There haven't been any major changes at home, no trauma or anything like that. She just recently started having a lot of nightmares and now gets up in the morning tired and cranky. The nights she doesn't have nightmares she seems to be dreaming ALL night long. She gets up and tells me the craziest stories. Is this good or bad? We also have a 7 1/2 month old baby, whom she gets along with great. Could this be the cause even this long after the birth?
2006-11-13 04:03:19 · 6 answers · asked by lovebeingamommy 3 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
My youngest daughter is now 9, but when she was about 2 she began having night terrors which lasted until she was about 5. They were different than nightmares (she had those, too) in that she would not be able to be woken up while having a night terror nor did she remember having them the next morning. After months of sleep-less nights, what finally worked for us was a consistent, quiet bed time routine. We turned the TV off most of the time because we found that even during shows that contained non-scary content, the commercials for upcoming shows were enough to scare her. She is still very sensitive to stimuli and is affected more by what she sees and hears than any of her other siblings are. She is an extremely rest-less sleeper and still has frequent night mares although the night terrors she has seemingly grown out of. I don't think that having a new baby in the house is what is causing the nightmares, but she is at an age when she is more aware of what goes on around her and dreaming and nightmares may be her way of processing what she sees and hears. Bedtime when our daughter was 3 began with a warm bath, followed by cozy jammies, a snack, and several good books (we had to watch the content of even the children's books we read to her). She had a nightlight and soft music on the cassette player when we left the room. It did not prevent all of her nightmares, but reduced them significantly. Another thing we found was she got cold at night and an extra blanket and a heated mattress pad often helped her sleep more soundly. Our daughter seems to need more sleep than the average and when she gets overly tired, the nightmares tend to start up again.
2006-11-13 05:41:25 · answer #1 · answered by sevenofus 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My dtr was going through the same thing. I monitor her tv time, but she managed to get some crazy ideas about monsters from her preschool class when they were reading stories for Halloween. I bought her a glo-worm, and I explained when she gets scared or is afraid and mommy is not right next to her to squeeze the glo-worm very tight and hug him and when he shines or lights up that means everything is ok and she is safe. It also plays a song funny thing is I wake up listening to the music a couple nights, but lately she will be brave and go into closets and tell me she is testing for monsters. I think she is a little disappointed about it always lighting up it is proving that there is no monsters in our home. Hope this trick gives you soem ideas. It has given us more peace and quiet in our home.
2006-11-13 13:12:19 · answer #2 · answered by DispatchGirl 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like she has seen something (on tv?) that she has manifested into something scary. Try 'looking' at the stories and see if you remember seeing something close to that story. Even the sweetest things (Cookie Monster for example) can be warped into nightmares by a little one. Maybe if you can figure out what it is, you can explain that it won't hurt her (puppet for example). Good luck, just keep reassuring her, lots of hugs & kisses.
2006-11-13 12:36:03 · answer #3 · answered by GP 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It could be about the new baby, my first born didn't react until her sister was about 6 monthsd old. Try some alone time, a trip to the store where she could pick out her own new night lite, with just you and her, make her feel special and like a big girl.
2006-11-13 22:56:14 · answer #4 · answered by Katie L 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
could be night terrors my middle child had them all the time when she was three she ended up just growing out of it - just out of the blue she would scream on the top of her lungs - it ended up happening after out youngest was born but didnt seem like that was the reason - try a nightlight and make sure she doesnt watch tv for at least an hour before bed time that could be causing it too
2006-11-13 13:23:42 · answer #5 · answered by Amanda 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
try putting a night light in her room.
2006-11-13 12:12:05 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