Nightmares - South Jordan, UT

My son had a problem similiar to that at about the same age... we eventually took him to the Dr. who ordered a hearing screen for him and found out that he had somewhat severe inner ear infections which was what was waking him up at night and causing his speech delay. You might want to see about looking into a hearing screen for you son too and even if that is not why he is waking up it could help with the speech problems.

AhHa! Finally someone who knows what I went thru... They are called Night Terrors. They usually happen between 15 months -3 years. My daughter (now 5)had night terrors. She would wake up shaking, scraming, while still apearing to be asleep. When we were able to wake her she acted immediately like there was nothing wrong. Apparently my husband had the same thing. M mother in law said she would sit him up and try to get him to take a sip of water and that would wake him up enough to snap out of it..Isn't it scary! We were so freaked out about it. We asked our pediatrician and he said that it definately sounded like night terrors.. but he said it usually didn't affect children over 2 ...well, she also has a mongolian spot which is not a norm for caucasions either so who knows. Good luck!

My son did the same thing, I'm sorry I can't remember which parenting book I read it from (I think what to expect the toddler years) but it said not to wake them in the middle of there nightmare or they will likely remember it and feel even more traumatized, if you just let them sleep (Not wake them), the next morning when they wake up, they wont even remember they had a nightmare. That�s just what I remember learning and what I did. It was hard though because he truly seamed terrorized, I had a hard time believing he was still asleep, but he was, and I wanted so bad to help him by waking him and reassuring him it was just a dream. But I didn�t and we got through it, He had nightmares like that until he was about 7 years old, sometimes he'd sit up in bed and just start yelling but it was like it was in a perfectly clear different language (not mumbled) then after a while of yelling (and sometimes mixed with laughing), he'd flop back down on his pillow and would be quiet the rest of the night. which by then, I just watched him, sometimes chuckled a little and went about my business.
Good luck to you, it�s especially hard when they�re so little and not talking much yet.

Wow--you ARE lucky!!! Great husband AND you get to stay home. The sleep disruptions are probably temporary, just keep doing what you're doing, especially if he falls asleep again when you sleep with him. He can understand you, even if he can't articulate what's going on, so keep telling him it's okay and he can put himself back to sleep. This will pass, like most things. Sometimes this happens with my 2 1/2 year old, and I just hold his hand until he goes back to sleep (he's still in a crib). They probably don't wake up, so I don't worry about him really being upset. It could be related to your recent move, so try to replicate his last bedroom in terms of light, placement, etc. Kids are more sensitive to these things than we think. Good luck!!

My son had the same thing - he's 2 as well. I read that when they don't wake up and don't seem upset the next day when they wake up, it's usually night terrors, not nightmares - they don't even know about it. The article also said to try and disturb them about an hour and a half to 2 hours after they fall asleep - don't wake them up, just adjust their sleeping position or rearrange their clothing. It somehow prevents them from going into that deep sleep period when they get these night terrors. I thought it was too easy to actually work, but I tried it and my son hasn't had an episode in more than 5 months! It used to be every night in a row for weeks on end. I use that time to say goodnight and hug him before I go to bed. The article also said that if they do still have an episode, to not try and wake him or pick him up(which is what we used to do), because that makes it worse. Just stay next to them and don't talk or touch them, just make sure they are safe.
Hope this works for you!

My 23 month old is doing the exact same thing. Our pediatrician said he most likely is having nightmares, and to go into his room when he is crying and reassure him. This can mean just talking to him so he can hear your voice if he is still asleep and stroking his hair or holding his hand, or holding him until he stops crying if he is already awake. Our little guy has been sitting in the corner of his crib eyes wide open looking around, so we pull him out and rock him. Sometimes this can take 30 minutes or more to calm him down.

You might want to have your doctor check him out to see if he is sick or has an ear infection. We were at an appointment for his brother when I asked about the nighttime crying, and the first thing our doctor did was to check his ears to rule out an ear infection. Just a thought.

Good Luck!

PS. I have lived in both Utah and Virginia too (now in Oregon)! I know a great pediatrician in Salt Lake (Bryner Clinic) if you need any suggestions, although you could probably find one closer to South Jordan.

