Bad Dream? night terrors? WHAT?

[sparks19]

Well first off I will start by saying that Hannah just didn't want to go to sleep last night. she wasn't fussy she was just really hyper for some reason. Eventually I got her down... for good... or so i thought.

We all went to bed about 3 am. 5:30 am I wake up to her SCREAMING. NEVER EVER have I heard her scream and cry like this. I picked her up and cradled her and she settled for a moment so I tried to put her back down and she FREAKED and started screaming again.

I couldn't let go of her, if I turned the lights on at all she screamed, if she heard Brian say something she screamed, she just kept screaming. I was really starting to get worried and if I couldn't get her calmed down I was going to take her to the hospital because something was obviously very wrong.

so I brought her into our bed and cradled her in my arm between Brian and myself. and as long as I was cradling her and not moving and singing to her she was OK. After about a half hour she was totally calmed down and was pretty much back to normal. Of course at that point she started sticking her feet in Brians face and laughing and trying to get up and jump on the bed and was just being silly so I took her back to her crib where she played for a little bit and then fell asleep and was totally back to normal as if nothing happened.

So WTF? Do you think this was just a really bad dream or night terror type thing (although she was awake when she was screaming) or what. I mean she's had bad dreams before but NOTHING like this. She was screaming so bad she woke up my mom in the BASEMENT.

 

[Renee750il]

Wow. That's really out of character for Hannah! Must have been something really terrifying to her. She bounced back in Hannah-style though, didn't she?

Who knows what terrifies a child that young? It sure makes you feel helpless . . .

 

[bubbatd]

I'm sure babies must have dreams too .....poor girl !

 

[sparks19]

Wow. That's really out of character for Hannah! Must have been something really terrifying to her. She bounced back in Hannah-style though, didn't she?

Who knows what terrifies a child that young? It sure makes you feel helpless . . .

I think it was really terrifying for all of us lol. I mean I was thinking she might have gotten a limb caught in the crib and really hurt herself or something because this screaming was just blood curdling. and she was crying so much I thought she was going to make herself sick. but yes within a half hour it was like nothing ever happened and she was laughing and poking Brian with her feet and bouncing around on the bed lol.

It really does make me feel helpless. I wish I could talk to her and have her tell me what happened ya know... I mean what could terrify such a little girl so much

 

[HoundedByHounds]

sounds like a night terror to me. We actually were en route to the ER with Lily one night..it was THAT bad. But in the end...just a dream.

 

[sparks19]

sounds like a night terror to me. We actually were en route to the ER with Lily one night..it was THAT bad. But in the end...just a dream.

PHEW... glad to hear I am not the only who thought of an ER trip. how old was Lily when this happened?

I wish Hannah could tell me what happened

 

[CanadianFreeSpirit]

I hope it never happens again, so she won't have to tell you. next time you see the pediatrician, maybe you could ask about what her cognitive level is, because I don't know if a child that young can have such horrible dreams as you describe.
what was her body like when you went to her? was she all tensed up? muscles taut? did it seem that she could have been in any kind of physical pain?
I have one other idea, but it you want to hear it, please PM me.

 

[ACooper]

Wow, glad she got over it quickly and I hope it never happens again.

I want to mention something that happened to one of mine when he was two years old. We were staying in a hotel that night, and the kids had swam and ate pizza and everything was normal and fine.

That night we all tucked in and went to sleep, then about 2 in the morning Corey sat straight up in bed with blood curdling screams. I mean the kind of screams that break glass and make your neck hair stand up. He had never done this before.

We comforted him and got him calm and back to sleep. That morning about 5-6 am I checked on him and he was running a fever, he was sick, he hadn't shown a single symptom earlier, but he was definitely sick at that time. I chalk that episode up to being sick because it's never happened since.

Maybe Hannah is coming down with something? Fevers/infection/illness cause very strange reactions sometimes.

EDIT: Also, has she eaten anything different? Weird? Or eaten a LOT of something she doesn't get too often? Or eaten really late right before bed?

I ask because I am a sleep walker, and my oldest is also a sleep walker. If we eat real late or eat something with a lot of processed meat (overdo the pepperoni, summer sausage, hot dogs, etc) it provokes our night strolls, LOL

 

[smkie]

poor baby

 

[Buddy'sParents]

Poor thing!

Those night terrors are pretty bad. Glad she's okay now.

 

[Chewbecca]

oh man, that poor sweet angel!
I agree with HBH and Coop.
It could be just a night terror, or it could be a night terror brought on by illness.

Are night terrors common in children as young as Hannah? I thought they occurred more in young children.
But it definitely SOUNDS like a night terror.

 

[milos_mommy]

I'm sure it was probably a nightmare....I'm guessing young babies don't remember dreams very well at all, but Hannah is at the age where maybe she's starting to remember her dreams and the bad ones can stick with her for a while.

