Anyone Ever Deal with Night Terrors?

My DD went throught Night Terror stages about 3-4 times...starting at about 2 1/2....she is almost 5 and we haven't had an episode in about 5 months....like the others it starts about 90 min after falling asleep...and lasts about 30 min and then asleep for 45 min and then it starts....we just follow her around...keep her safe....try to hold her if she will let us...occasionally we'd sit on the back porch in the fresh air...of course in the morning she had no recollection....reading about them on the net really helped me realize other kids go through this..my MIL never really understood what I was talking about and always assumed it was nightmares...no not the same...anyway...it will pass and seems to get less frequent as they mature....a friend though has a 18 year old who gets them when she runs a fever...they've had to keep a baby gate at the top of their stairs and even told the college roomates what to watch out for!

Hang in there....make sure you and your DH trade off watching him if you get too tired or stressed...it's so hard watching a little one go through them....interesting though about how it happens on the days your MIL watches him...is he not getting a good nap those days maybe???

B.

L. my 2 year old does this too and we find that a warm washcloth pressed gently on her face (cheeks and forehead), takes her out of it and puts her back to sleep. I have done some research and apparently this has to take its course. If its still "around" in a few years then you might want to consider a sleep specialist....Dr. Golbin is a close family friend and works out of the city and suburbs and he is amazing! He's been on several talk shoes and the news. You can google his sleep center and email questions there free of charge. Dr. Weissbluth in the city charges for any kind of consultation :) I know he is the most well known in this are but quite expensive :)
Good Luck!

My son has had night terrors since he was about 18 months old. He is now almost 6 and rarely ever has them. I know it is hard going through it but rest asured that it does end. Most kids grow out of the night terrors. You really can't wake them if it is a true night terror you just have to see them through it and keep them safe. One of the best ways to head off a night terror is to make sure your child is getting enough sleep. I would venture to guess that on the days your mother in law has him he is not getting a good nap and is over tired that night and ends up going into a night terror because his mind is overstimulated. Like I said I know its difficult but just know he will grow out of it.

Best of Luck.
L. M.
www.abundantlifeathome.com

My son used to do this a lot too, always on days when he was up late or overexcited. For him, it always happened about an hour and a half after he went to sleep, like clockwork. You could try to get him to sleep early on those jam-packed active days. But if that's not possible, then definitely you want to try to interrupt his sleep pattern. But not just moving him around, actually wake him up. Basically, his sleep needs to be "reset" so he has to re-fall asleep. And you want to do it well before it's going to happen to try to avoid it all together. If that still doesn't work, you won't be able to wake him probably but you may be able to soothe him through it. I always found I could kind of push my son through -- encouraging him to lie down, SHHHHHH, go back to sleep, SHHHH, it's OK, SHHHHH... all very quietly but firmly. That seemed to help keep the episodes short. Also keep in mind that many kids do this and tend to grow out of it. My son is pretty well past it now (he's 5 and a half) and it rarely happens now. Hang in there!