My 2 year-old son has that too. He also can't talk yet. He cries, and won't wake up. I found that sending dad for a fresh sippy, getting my sweet boy to wake up all the way, then just talking or singing to him till he's calm again works. I read something once about letting him sleep through it, but he didn't seem to be able to get throught them on his own. It's hard, and there's times when I've had to sit with him for hours. I understand, and I also believe whole-heartedly it's nightmares.

Sounds like you are doing the right thing. He just needs to be reasured that everything is ok. He will grow out of it eventually. It may be that the recent move has affected him a little. But kids are very resilient. He'll be fine.
T.

Being there for him might be all you can do, but you could also try having a night light in his room. The nightmares could be caused by the recent move, but you should let him know that you are there. There is nothing wrong with just laying down with him until he goes to sleep. It sounds like he needs the reassurance.

I think what he is having is called night terrors. My friend's son had them and he eventually grew out of them but they were pretty scary while they were occuring.

Our son was doing this and it would sound like he was trying to talk to us but couldn't ssay any actual words and he was really upset. He would cry and cough, it was awful. Finally, we stopped trying to wake him up, we took him to the bathroom and laid him back down and said loud enough for him to hear "Just go back to sleep". I didn't know about the cold washcloth thing, that's a good tip! It seemed like to more we tried to soothe him, the more agitated he became, so we just made it very cut and dry. Worked for us.

I think the advice so far on nightmares has been reasonable, I don't have much experience with them, usually though my son woke up immediately if he was having a nightmare.

But, if instead of nightmares, they're night terrors where their eyes might be open but you can't wake them up or get them to calm down I have some very practical advice.

The first time it happened with my son, he cried for about 30 minutes while staring blankly at us. It was terrifying for us, my husband did a lot of on-line research into them. They usually start a little older than 2 but Cian was two. The consensus seems to be that for some reason it's associated with their feet being too hot. So, to prevent them, get the kid out of footed pajamas or socks. Bare feet to sleep with, and make sure the blanket is easy to kick off. If they have a night terror put a cool wet washcloth on their feet.

The night after the first one he had another one, we put a wet washcloth on his feet, he stopped crying and was soundly asleep and has never had another one since. We now tell it to everyone. It's weird, but in some ways it makes sense.

My daughter has done this on occasion. Its similiar to people who sleepwalk. They seem awake, but they are not. It is very scary, but I found a name for the condition, which also for some children is normal: Night Terrors.

If you go to www.babycenter.com and enter "Night Terrors" in their search area, you will find lots of entries for this.
My daughter seems to experience it more often if she is really really tired. She started having NT's when she was about 2 1/2 years old. She just turned 3.

We find if we just let her scream and cry it out, she will either fall asleep or "wake up" out of the Night Terrors and act normal. Comforting her also makes it worse for us and her.
Hope this helps you out...
A. S. Las Vegas, NV

Make sure they are not night terrors. Both my sons have them, my pediatrician says they will outgrow them. The worst thing you can do is wake them up. Even if they are screaming and crying. They don't remember that they did this when they wake up. But if you do wake them it takes them longer to grow out of it. So just sit with them and rub their brow if they are out of control then turn some music on for yourself if you can't sleep through it!

The climate is very different in VA, he may have allergies that kicked in with the move. I'd check his ears too, they may be congested, that can hurt without waking a child.

My kids had discomfort at night when they were growing, it would last a while and go away until the next growth spurt. They are grown now but I remember it as difficult for them.

I'd take your concerns to a pediatrician and see what they have to say. He's been through a lot for a little kid with the move and it may not be much more than that in the long run.

I was in your shoes with my now 4yr old. My son from the time he was 1 1/2 we have been dealing with the issue. He would have night terrors every night sometimes multiple times in a night. Riley was delayed in every area mostly speech. we been through alot. He was diagnosed at a childrens hospital with dyspraxia. He just started speaking here in the last couple of months. This is after years of frustration which led to behavior issues when he couldn't communicate. Our doctor was wonderful. She got us into the birth to three program. My husband and my insurances would not cover speech therapy so the state did through grants. He was put into a play group. He has been in the schools developmentally DELAYED!!! preschool. I say that because I didn't want my son labeled at a young age but now I am ok with it because he has come so far which I think if i didn't he would still be struggling. My advise is get him tested and your doctor should be able to refer you to the state program in your area to get some help and testing. Riley was testing at 18 months at the age of 3yr 2 months. Now he will be on track to start kindergarden and be successful at the age of 5. Best of luck and email if you have any other questions. God bless J.