Screaming Throughout the Night

My 8 month old has done this several times too--it can be QUITE scary! I think two different things have been happening with him: the first is teething...and there isn't much I can do about that...sometimes we give him a little teething gel, other times we just comfort him back to sleep. A few times he has been HYSTERICAL and when I pick him up he is very stiff and his eyes are still closed...I think he is having nightmares, although at this age, I can't imagine about what! I read up on it and they said not to rush in a pick him up to try to wake him...which I was doing...now I will go in there, rub his head or back gently, and sometimes will EASE him into waking up...but they said it can be more startling to them if you rush in, pick them up, and try to get them to wake suddently...
Per the other comments: my son has an ear infection that would wake him up often enough as well.
Good luck!!!

As Bethany asked...is your daughter congested? If yes, that could indicate an ear infection. My daughter -- who is a year today -- got her first ear infection at 8 months and has had one a month since. (This month has been good -- knock on wood :) The signs the doctor alerted us to are fever, pulling at the ear(s), congestion for a couple days, and screaming in the middle of the night. Unfortunately for all of us, she shows no symptoms of having an ear infection -- not even a fever -- except for the congestion.

The first change in sleep pattern could just be that she is now more aware of her surroundings, practicing new skills and keeping herself awake and/or teething, but this second change in sleep pattern could be her ears. Just a thought. Only you know her symptoms (if any) and can decide to have it checked out by her Pediatrician. By the way, I, too, was a believer in letting my daughter cry it out in her crib in the middle of the night if I knew she was not hungry or sick. Good luck.

Hi,

My name is Adriana Vermillion, I am a sleep trainer and would love to give you a few ideas, however I need to ask a little bit about your little one before I can give you an exact answer so please contact me at ____@____.com

Adriana

Hi P.- I am a mom of 4 with my youngest also 8 months. Has she been congested? If so it could be ears. If she was sleeping throught the night before it is unlikely that she is hungry. My little boy is sleeping from 8 pm until 5 am, but we did have to let him fuss a little. He also is protesting more now, I think he is more aware. Have you tried going in after 5min of crying and comforting her with a song, then 10 min, same song stc. I know a lot of people on this site disagree with letting babies fuss but I couldn't find any other way to get my 4 kids to sleep. Your daughter is old enought to try this but you do have to committ to routine and watching the clock. No mom likes to hear their baby cry but sometimes we have to make the tough choices now for happiness in the long run.
Good Luck with your daughter!
B.

When she screams is it continuous or does it stop immediatly? All 3 children of mine now scream in the middle of the night. I learned with my first that I don't even think they are awake when they are doing it. You need to find this out first and then if they are doing it in their sleep, you have to just let them do it or you will go insane. I noticed with my daughter that everytime I would go in her room, I would pick her up and she would lay her head on my shoulder. After that happened a couple of times, I would just rub her back while she was still in her crib. She still would stay quiet. Then one night I just decided to listen. She would let out 1-2 screams and then nothing. So now I just make sure it stops after that and go back to sleep. It is still interrupted sleep but it is alot faster than going in there when you really aren't needed.
If the screaming is continuous, she is probably teething. Especially if she slept through the night before. However, I too had this problem recently with my 7 month old after his tube surgery and I knew it was teething because of how he was acting. Mother's instinct is pretty strong and good, so if you think something else is wrong it's worth your sanity to have it checked out. First try tylenol or oragel for the teeth and if it doesn't work, then get her looked at for further things. Good Luck!

Dear P.,

My daughter did this every time there was a big change in her life. When she started to roll over and then again when she started to walk. My daughter still does this when anything big changes in our lives. She does it until she gets comfortable with the situation. I would still talk to the dr. Good Luck
B.

I would talk to her doctor. My son who began getting ear infections at 6 months would show none of the typical symptoms. He would not pull on ears, they would not get red(only occasionally) but his temperment(sp?) would change. He was normally a very happy quiet baby. Then all of a sudden he would be very very cranky for a day or two. At first we thought he was teething but once I started taking him in to the doctor we began to see the pattern. He ended up getting tubes in his ears at 18 months and at 2 1/2 had a new set of tubes put in and his adenoids removed. My friends used to tease me and say "oh, he's not sick! you are just not used to him having a bad day!" But every time he had an infection! Mom's do know best!! Even if he does not have an ear infection if he is congested it may be a sinus infection or just just fluid in the ears. Good Luck!!

Are you breastfeeding? My baby started screaming a lot when he was 2 months old. A leader from La Leche League suggested giving up all forms of dairy products for 3-4 days to see if that helped and it worked. He no longer seems to be uncomfortable. Good luck!

Hi P.,
My daughter had this problem 2 times, and both times it was (really frustrating) easily solved. The first time, it was a dairy allergy, as someone mentioned earlier. She was younger than yours though. At about 8 months or so, she did it again, and it was teething. She was a late teether and didn't actually get teeth for a while longer, but the dr. said that was what was going on. She got up a few time a night. Good luck. It will go away eventually!!
E.