We've all had nightmares that can stick with us...the kind that make us not want to go back to bed. Even Milo has woken up barking his head off and continues to growl at everything for a while and act paranoid and upset.

 

[Giny]

That must have startled you both!

Sounds like it might be a bad dream, I've never gone through it, or that bad, with my son but I remember some scary ones when I was a baby. I still remember one when I was in my crib, there was a teddy in with me and for some reason one night the bear freaked me out. I still remember it, and remember my dad coming to my room. So for an adult like me to still remember a dream like that as a child it must have been scary. I can see it being the same for Hannah. Poor baby girl!

 

[HoundedByHounds]

sorry for the late response, sparks, been on and off today....Elias wasn't around so under 18mos-2 but right around there.

And to expound...what almost sent us to the ER was the "inconsolability" factor...she was awake...but not "AWAKE" enough for us to console. She was seemingly locked in a cycle of something truly terrifying and she could not wake from it...her eyes were open she seemed awake...but she was not...awake.

It is quite frightening...and she had others later but NONE as long or intense as that one.

 

[sparks19]

I hope it never happens again, so she won't have to tell you. next time you see the pediatrician, maybe you could ask about what her cognitive level is, because I don't know if a child that young can have such horrible dreams as you describe.
what was her body like when you went to her? was she all tensed up? muscles taut? did it seem that she could have been in any kind of physical pain?
I have one other idea, but it you want to hear it, please PM me.

her cognitive level seems fine. We talk to her Dr about her progessions and what not whenever we see her.

I don't really remember a lot of details. it was 5:30 am and she was freaking so I wasn't really too concerned about taking notes.

although I did discover today the poor thing has at least THREE teeth coming in all at once and she is having some tushy rash problems because of it.

This has been the first time this has happened. I mean she has had little nightmares where I find her asleep and whimpering in her sleep or sometimes she wakes up and "calls" for me but last night was a first time occurance so I'm not about to think that she is suffering from some horrid problem after one occurance. but I will keep an eye on it.

 

[sparks19]

Wow, glad she got over it quickly and I hope it never happens again.

I want to mention something that happened to one of mine when he was two years old. We were staying in a hotel that night, and the kids had swam and ate pizza and everything was normal and fine.

That night we all tucked in and went to sleep, then about 2 in the morning Corey sat straight up in bed with blood curdling screams. I mean the kind of screams that break glass and make your neck hair stand up. He had never done this before.

We comforted him and got him calm and back to sleep. That morning about 5-6 am I checked on him and he was running a fever, he was sick, he hadn't shown a single symptom earlier, but he was definitely sick at that time. I chalk that episode up to being sick because it's never happened since.

Maybe Hannah is coming down with something? Fevers/infection/illness cause very strange reactions sometimes.

EDIT: Also, has she eaten anything different? Weird? Or eaten a LOT of something she doesn't get too often? Or eaten really late right before bed?

I ask because I am a sleep walker, and my oldest is also a sleep walker. If we eat real late or eat something with a lot of processed meat (overdo the pepperoni, summer sausage, hot dogs, etc) it provokes our night strolls, LOL

I have been checking her for a fever but she seems normal today. but she does have THREE teeth coming in all at once and she doesn't sleep as well as normal when she has one coming in let alone three so maybe that's what it is.

but she's back to her normal self today.

I can't think of anything different lately that she might have experienced. but last night probably was an overwhelming night for her with my tensions all day about my parents flying out in bad weather and the plane delays and then them getting here late and they haven't seen her since June so that was strange for her.

 

[sparks19]

Oh just thoguth I would add....

I myself also had a REALLY disturbing dream that stuck with me all day long this week.

So maybe she is taking a page out of my book lol

 

[lizzybeth727]

I was thinking this sounds like night terrors, and here's an interesting website about night terrors: www.nightterrors.org I still would guess that's what it is.

It says that night terrors can occur at any age, even in infants. The good news is I believe most kids grow out of them.

 

[GipsyQueen]

Oh just thoguth I would add....

I myself also had a REALLY disturbing dream that stuck with me all day long this week.

So maybe she is taking a page out of my book lol

You know, sometimes moms and their kids have the same dreams. MY mom and I both have the same exact repetative dream, only from different views. I'm the one falling down the stairs, but I keep falling and my mom watches. In my dream I can see her watching me, and being helpless and in my mom's dream she sees me falling.
My mom said I used to have night terrors when I got sick. Or while I was sick esp. when I had a high fever.

 

[sprintime]

Night terrors can occur at any age,but I would still keep an eye on her for the next bit. If she did cut three teeth it's possible that she got a really bad jab of pain and wasn't quite awake yet when the screaming started. I would mention it to her pediatrician next time you see him/her for an opinion.