Have your children ever cried in their sleep?

Question

My son is 19 months old and I catch him crying in his sleep quite often. Like last night he must have done it 3 different times. He isnt actually awake because I go in and check but he will be tossing and turning and almost like letting out one big cry in pain and then its over. But the one time last night he cried a few times so i went in and picked him up to hug him for a few minutes and as soon as I did he was ok but I heard his stomach bubbling and then he let out gas. I guess that it is a possibility he had gas pains but this happens a few times a week. Does it seem weird? I asked the DOC and she said thats normal....? But I have never heard other parents talking about it.

Answer 1

Maybe he is dreaming.

My son sometimes talks in his sleep about "that's my ball" or stuff like that.

Answer 2

My son does that when he's teething - sometimes he even sits up and cries while still largely asleep. I take it as a sign he needs his motrin for a couple of nights. Teething pains get much worse after the child has been asleep for a few hours because they aren't chewing or gumming to relieve the pressure.

There can also be nightmares, caused by or unrelated to pain. If I can't sooth my guy into a restful sleep, I find the best thing to do is help him wake up entirely and see that everything is ok.

(one of the first times it happened, he was actually yelling "all done!" in his sleep. Very distressing obviously.)

Answer 3

Yes, my daughter is almost 2 1/2 and still does that. Some nights not at all, other nights a few times like you said. It's usually more like a whiny cry, not a pain cry. I'll usually hear her and lay in bed for a minute to see if she keeps it up or not, but more often than not she's still sleeping and not crying to get up or anything. So yes, for my child it is normal, and has been for quite some time.

Answer 4

True, your son could have a tummy ache due to gas, but there could be other things wrong as well. My daughter is 3 and was doing the same thing until I took her to the doc. She said it was her tonsils causing this. It is very normal for their tonsils to swell up and cause this especially at night. They will toss and turn as if they're having a bad dream. Even when she woke up in the morn, she would say she had a bad dream. It's crazy how the tonsils will mess with everything. You might want to get it checked out.

Answer 5

Check for food problems. Does he drink lots of dairy right before bed on an empty stomach? We didn't realize my son was lactose intolerant for quite some time, and it caused a lot of discomfort. If he is trying new foods, it could be one of them, even something common, like corn. Keep a diary of what he eats and see if you can find a common denominator.

Answer 6

I've had that happen with both my kids. It seems like it is more common in my youngest who also has lots of stomach issues. I do think it's a sign of discomfort but it's obviously not pain to wake the child up. I think it can be part of a dream but with my kids it seems more physical.

Answer 7

Yeah its normal. My niece cried in her sleep. It was due to gas pains and dreams. Bad dreams. Babies have bad dreams too. Its ok. It ll keep happening, but nothings wrong with ur baby.

Answer 8

Yeah its normal, doctors say it could be growing pains, my daughter is still doing that and shes two, she even yells out things in her sleep...I felt the same way you do, is she in pain, is she getting punished too much, maybe shes stressed out....but the truth is its either dreaming or growing pains....

Answer 9

Yes, just last night my daughter was crying in her sleep, although it has been going on since she was about 12 months.

Answer 10

YES ITS NORMAL, IT COULD BE DUE TO GAS, OR SOMETIMES THEY ARE DREAMING TO.