Screaming upon Awakening

This sounds like night terrors. The doc told me if she acts like she knows you are there, it is probably gas. If she acts like she has no clue you are there and holding her, it is a night terror. I hope this helps!

Just be patient and continue to console your daughter. She will eventually learn that everything is fine because you will always be there and she will stop waking up screaming.

I'm not sure if that is "night terrors" or not? She may be too young. Check your health book or tell your Dr at her next visit.

Is she getting enough sleep? My son does that when his sleep time isn't long enough. He ALWAYS wakes up at the same time no matter what time I put him down (nap and nighttime) so if he is late going to sleep, he is cranky when he gets up. Have you read Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth? It has some great information about how much sleep children should have at different ages and it really meets the needs of all parents (those doing Cry It Out and those not).

That's kind of normal for babies to do. Is she sleeping well and taking good naps? She's still learning about sleeping and waking and all that. We have to remember that that first year is tough on a baby because they learn soooo much and go through so many changes. As she gets older, it should get better. My daughter is 20 months and still cries when she wakes up. She might just be a little panicked because she doesn't know where you are. You were there when she went to sleep and know you're not and she doesn't know how to handle that. As long as she is comforted when you pick her up and she seems rested, she is most likely just fine and will grow out of this phase.

My daughter did that alot through the night and when I asked the Peds about it they said that it could br nightmares, there was nothing else to explain it.

sounds like your baby has night frights. There really isn't anything that you can do. Just when you but the baby down for a nap or bed put some soft music on, a night light and just sooth the baby to sleep. It is time consuming but its worth your baby's rest. They do go away eventually.

My second daughter did this very same thing, and it cropped up at this age as well. I ended up having to breastfeed her to calm her down, nothing seemed to get her to wake up other than letting her scream for 10 minutes, only then would she finally wake up. Now at 18 months, there are still times when we deal with this. But she seems to be slowly growing out of it. Have patience, and hope you get some better ideas.

You know your baby better than anyone. If you feel it is a concern don't hesitate to ask the doctor they don't know everything but they will monitor the time period this continues. Allowing your doctor to be aware of this he/she can determine based on how ongoing this is if it is serious. When your daughter awakes maybe begin a pattern whatever it may work for you. If she see's the consistency then she may soon grow out of it or maybe with time she'll just calm down sooner. Just remember to stay calm in those moments of frustration you just keep doing the best you can. Good Luck!

My kids usually wake up cranky, too. I think part of it is personality. I would have a lovey or blankie or stuffed animal in the crib to comfort her.

If it continues I would say it could possible be reflux or teething pain. Teething typically occurs during sleep and she could be waking enough to feel the pain. I was always told if they wake up crying they haven't gotten enough sleep.
Reflux can burn and cause sudden painful irratation. I would say take her in to see your Dr if she continues this. Night terrors don't happen over a long period of time.

we had the same thing a few months ago. Our wee one is now 10 months. We called them night terrors. I would have to wake her up to "break the spell". Going into bright light worked best. Once she was awake- she calmed down very quickly- would go back to sleep after a bit of bottle or just cuddling...

Hi B.
I also have been having problems with this and my son just turned 7 months. It has been going on for 2 weeks now. When he wakes up it is almost like something is scaring him or he has had a bad dream but he won't open his eyes. This is occurring during naps and in the middle of the night. What I have been doing is either singing to him right away, the calming of my voice seems to help, or if its in the middle of the night he will take a bottle. I know right now they are going through a lot of changes and are more aware of there surroundings. Also there eating schedule is starting to change a bit. The only thing that helps my son is my comfort or my voice. I sure that it is just a stage that they are going through....I hope!! Oh yeah sometimes the tv helps get their mind off of whatever is going on. Sorry I'm not much help but am going through the same thing so good luck and stay calm.

Your little one may not actually be awake when she is screaming. Do you know about night terrors? They are not nightmares but rather an interruption between the 3rd and 4th sleep cycles which causes an alarming reaction that the child does not remember. Night terrors usually occur between the ages of 4 and 7 years old. I have four sons. Two of them have night terrors. My youngest son is six and he is in the age group for this problem now. He has a very difficult time waking from napping and is extremely disoriented until he goes back to sleep and reawakes.

My son (now 2 1/2) did this sometimes when he was an infant (not every time, though. I feel for you!) and I didn't pick him up when he did. Instead, I would lay my hand on his chest and softly say his name and tell him to open his eyes. If he did, he would stop screaming. Otherwise, I just kept my hand on his chest and said his name softly, over and over, until he opened his eyes and stopped screaming. After a while, he quit doing this. He's fine, although I've noticed he still has a really hard time waking up -- cries if I try to talk to him or get him to do stuff right when he wakes up.