crying at night

OK, I'm at my witts end here. Ian has been waking up at night for about 2 weeks screaming. It's like he is scared or is having bad dreams. I can get him back to sleep but he wont sleep by himself after that. Last night he cried for over an hour. I just don't know what is wrong or what to do. Nothing has changed in his routine or in our home so I can't relate it anything like that. I'm going today to buy him a nightlight, DH suggested that that may help. Has anyone else gone through this?

[breezykc2]

My two year old little boy just started this too! It's not every night, but maybe once every couple of weeks....once again for us too, nothing different, no TV, etc....just wakes up sobbing and is uncontrolable, even when we bring him to bed with us after. (He won't sleep alone after that either!) We're up for nearly an hour of so of straight crying and he won't be comforted. We rub him, pray with him, snuggle him, rock him...nothing seems to work until he just falls back asleep from exhaustion! It's heartbreaking and awful not knowing what more to do to help him! THey say they start having nightmares about 2 and that's what we think it is. :cry:

Could he be teething? Whenever Abby wakes during the night it's either that or because she is wet. Or could he be having night terrors?

[SpiritFilledMomof2]

My dd (2) has been waking up every couple of nights crying and upset. She is currently cutting her molars. I think that may have something to do with it. I give her motrin and comfort her to get her back to sleep. If nothing has changed in his routine it could be teeth. Or it could be night terrors? I'm not sure though at what age that starts.

[cjropher]

When ds was around that age, he would get what we figured was night terrors occaisonally. They are awful, you can't comfort them, they scream at you, it's like they don't know you. It's really scary, especially the first time. I read and this did work though it sounds really harsh, put their feet in cold water. It wakes them up, distracts them, etc. and then you can calm them down and they go back to sleep. With night terrors, when they wake up, they don't realize that they have been so upset and usually will go right back to sleep (after they get over the cold feet LOL).

One time, ds woke up in the middle of the night and came to me and asked if he'd been good. It was the middle of the night, so he woke me up, but I said yes and told him to go back to bed. He said, but you promised me a Pepsi if I was good!!! It was a total dream but it was so real to him, we had a real tantrum that I wasn't giving him a Pepsi at 3 in the morning!

The best advice, pray for them when it happens and tell them that you are.

Have any of you had a full moon with the time change...The position of the moon affects younger children...There's a slight shift that only they can detect...

I've worked with children for years, that old tale about the moon has been proven time after time...Imagine being a little bitty guy and feeling a mini earthquake type feeling under your feet....Think I'd have nightmares too...

Also, Angela slept fine until age 2...She then proceeded to wake every night screaming and wanting to be held...Nothing would soothe her back to sleep...I asked her doctor and he told me that some kids do not need sleep...Mine does not...LUCKY me!!

You get used to it..yawn....after being up every night until the am's....Then the past year she's gone back to sleeping at night Yay!

So anyway, I really gotta get to work and am rambling to avoid it :lol: I hope you all find some peace...could be teeth but moon's more reliable source...

[luvmy4sons]

It has been many years but my boys did have some night terrors when they were little. I know that nightmares and night terros are a typical part of childhood. :?

I remember one period where it continued longer than I liked. I anointed their bedroom doorway and prayed over their room committing it to God's holy purposes only. Then I anointed them while they slept and prayed a hedge of protection over them. He didn't have them any more. :)

I've been praying over him everynight since this has started. He slept through the night all night last night!! [claploud] It's scary when he wakes up screaming. I was thinking nightmares or night terrors, but Aaron never experienced anything like this so...I was in the dark. I'm going to pray over his room and for a hedge of protection around our home. I'll keep you updated! Thanks for all the input. :D :D

[KansasMom]

My dd went through a phase of this as well...part of me thinks that it is just a phase as they learn to dream and don't understand what is happening to them, as they grow, they stop getting scared by the dreams and sleep through them.

If it is an actual night terror, I was told that they usually happen at around the same time each night because of the level of sleep they are in at that time. Also, they say to leave them alone and don't touch them, just make sure they are safe and let them work through it and be there if they do wake up. It was hard for me to determine if my dd was having a night terror or what but I was also told that they won't look you in the eyes if it is a night terror because they are dreaming...that helped alot. After about a month, she stopped and is sleeping all night again. (except for the once in awhile need of a drink or potty)

I also found that a 1/2 dose of tylenol before bed also helped alot. She would also wake up complaining of leg aches...I got desperate toward the end and the when the tylenol worked, I used it.

Melanie