I have been noticing that my almost 2 year old little guy cried out in the night. He is not awake. In fact, when I go in to check on him, he is fast asleep. He just cries out really quick, waits about 10 minutes and does it again. He does this 3 or 4 times and he is done. When he was little, he would cry out in his sleep too, but I would feed him (that created a bad habit that took a lot of time and tears for all to break). But, for almost a year now, he has been sleeping through the night. I just noticed it on vacation b/c we were all in the same hotel room together and now that we are home, I watched for it. Sure enough he is doing it. We have been home over a week now and he is still doing it. Any ideas or theories about what it might be? I thought it was a nightmare, but he would have to have one every night for that to be the case.
THANKS!
Thanks for the advice. I think I will just keep my ears open for him. We hadn't been waking him and he continues sleeping. I like the idea of him replaying his day in his mind. I do that myself and it makes my sleep uneasy, so it only makes sense. Sometimes you forget just how much they have to learn these first few years in addition to all the things we are trying to teach them. Thanks again. I won't worry about it. I'll just mention it to his pediatrician in a month when we go in for his 2 year check up.
Night terrors, he is getting older so his imagination has developed and so have fears. All of my children had them. They just have to outgrow them.
Good luck,
D.
Kids this age have a good imagination and a better memory than when they were younger. Because of this, he is probably having dreams that are more realistic and sometimes scary. Not sure, but just a thought. You can try to limit TV or movies in the evening so that he doesn't have weird dreams about it later. Even seemingly harmless shows or movies can be turned into a nightmare by a child's imagination.
Hope this helps a little
My daughter will do this from time to time. It is completely normal. Don't wake him!
My doctor told me once that little kids' brains are so busy soaking up so much new information, they have a hard time shutting down at night so the child can sleep peacefully. Sometimes those little brains are replaying everything they have seen and heard all day long, as well as figuring out new problems they have discovered. There is just tons of activity going on. This sort of thing is normal. So are things like talking in their sleep, (my oldest did that) and sleep walking.(My middle child did that) Some kids will just do more of it than others. I'm sure your baby is just fine.
:o)
When my son was a baby, he did that until we found out he had problems with his ears. After the tubes were placed he started sleeping all through the night. He never acted like his ears hurt.
My 16 month old daughter does the exact same thing. I don't think there is much to be done about it. We have learned that she is still sleeping when this happens (and it is not every night), so we have learned to ignore it. Like you, we used to go running to her with the bottle, but we stopped that and things have improved. Before she goes to sleep each night, I talk with her about sleeping quietly and that mommy & daddy are right next door. This seems to help too. I'm not totally sold that she's having night terrors. Just turn off your baby monitors and close his door. If he really needs you, you won't have any trouble hearing him.
Hi B.,
As with the other two moms my first thought was Night Tremors.
I like that one mom provided you with a link for further research. Leaving him be, is ideally the best thing you can do because he is just dreaming and night screaming is almost like dream/sleep-walking. The child/person is better off being left alone. As the other mom said, if he does actually wake-up and need you, he will actually cry out for you and/or go to you. Just make sure you have a safe night-lighted path from his room to yours.
Other suggestions: Before he goes to bed, make sure his routine is consistent and one that is calm, relaxing and a happy moment. Some parents tend to allow their children T.V. time prior to bed, yet this actually contributes to brain confusion during sleep, therefore limit T.V. time to day time hours.
He will grow out of this stage. God Speed, M. N.
My two little ones (ages 3 and 16 months) both do this almost every night. My daughter (the 3 yr old) also talks in her sleep, so from listening to her talk at night, I've deduced that they're just replaying their day in their dreams and the cries are mostly about her fighting over toys with the 16 month old! :) When they do have a a really bad dream, it usually wakes them up or they really cry for an extended amount of time, not just a short cry then right back to sleep.
Hey there B. :)
Although I wouldn't label what your son seems to be doing as night terrors, I think what is causing it could be very much the same. Here is a fantastic link on night terrors, with what causes them and it may well apply to your little guy:
http://www.askmoxie.org/2006/06/qa_night_terror.html
More towards the bottom of the blog are listed ideas... I especially think the "too much going on" may be what got your him going. I hope it helps :).
Hi,
It sounds like your little one is having what is called night terrors. I know that sounds scarey, but it really isn't. My daughter who is now 30 had them when she was little, so they are nothing new. The doctor told me that they are not something to be overly concerned about and that they would grow out of them. My daughter did, but if you are worried, ask your doctor about it. Hope this helps.
D.
I will just give you my experience. This does not sound like night terrors. I can tell you that babies don't go right to sleep with those. I have had a couple that when they give up their naps, have these, because they are so tired. Anyway, I have also noticed with my infant, who does this, and did many last night, that we only know because we have monitored him, that he cries out like this before his oxygen desaturates, because he probably has sleep apnea. We are going to get tested for that soon, but we are seeing if he is growing out of it, or into it. Now, at your baby's age, unless he has really large tonsils, he is probably doing a normal dream thing. But, having 7 children, I would say that this isn't necassarily normal for every child who does it. Look up sleep apnea on eMedicine, and see if your child seems to have symptoms the next day, and if he is doing it nightly, or just a few times a week. If you feel he is having apnea (which I would have to say would be really rare at that age), then maybe a sleep study would be in order. But, I would give it a little time. My baby also does it in pairs, or groups. But, my child also has had a lot of illness and surgery, to make apnea more likely. So, as it is probably a normal thing for your baby, you might consider apnea if he is at risk or has the symptoms.
My son is 5 years old now and has been having dreams since about 2 years old and will talk in his sleep some nights also. I would say that if he isn't waking up and continues to sleep to not worry about it. I believe it is normal... good luck.
