Hi ladies-
So I am finally writing for some advice on what to do with my 14-month old son who wakes up SCREAMING everytime he wakes up. He has never been a great sleeper, but over the last couple months has gotten his nap schedule down pat, and sleeps consistently at night. He goes to sleep around 7pm, and wakes up at 5-30 am, is changed and usually can go back down until 630. Naps are around 830 am and 130 pm - length ranges from 45 mins to an hour and a half.
The problem I am having is how he wakes up in the mornings and from his naps. He wakes up SCREAMING, and most days needs 10 minutes to calm down or if I am lucky get him back to sleep in my arms. He has stuffed animals in his bed, a pacifier, and his lovey blanket, but does not seem to know how to wake up in a good mood. Any ideas, or friendly advice would be appreciated, just want him to wake up on the right side of the crib from now on :)
note - his 2 year old brother was a sleep champ, and would wake up and hang out in bed until 630/7 am and would wake up babbling and pretty happy most of the time. not used to this!
thanks to all....
My son also wakes up crying. Maybe he has to pee? I have no idea how to help, but I wanted to say that you are not alone in this.
It sounds like night terrors, although these generally happen about 90 minutes after the child falls asleep for the night. It doesn't usually happen at naps, but it's definitely something you could discuss with his pediatrician.
If this is night terror-related, do NOT try to wake him up. Soothe him gently, knowing that he's still sleeping, and gently lay him back down in the bed. Rub his back, talk to him, etc, but know that he's not awake.
If it's not night terrors, maybe he needs extra reassurance right now. Every child is different, and he may be experiencing separation anxiety, which can be exacerbated for children who sleep in their own bed in their own room. They may wake to their pacifier and stuffed animals and other familiar things, but all they want/need is the reassuring warmth and presence of mom.
One thing that really helped my son avoid the night terrors (he's almost 7 and has had them since just before he turned 2) is to make sure he gets to bed and to sleep before he's totally exhausted. It really has nothing to do with seeing anything scary during the day because honestly, nightmares for a kid could be something as "trivial" as not getting the toy he wanted from the store.
Another suggestion for you would be to get him down to one nap, usually late morning for 2 hours or so, say noon-2. Sometimes, the nap can be as long as 3 hours (my experience).
Hope it passes quickly!
My son had "night terrors" which are like nightmares but the child "seems" to be awake. He is not, however. Eyes opened, he would point at the alligator or spider he saw in his bed. It would also take 10 or 15 minutes to calm him down and get him back to sleep. Sometimes it happened twice a night, usually once, and lasted a few months then went away. The doctor said it's normal and they don't know why people have them. Of course, that was 20 years ago.
Good luck. Hope it passes quickly.
That was about the age my son had night terrors. Same as the previous poster. I have heard they have to do with young brains growing quickly at that age. A friend suggested getting a fun interesting night light.
