waking up in fits
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Paula on -
Hi Tracie,
Just like your doctor said, it sounds to me as if your son is having night terrors. He is in the right" age for them. When you pick him up, does he seem to be awake? With nightmares, a child really is awake and even if upset, will respond to what you say or do at least after a little while. With night terrors, the toddler is still asleep and will not respond to you. Since your son tries to bite and hit you and just continues, I would think it is night terrors. Also the fact that it happens every night does suggest the same.
You should know that night terrors are not an indication of something being wrong with your son. Some 5-15% of all children get them. It happens while they are in deep sleep and even if their eyes are open they are not awake. The terror can go on for just a few minutes or even longer than 30 minutes.
It will pass. But since you are single mom, I can't even imagine how tired you must be!
There are several things you can do to stop the night terrors. First of all, make your son gets enough sleep. Does he go down for a nap in daycare? If not, ask them to put him down for 45 minutes to 1 hour at least after lunch. You can also experiment with putting him to bed slightly earlier in the evening and see if it helps.
Another thing is to avoid TV before bedtime. Instead a calm, nice bath with mom or reading a book or something that is calmer for his brain may help.
Last, try almost waking him up, just before you go to bed yourself. You can turn him, rub his back or something similar to disturb his sleep patterns. If his terrors are usually late at night, you might have to go up in the middle of the night to do this, but I guess that would still be better than dealing with him screaming. But try with before you go to bed first!
I hope this can get you started.
I have also included links to threads in our old forum, with many parent dealing with similar situations. There may be additional tips for you there.
http://www.easybabylife.com/screaming-at-night.html
http://www.easybabylife.com/screaming-toddler-in-the-middle-of-the-...
http://www.easybabylife.com/18mnth-old-daughter-has-started-waking-...
http://www.easybabylife.com/why-isnt-my-18-month-old-daughter-sleep...
http://www.easybabylife.com/18-month-old-wont-go-to-sleep-alone.html
http://www.easybabylife.com/my-11-month-old-wakes-up-screaming.html
I really hope things will get better soon. Keep us posted!
Paula
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Permalink Reply by Paula on
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Curious on how things worked out for Tracie and her child? She posted a comment to me on my page the night after she started trying out these tips.
Paula
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Permalink Reply by Tracie Wood on -
We had a couple of really good nights then he caught a nasty cold and is having a hard time breathing laying down because his nose is so stuffy so he is back to waking up many many many many time through out the night. Even with his lack of sleep he is still playing like he has had a full nights sleep so it doesn't seem to be bothering him as much as it is exhausting me. Hopefully we get through this cold and we can start the learning process of sleepling through the night again.
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Permalink Reply by Paula on
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Too bad with the cold, but unless he is as furious as earlier, my guess is that he will get back to sleeping well once he is through the cold. Poor you!
Have you elevated his head end and given him nose drops? I even gave my kids nose drops while asleep at your son's age, because they refused while awake :-)
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Permalink Reply by Tracie Wood on
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I have tried to elevate his head but he isn't a still sleeper and ends up rolling until he is flat which of course is when he wakes up. I have not done the nose drops but will give that a shot.
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Permalink Reply by Tracie Wood on
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Ok so I was sitting in my sons room last night just watching him sleep and I noticed that he stopped breathing so I reached over and patted his back and shook the bed and he started breathing again, he stirred but snuggled down and was fine the longer that I sat there the more I noticed that he would stop breathing for short periods of time and wake up gasping for air and crying and when I was there and could pat his back right away he seemed to settle down without fully waking up. Needless to say I didn't get ANY sleep last night because now I'm stressed about him not being able to wake himself up to breath. I have never heard of a toddler having sleep apnea but is it possible that he has it and that it could be contributing to night terrors? And how do I treat it if he does have it. I don't think he would keep one of those breathing masks on all night. Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
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Permalink Reply by Paula on
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Hi Tracie,
Strange, I just logged in to write a message to you and ask how you were doing..!
Actually toddlers can have sleep apnea. It isn't common - 1-2% or so, I think. But periods without breathing (some 10 seconds), repeated night-waking, and choking a night are symptoms. Another one is if the child sweats a lot at night.
Most children with sleep apnea have it because their tonsils or adenoids are a bit too big them. They'll either grow out of it or surgery can be used to get rid of them. Some babies have enlarged tonsils because of some allergy, so if your son is allergic to something, that's something to look into.
The breathing mask is not a first option for children!
I have no idea if your son does have apnea, but it is definitely worth checking up. Talk to his doctor, and before that, document for how long he stops breathing and how many times per night that he wakes up.
I wish I could help you more - is there anyone who can help at night now and then, so you can get some reasonable amounts of sleep?
Paula
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Permalink Reply by Tracie Wood on
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I wish that I had help at times like this but it really is just me and my son. I called his doctor and they told me to call an ENT so I have an appointment with an ENT on Monday. My son does sweat and drool alot while he sleeps. He has also had tubes but in his ears because of chronic ear infections but has never had any drainage so maybe all this does have something to do with allergies. Let hope that the ENT can tell me what is going on. I will let you know what he says. Thank you for all your help and support!! It is crazy how much it helps to have someone to talk to even if you have never met.
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Permalink Reply by Tracie Wood on
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Ok Well we discovered that the tubes that where put in are Non functioning so the Dr. said that if he gets an ear infection then we are going to have to have the tubes replaced. In regards to the sleep apnea I was told to moniter him once a week for about 2 hours at a time for the next 4 months and write down when he stops breathing and when he starts breathing again. It can only be true apnea if he goes for at least 10 sec without breathing at least 6 times in a one hour period. I wouldn't let him go with out breathing after 4 seconds. His night terrors could be because of him waking up scared because he isn't breathing but we won't know for sure. The dr said that if things get worse or I feel deeply concerned to bring him back before the 4 month time period is up and he will send us for a sleep study. So lets hope we can make it the 4 months and then the dr can check him out and we can go from there.
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Permalink Reply by Paula on
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Hi Tracie,
I've been waiting for your update. Sounds like you have a tough 4 months period ahead of you. But at least you are on your way to get help. Is he still having the fits?
No wonder he wakes up screaming if he can't breathe!
Take care, and please let me know how things are going. When do you plan to have the first 2 hour monitoring?
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Permalink Reply by Tracie Wood on
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He does but its nothing like it was. Its not every night although he still wakes up everynight its not always in a screaming fit and it is a little easier to calm him down then it was before.
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