5 month old screaming in the middle of the night but seems to still be asleep?

Question

my 5 month old daughter wakes up in the middle of the night and screams. I try to nurse her back to sleep because that always help but she fights me and doesn't seem to be awake. She also sleeps in the bed with me and my husband so she is in a comfy zone. Is she having night terrors? If so what could be making her have them? How can I help her and me and my husband get a good nights sleep?

She wont take a pacifier and wont sleep in her own bed I have tryed since day one. And she screams from around 4am till we get up! so we dont get any sleep

I also read that to not let them cry thier selfs to sleep because that can cause a trust issue between the parent and child.

I breast feed not bottle feed

My daughter isn't running the show I GET MORE SLEEP THIS WAY WITH HER IN OUR BED< SHE SLEEP JUST FINE UNTIL A FEW DAYS AGO! SO PEOPLE WHO ARE SAYING PUT HER IN HER OWN CRIB AND SHE IS RUNNING THINGS THEN YOU SHOUDLNT BE ANWSERING THIS BECAUSE YOU DON"T SEEM TO KNOW ABOUT HOW ITS NOT BAD TO LET YOUR CHILD SLEEP IN THE BED WITH YOU!

Answer 1

Don't let anyone make you second guess yourself about co-sleeping and breastfeeding. If it works for your family just ignore everyone else's advice on these subjects.

That said, it could be night terrors. I think it was when my older daughter did the same things although she was a bit older when she started. We never did get an official diagnosis though. What seemed to help her was calmly talking to her and rubbing her back. I could only nurse her if she actually woke up. She eventually outgrew them.

Answer 2

Night terrors are common for children, and they are really taxing on parents, especially if it is a common occurrence.

When this happened to our older toddler, we bought a sleeping bag with an inflatable mattress attached, so she could sleep in our bedroom when she started crying. She wasn't in our bed, cause she's a little Kermit the Frog (all arms and legs) but she slept fine cause she was in the same room as us. Eventually, she slept through the night again. Since then, she has decided she wants to sleep in her sleeping bag in her room at night, and as long as she has three nights in a row of not crying in the middle of the night, we reward her by allowing her to sleep in the sleeping bag. Of course, for a five month old, you cannot use a sleeping bag for safety reasons, but I thought I'd relate a situation we had to see if maybe it would spark an idea for you. I will tell you this. It will eventually pass . . . promise!! If both you and your husband are both losing sleep each night, you may want to strategize in the meantime, by taking turns comforting the baby, alternating nights, so that one of you can at least get a good nights sleep each night. You can try earplugs (for the one who is "off duty" or sleeping in a different room or both) and then rotating nightly. I actually sleep with earplugs because I am a light sleeper, and I hear any sound my children make, but that's just me. Good luck . . and. . . this too shall pass!!

Answer 3

My daughter did the same thing....a scream that sends chills down your spine.......the doctor said it was night terrors.....that some kids have them some don't......what is the usual nightly routine? maybe give her a warm bath before bed to soothe her? The doctor I had didn't give me anything much to work with to stop them..just kinda told me some have them some don't.....I googled curing night terrors and there were a few sites about it......one suggested breaking the sleep pattern....wake the child up at least a few minutes before the night terrors begin(this of course would only work if she is having them on a consistant time frame then you could wake up and get her up) ensure she is really awake and then let her go back to sleep...a few nights of this supposedly cures the night terrors......
I didn't look at the other sites...but try googling curing night terrors or just night terrors there are a lot of websites about it

Answer 4

is this your first child???? you will find that it is a big mistake to let her sleep in the bed with you so do not get pissed at peoples answer, they are just speaking from experience.

Have you tried keeping her up a little longer, sounds like she has gotten a full nights rest by 4 so try keeping her up a little later. unfortunately being a parent means a lot of restless nights. that is just part of the job. but you are not doing anyone any favors by putting her in your bed every time she cries. you can let a child cry without destroying trust. i mean sometimes they need to just cry. yes, if you let her cry when she is hungry or dirty and do not respond then the trust will deminish but not just because you do not give into every little sniffle. if you think putting her in your bed works and you do jot see a problem with it then do that. i doubt she has night terrors, she is 5 months old and 5 month olds cry and will cry in their sleep if they have colic or some other discomfort so maybe she needs to go to the doc. but people are just giving suggestions to the question you asked so lighten up.

Answer 5

I understand what you're going through. My son, now in kindergarten, still has an occasional night like that. He was screaming for 15 to 30 minutes. We turned on all the lights in his room and woke him up. Then he could calm down a bit. He was/is crying due to night terrors or growing pains. Seems so simple, but it's terrifying and frustrating at the time.

Answer 6

Sounds like you need to be talking to your doctor. This sounds like night terrors. Your pediatrician should be able to help you.
I'm not going to say it is a bad thing to let your daughter sleep in your bed. My little girl slept with me and the only problem I have had is getting her into her own bed. But were there now and she is 4.

Answer 7

Put the princess in her own crib, close the door quietly and let her cry it out after about 3 or 4 nights. [obviously your way isn't working] She will survive I assure you. I've had 4 babies, all good sleepers. I was a nanny in England and I had 4 foster babies, I know about little ones. If she continues to scream during the night, try warm baths before she goes to sleep, warmed formula, and a nice walk in her stroller for fresh air after dinner. Infants also have temper tantrums. Not every issue is medical, infact most are not.
Do it now before she can stand up and try to get out, she needs to be more flexible and become accustomed to what is normal for sleep.
my husband's uncle or [aunt] rolled over on their baby girl and smothered her to death, sorry--but true.

Answer 8

she is probably having bad dreams, try rubbing her back, and if you want a good night sleep you should put her in her own room .and put a night light on and leave the door ajar. you can even play soft music until she falls asleep. and have a monitor in yours so that you can hear her in the middle of the night. You don't want her to get use of sleeping with you both all the time, it will be harder later on to get her in her own room, I went thru that one.

Answer 9

You might want to try putting her in a crib by herself, she might be getting bumped or squished. What ever works for you
But when we had our Foster son, he was 6 months old and he would just scream out for a second or two and scare us half to death then go back to sleep.

Answer 10

You need to put her back in her bed...she will sleep better and so will you and your hubby. Babies do wake up in the middle of the night...very normal. But, babies need to learn to soothe themselves back to sleep...trust me on this issue. I have 2 kids that did the same thing. Let her cry herself to sleep ...at least, try allowing her to cry for 10-15 min and if she does not fall back to sleep than check on her.