I was actually going to suggest the use of Benedryl as well! My doc actually recommends it to help sleep because it's not habit-forming like sleeping pills. But I would also want to get to the bottom of why the baby isn't sleeping. I know it kills ya' to have him react the way he does, especially when mom can't calm the cries. Good luck to you.
It sounds like night terrors. Faily normal at this age, and more common at age 3. It is basically when the body is awake, but the brain is still asleep. All you can do is wait it out as his sleep cycle matures. It will eventually go away on it's own. I staunchly disagree with using benadryl. The night terror can last anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour. One link I found and read (on BabyCenter.com) said not to try and wake/soothe him - don't even speak to him as it could lead to more frantic behavior. They will in time (again, in a few minutes or up to half an hour) calm down and go back into deep sleep on their own with no recollection in the morning. http://www.babycenter.com/0_night-terrors_142.bc
Well im running on about 3 hours of sleep today and have drank about 10 cups of coffee so far and my lil ones running around like haha mom ..lol Having posted this and to be able to read all of your responses has helped a lot . Knowing im not the only one , and some of you have been through this and are still going through this . You all have had some great things to tell me and i have felt better about how to handle it . I have been feeling like such a bad mother because i didn't know what was going on and how to deal with it . I read a lot online to and it all makes since . I have heard of this before but never thought mine would go through it . Its devastating to know that when i wake him , I'm putting myself in his dream and in reality making me the nightmare ...:cry: There have been times where i loo at him and i say whats wrong child , I cant handle this another night you better be good , And of course i felt bad using that tone of voice with my son and no it didn't work . I remember at one point thinking you are just being a lil brat and trying to be up all night , well its not gonna work son . I look back on how i handled that and wow what a mean mommy . The lack of sleep and everything else just made it worse to deal with at 3 in the morning for an hour at a time all night long . I guess it made me a little bitchier then i ever was ... :banghead: Well enough rating on ...Thanks so much for your advice and i will keep ya updated
I also read that and my sons last a lot longer then a few Min's or maybe a half an hour . But that site was helpful . thanks cleo
Welp, everybody is different. Look at it this way, he is above average! Are they longer because you are trying to soothe him?
Might be , but that has came to a halt . Now i let daddy say its alright little man , mommy and daddy's here . I just watch him to make sure hes alright . The doctor suggested that daddy step in because im making it worse ...
Usually we do make it worse. That is how I got both girls off the breast and sleeping in their own beds at night. Thing One @ 9 months, and Thing Two @ 13 months.
I wanted to respond, but will admit that I didnt have a chance to read all other responses - so if this is repeating what anyone else said, I apologize. My son did the exact same thing for a year and a half. I was pregnant with his little brother and getting ZERO sleep. Our doctor was great and spent hours on the phone with me after hours, but we still couldnt figure it out. This was from about 1 year to 2 and a half that I dealt with this... Well, I could type forever on all we tried, but it turned out that he is clostophobic. The crib was a huge problem. Also, he is very particular about things not changing, to this day. I figured out that when I was washing one set of sheets and put on a new set he did not sleep. So then and even now, (and he is 12 now, lol) i wash his sheets and put them right back on. He didnt like the room being changed around (moving the furniture, etc.) I was doing a lot of that because I was trying to find room for the new babies things... So he is clostophobic and a little OCD about change. Ever since I put him in a toddler bed and later to a twin he has been just fine...
Glad you're getting to the bottom of things and don't feel bad at all! I remember the feeling of anxiety, in the middle of the night, you don't know what you're saying or doing, just want to sleep!! The first time my son had a terror, when I walked into the room, the look he gave me, it was like he was looking at a killer, it was horrible. And the screams - OMG! But luckily they're over now, and now he just "dreams out loud"...talks in his sleep, very cute actually, nothing bad. Don't know if that goes along with it or not. He used to sleepwalk too, it's like his sleep patterns went in stages. Weird...But he's the best sleeper I have now, he goes to bed when he's tired, I don't have to tell him when to go, and he's the last one up in the morning, if that makes you feel better. And at 5, he sometimes even still naps!
Hey, Usually I am a lurker on this board but felt like I should put in my .02 here also. We went through some of the same things with our oldest daughter (now 7) when she was 3-4. She had night terrors which did go away on their own but one thing that still affects her is getting overly tired. My wife and I can predict the nights that she will wake up in the night (still at age 7) and come into our room for no reason, talk to us for a few minutes and go back to bed. It happens when she goes to bed late, or has an unusually long/tiresome day. You might try to put your little one to bed a little earlier so he gets more sleep. It might not work for you, it did wonders for us though.
Thanks for the advice and i will try that , Last night was better , he only woke up 2 times ...Thank goodness . Cause mommy got a around 5 hours of sleep . That hasn't happened in a while , a longgggg while to ! Now i feel like this :hurray: instead of this :banghead: My only hope , Is that :hurray: continues
Nothing , I was just clam and didn't speak to him when he cried i just made sure he was OK .. I let him cry it out , about 30 Min's and he fell back to sleep and so did i ...I felt bad to let my poor baby cry but he was crying before to , I think me just leaving him to fall back to sleep and not getting all upset about why hes crying was so much better , Now that i understand . Thank goodness for some much needed sleep , lets hope i get more tonight .
Good job! He probably doesn't know he is awake when he crys, but when he hears your voice he does wake up. So crying it out is a good thing. It will get better and the crying will get less. Good luck tonite. I hope it keeps getting better. That is the same approach I took with my kids.
My youngest DD almost 2 has done similar things but not constantly. When she was a baby she had colic and reflux. Eventually she outgrew the reflux, but sometimes still cries out at night with gas pains. Several months ago, she began waking up and crying several times during the night. After several sleepless nights something made me check her teeth. I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but it turned out she was TEETHING. She already had such a mouthful of teeth.... It just never entered my mind. I would definately have the doctor check out the acid reflux. It is usually worse at night or naptime, when your little one is laying down. He could have it an you not even know. Do you have trouble during the day with crying. Or only when you try to put him down for a nap or to sleep at night?
No i don't have trouble with naps , He has never gave me problems ...God i hope im not jink-sing (not to sure of the spelling on that) myself here ...haha But anyways never with naps ..Hes great at sleeping for his naps and in fact today he took 2 naps ..1 about 3 hours and the other about 1 hour . Great huh
Just checking in to see how the sleep is going??? My first child (I have 4 too) was terrible about not sleeping for a long time. My Mother actually let her cry it out for the first time while I was shopping. It was really hard for me but once I realized it was working, it got easier. I was making it worse before. Mom told me that as long as they have a clean diaper, a full tummy and are not in any pain, crying it out won't hurt a thing. Of course, I don't mean an infant. Mine had figured out how to push my buttons for sure. Now, by the time the third kid got here....well, lets just say it's a good thing he slept pretty well from the start cause I would not have thought twice about letting him cry it out:mrgreen: And #4 baby didn't pull any woll over my eyes either. My youngest is 6 now and I don't miss all the night crying much. I do miss holding my babies and rocking them, but, not enough to have another one. I'll wait for grandkids:mrgreen:
Thanks for asking , doing well , very well :hurray: I have also been letting him cry it out when i know its not a terror . He really is sleeping better and so am i ....woot woot I made sure after these kids i got tubes tied , cut , burned , superglued ..lol I can also WAIT for grandkids
