Hi there,
For the past month, my 22 month old son who normally sleeps through the night has been waking up crying and screaming about 2 hours after he's went to bed. He'll cry so hard, sometimes he gets choked up literally! He'll be wet from sweat (around his hairline and neck) but the room is not hot, nor is he under any layers. He'll just have his pj's on, but they aren't thick or fleece. Luckily, he falls back to sleep very easily - all I have to do is just lay him back down, and he'll stop crying and will doze back off.
It's almost like he had a bad dream, but obviously I can't confirm that... I've noticed during his midday naps, he gets hot too, but in that case, he doesnt wake up crying. His body temperature just seems to increase while he's sleeping. Anyhow, has anyone had similar experieces or thoughts on the situation?
I would talk to your Pediatrician about the night sweats. Sounds like a hormone imbalance or something else. If he checks out clean he might be having a bout of night terrors. My son had night terrors during his naps, the doctor told me to change his nap schedule. I did and it worked. Talk to his doctor and you should find the answer to your question if not the solution to his problem. Good luck!!!
I know during the summer last year my son would always wake up and have a sweat spot where his head was laying. We helped this by putting a fan in his room and doing what you're doing- no layers or blankets.
Other than heat being an issue, I do notice that now if my son wakes up from a bad dream (assumed of course) or from teething pain and is crying- even if only for a minute or two- he'll be very hot and sweaty when I get to him in his room.
I just summed it up to crying= higher blood pressure and hotter body temp, because if I check on him while he's sleeping he's not that hot.
Try sneaking in during the night while he's sound asleep and feel his head. If he's still really super hot and not crying, then I'd call his doc just in case. It could be just a higher temp from molars, or a slight illness.
Good luck! :)
his waking up could be night terrors. At about that age their little brains are growing so quickly that they will often wake up crying like having a bad dream, but won't know what they dreamed or why they feel afraid. Continue to comfort him and help him to calm down and go back to sleep. The sweat/ heat may be part of the night terrors or he may just be a warm sleeper like my son. If you don't have an interesting night light in his room that may help in that moment when he first wakes up and to help him calm back down. Night terrors usually only last for a month or two.
My daughter hated polyester pajamas, and she'd often wake up crying and uncomfortable until I changed to all-cotton pajamas. Check the label on his jammies. Polyester is very irritating to the skin.
