My 2 year old son, who is a twin has been having what I call "nightmares" since he was a small 5-6 month old baby. When he was that age, he would be sleeping, then he would whimper in his sleep and frown, then if I didn't pat him and reassure him he was okay, he would began to cry. Now that he is 2, he does the same thing, start whimpering in his sleep, then if I don't pat his back and catch him in time, he starts screaming bloody murder! His eyes will be closed, like he's sleep, (and I think he does be sleep still) but you can't wake him up! His body is limp and he will be crying bloody murder. It takes a few minutes to "wake" him, and once he's awake, he goes right back within a few minutes and sleeps through the rest of the night. This only happens maybe 1-2 times every so often. I have talked to the pediatrician, and she says it sounded like night terrors, but he's too young for those, so she didn't have an answer for me? Can anyone suggest what I can do? The other kids are fine?!
2006-11-22 20:57:33 · 7 answers · asked by Nyema 3 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
Try giving your son a massage before bed. You can put one drop of lavender essential oil in 5ml of carrier oil and massage him as part of his night time routine. Massage is extremely good for relaxation and if your son is relaxed before bedtime he is less likely to have disturbed sleep.
I'd also like to recommend a dvd which may be useful - it is made by a company called "Meditainment" and they produce guided meditation products. I have a lot of their cd's and one of their dvd's and they are absolutely excellent! I have used these products to great effect with family and friends, with the dvd you can choose what you want the meditation to achieve (there is an option for "deep and natural sleep" which might prove useful!) and the dvd is so relaxing that everyone I know that has used it has failed to get to the end of it before falling asleep. (including my friend's 5 week old baby!)
I suffer a lot with a chronic back condition which prevents me from sleeping through the night and my hubby has disturbed sleep due to stress but whenever we play this dvd (which we've started to do every night now) the pair of us sleep right through and wake up feeling relaxed, refreshed and completely rested. The dvd has helped us enjoy not only a full night's uninterrupted sleep but has definitely improved the quality of the sleep we've been getting - I honestly can't rate it highly enough!
I've enclosed a link to the company's website for you to consider.
http://www.meditainment.com/guided_meditation_mail_order_products/Instant_Relaxation_DVD/index.cfm?id=20
2006-11-22 21:21:41 · answer #1 · answered by Witchywoo 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
my daughter had night terrors from about two years old. It is pretty scary and at times i thought she was auditioning for a part in the exorcist! Night terrors happen at the same time every night - hers was 11.10pm. It does help if u wake the child up 10 mins before they are due one as this interruots the sleep cycle and can bypass the terror. As she grew older (now 14 yrs) i noticed that this would happen at times when she was stressed through the day ar worried about something. We had a bad year at school when she was 10 and every night was horrific for all. A calm bed time routine is beneficial and try some lavender oil under the pillow to help relaxation.
2006-11-23 07:16:23 · answer #2 · answered by jeanie q 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He is expierencing "night terrors" all babies whimper and cry in their sleeps as infants, it doesn't mean they're having nightmares, babies can't HAVE nightmares because there is nothing in their live's to cause them. Doctors think that night terrors are brought on by the brains "over activity" and that it doesn't "shut down" when sleeping. Your doctor is right and 2 years is NOT too young for night terrors...in fact that is bascially the right age. You don't have to stand over him and watch and yes some children SEEM to wake up when actually they're asleep . He will outgrow this if YOU let him.
2006-11-23 12:43:53 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
My brother had this as a result of damaged brain tissue during a forceps delivery and being over medicated. He experienced night terrors for a very long time, and is now extremely chlosterphobic.
There are many books related to night terrors and sleep habits of infants and toddlers -- too many to list, but you can find them on Amazon.com. Read up on the topic, and see what the professionals say.
2006-11-22 21:04:57 · answer #4 · answered by jane 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the episodes are called night terrors.
My son had them - would wake up screaming - Mom and I would rush into his room, and he would not know us for a minute or two - then "hear our voices" and finally 30 seconds later, his eyes focused and he would see us.
Our pediatrician supplied a cough medicine to help his cold - and we gave it to him for a week. That allowed him to drop to a deeper level of sleep and get his rest. After that, the terrors became fewer and fewer, and finally ceased by the time he was 5 or 6.
good luck
2006-11-22 21:06:01 · answer #5 · answered by tom4bucs 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like night terrors to me. My son had them at about age 3. He would scream and cry, but would not allow me to comfort him at all. He would look at me but not really see me. It is hard to listen to, but it always stopped within 5-10 min. It will get better --eventually. I had 3 other kids and none of them had it.
2006-11-23 11:54:52 · answer #6 · answered by Marilyn E 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This does seem like the could be night terrors. I took a psychology course in college and my psych teacher said that night terrors are nothing to worry about and dont try to wake him up because he probably wont. Also if a kid is having night terrors he/she wont remember them in the morning so i would not worry seeing a doctor.
2016-05-22 21:37:14 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