Help! Seeking Moms Who Know About One and a Half Year Olds Sleeping Problem!?!

C.,

I know very little about this but I am responding because you have a weekend to go through before you can see her doctor.

Twenty five years ago I babysat a child about 6 months with the same behavior. They hadn't told me about this so needless to say I was terrified when he woke up screaming and nothing seemed to calm him down. I called my mother,(we lived in the neighborhood), and she came over to help me rock, sing and gently dance with him until he finally relaxed and fell back to sleep. I realized after my mom came over that when he first started screaming he really wasn't awake. He was actually still in his night terror. I remember having to lovingly try to wake him up before we could try to calm him down. You say that your daughter "wakes up at midnight". You might want to make sure that she is actually awake.

I actually have no more info. to give you as I was very young and my mom is no longer living for me to check with her.

It sounds like to me that you might be dealing with "night terrors" and I agree with your other response to look up as much information on the internet. There might even be a support group online. I wish you the best.

Have your husband and you become a team on this instance as it is exhausting and unnerving going through a terror. If your husband is not there at this time, contact a friend or family member to stay with you especially through this weekend.

Maybe go to your neighbors and explain what you are dealing with. I know if I knew that a parent was lovingly trying to quiet the child I was hearing scream, it would make a difference in my patience level. I know from living with thin walls and three little one, it can be frustrating. A word to the wise, check your frustration level when dealing with the screams and make sure your thoughts are only on calming your daughter down and not on worrying about your neighbors.

Deep slow breaths,

Evelyn

Hi C.,
I hope you have recieved some answers from your doctor's visit yesterday. I have a few thoughts: Is she screaming out of control and with fear in her voice? Or because she thinks it's fun? Are you talking to her about her emotions when she screams? Although she has a hard time communicating to you, she is very capable of understanding what you say. Could you explain that screaming is not for indoors only outdoors? Maybe create some sort of boundary that she can understand. Good luck.
E.

Aloha! Have you asked your pediatrician about it? It could be anything...developmental or emotional or physical? Sometimes, as babies get older to toddler-hood, they have something called "night terrors"... they will wake up startled and seem frightened or not cognizant of their surroundings, and it can take a bit of time for them to fall back asleep. Babies/toddlers start to 'dream' of course and have nightmares...maybe this is something? Have you researched it on the internet? It must be unnerving, to have to worry about the neighbors hearing it. Well, you're doing the right thing by going to the doctor...i hope they shed some light on it. Good luck!
~Susan
www.cafepress.com/littlegoogoo

Hi C.,
Sounds like you are going through a similiar situation as I. I have a five year old and 18 month old. My 5 year old started sleeping through the night no problem from 2 months old and on with the occasional bad dream. Well my 18 month old is opposite, we use to have the hardest time just trying to get him to go to sleep at night, then when he finally did he was up like once or twice a night. It could be 1 of many things. I live in a two bedroom apartment with only one air conditioning unit in our living room. Right now due to our 18 month olds sleep sceldule he sleeps in our room in a playpen. I have noticed a change in his sleep pattern this summer. I believe it is due to the heat right now. You see he is a very high temperature baby. Maybe your son is too hot at night try having a fan or turn your air on at night and cover him with a lite blanket. Maybe as I saw mentioned, he may be teething again, the back molars can be painful. Another reason, maybe he isn't getting enough activity during the day so he isn't tired enough at night. Or maybe like my son, if his naps are too long during the day that could play a role in why he keeps waking up too. Try waking him a little earlier if he takes a long nap. All these reasons are problems that we are going through right now too. I hope that my suggestions help a bit and you can start getting better sleep. Take care God Bless!

That's a toughy, being a duplex makes the whole "Crying it out" impossible, but I don't think that's a good thing to do anyway. Does she seem to want anything when she's screaming? Bottle? Drink? Anything? Does she want to sleep with you? I think you'll have more information on Monday. At least your peds. can tell you if she has an ear infection or not or anything else medically related. If not, I would just try to sleep with her until she falls asleep. Don't bring her into your bed, but go to her bed and cuddle up with her. If you bring her to your bed, you'll never get her out ;) It's hard to know what to do when you're not sure if you're dealing with an illness or not. Just remember that this is just a phase and it will be over soon.

There are a million reasons why little ones wake up; from a poopy diaper to scratchy pajamas. My 1st baby was such a good crib-sleeper but then around 1 year started to wake up and scream- she was teething! I bought some teething tablets and gave them to her every few hours and it calmed her right down. She also was so busy learning new things during the day that I think she wanted to be near me at night, so she began to sleep with us and the screaming stopped.
Good luck! Have you tried a sling? Sometimes they can help. Check out www.hotslings.com