cry for hours. I did the most simple thing when my girls were little babies. Simply put a few liquid gas drops in the babies bottle before feeding, that might help a little. I hope you get to enjoy a peaceful night sleep soon!

Answer 4

hi!! lilchic, particular a sparkling born infant could have them. the reason? All toddlers are born with a million improved experience. scent to hit upon the scource of its` nutrition; 3 ideas a million the mother blood dashing for the time of the placenta,2 the the mothers heart beat, 3 the encampassing interior the womb. subsequently the child ought to have a subliminal reminiscence of being born, subsequently the disturbed sleep at night. in case you doubt this watch any mom take a crying infant,( and if there is not something quite incorrect with it) the mother will cuddle infant close{ back interior the womb,} then circulate SH; SH,, SH, the sound of the placenta Finaly the pat on the back coinciding with each and every pat. the heart beat. interior of minutes the child would be aslpeep. that's many times a thank you to provide up a infant crying at night. yet another excuse for night crying is merely too plenty outfits and/or bedding then crying releases warmth plenty the comparable as an animal panting. i desire this permits

Answer 5

This probably wont make you feel any better, but my son had night terrors until the age of 4 1/2!!! Every single night. Not too sure what age he started getting them, coz he never slept through the night as a baby anyway. I am not sure about genetic links but my daughter has them occasionally, she is 4, and my mum tells me i used to randomly cry in the night when i was younger. But once she called out to me, i stopped, and never seemed to know what she was takling about. lol

Answer 6

If you ever heard of colic, that just might be what your baby is going through, I know alot of babies including my own that cried like that constantly. And I was told by many friends and families that it's just a baby syndrome called colic. Your lucky your baby only stops crying after being picked up or maybe your baby just loves the comfort of her mommy which is probably why she settles after being picked up. Just don't forget not to get too frustrated 'cause all babies need is a little lovin'!

Answer 7

Yes it is very common for young children and babies to have night terrors, my nephew has had them almost since birth and he is now 4. There is not much that can be done except love and comfort when then happen. Good Luck and God bless your little one

Answer 8

my son went through that at 4 months old. it didn't happen often and he eventually stopped having them. it can happen if they have gone through something tramatic some say they remember their birth for a little while. you are doing the right thing by picking her up and cuddling her until she falls to sleep. it should pass soon. good luck

Answer 9

I'm pretty sure they can. However, to rule out any other things that might be causing the disturbance, I'd talk to your doctor about it.

Answer 10

I have heard that they dream of being born. My son and daughter both did that. My girl did it more than my son. But they do have horrible dreams alot. Wouldnt you if you came out and some weird person smiles at ya and slaps ur butt.