Night terrors?

[Anonymous]

Last night my 15ds woke up screaming at 3:30 a.m. I was pretty sure he did not wet through his diaper because I double bagged him. And he isn't sick. I have heard that these night terrors happen at this age? I did not get up and he fell back asleep after about 5 minutes. Should I get up and comfort him. I usually only get up with him if I know he is sick or cries for more that 5-10 minutes. But, I feel bad knowing he is in distress and he clearly wanted someone to come and get him.

[Anonymous]

oops. I meant 15 mos ds!

[Anonymous]

From what I understand, if it's a true night terror your DS will not wake up but will scream for at least 5-10 minutes in his sleep (and there are other specific criteria). If you are concerned then I'd ask your pediatrician about it, but otherwise I'd assume it was just a nightmare. My DD has cried out during her sleep every now and then and I usually don't worry. If it didn't stop I might go in and check on her.

[Anonymous]

My son has had one and I just watched, horrified, and didn't know what to do, but something about him seemed "not right," as if waking him wouldn't do any good. I have no clue. His eyes bulged, open, and he moved around like he was trying to crawl away from something, and was yelling in a weird way.

I have since read that you don't wake them, and they don't remember them, unlike regular dreams or nightmares. That it occurs at some other period of sleep (can't remember when) than regular dreams. Just keep them safe (kind of like a seizure) and it will pass.

[Anonymous]

I have a 15 month old who has been having night terrors since she was about 11 months, maybe a little younger. If it only lasts for 5 minutes and you can stand the crying, I wouldn't pick your son up. I've found it doesn't help anyway. If they start to happen regularly, there are ways that have worked for some people to the child to move past them. One suggestion is to wake the child 45 min to an hour after you put him/her to bed to disrupt and reset his/her sleep cycle. A second is to set the alarm for right before the time that the night terrors usually happen so that you can wake your child and avoid it. Neither of these worked for me, but I do some others that had success.

I hope this passes quickly for you.