Night Terrors in 15 month old?

Stephanie - posted on 09/03/2010

my daughter is 15 months and this has been happening for months now, at first i had been putting it down to teething, or bad temper. She goes to bed at the same time every night and usually wakes between 3-5 screaming. nothing soothes her only taking her downstairs where it is cooler and she is perfectly happy. i came across this by mistake, now i know im not the only one.

Sabrina - posted on 08/30/2010

all three of my kids went threw it.... my 15 month old has it... i rub her back... cover her... shsh her down....wisper in her ear that mommy is here...when my two older boys had night terrors it was because of teething....they are so overwhelm during the day with new adventures that don't pay attention to there gum pain thats why they chew on everything... but at night when theres nothing to distract them thats all they feel....

Alexandra - posted on 08/29/2010

If they are actually night terrors there's really not much you can do about them. They really are so distressing - maybe even more to you than your baby since there's really nothing you can do. The only thing I've heard that might prevent them is to sort of half wake up your baby just before the time when the terrors usually hit. This will apparently disrupt the sleep pattern so that the terrors won't occur. Otherwise there's not much you can do as waking them usually just causes them more distress. Just soothe with your voice and touching and eventually they will go back to sleep. Hopefully your baby grows out of them soon. Many kids go through this and come out of it okay and your son will too! Hang in there.

Maura - posted on 08/29/2010

My 15 mo old also has occasional night terrors - it's not unusual. The best you can do is hold & comfort - I know you said he fights you - but he will allow the comfort when he is ready.

Diana - posted on 08/26/2010

My son did this at about 6 months old. We looked at everything that was going on in his day to day, his food, sleep habits, how tired before bed, etc. etc. We then looked at external things like, what things were we doing that might scare him? cause separation anxiety? what had been on the television? We couldn't think of anything that would really allow for his brain to think up scaring things to process in dreams... EXCEPT for the TV. We decided to turn off the TV completely in the evenings or alter what was on(no adult like TV). With the TV off for 2 evenings straight, the "night terrors" stopped completely. We continue to leave the TV off or watch kid friendly movies in the evenings. Now when he wakes at night, it's not the scared screaming, so I know he's either teething or hungry, or just needs to cuddle. Good luck!

Rebecca - posted on 08/25/2010

I go through the same thing with my 15 mo old baby!!! He has been waking up between 1 and 3 am just screaming and crying and doesnt want to be held or touched or consoled or his sippy or blankie or anything. It is so hard not knowing what is wrong or what to do. He has had severe medical broughts that have continually placed him in the hospital for week long periods and has a very poor immune system and has quit breathing before so these middle of the night screaming fits are truly terrifying, especially not knowing what to do. We have spoken with his pediatrican several times and she keeps saying that he will grow out of it and just try to soothe him but it gets really tiring and extremely scary. He goes to sleep just fine and is the sweetest lil man ever. If anyone has any advice please let me know. My 5 year old daughter has never had any issues except bipolar disorder and adhd. She has always been the healthiest and once she is finally asleep, she has no problems. So I am truly lost in what to do.....

Cheresa - posted on 08/24/2010

I feel your pain. Though my 15 mo old doesn't have night terrors, thank God, my 6 yr old does, and she's had them since she was a baby. I've taken her to Dr. after Dr. to no avail. No one knows what to do about them. It seems like it may be getting a little better now that she's in 1st grade, but she is scared to go to sleep at night and tells me she sees things in her room. She also doesn't even realize she's awake screaming and fights me off at night. The Dr. said they are in a dream state even though they appear awake. He said to wake them up a bit before the nightmare usually occurs until you break the cycle. Nothing has quite worked for us yet, though it did seem to get better w/ prayer. Hope this helps.

Colleen - posted on 08/22/2010

Both of my daughters had them starting young i think like 4 or 5 months old. The youngest has since stopped. It took my oldest till about 2 to stop having them every night. She still gets them once in a while and she is almost 5. It is scary. I just rub her back and talk to her that is what I did when she was little too. I cant pick her up or hold her cause she thrashes around sometimes and now she is bigger it hurts. It is awful not being able to do anything for them when they are screaming like that it is so scary at first.

Gemma - posted on 08/20/2010

My son was pretty ill and in hospital recently and since he has come out he has been suffering from night terrors where he is screaming out like he is in agony in the middle of the night but is still sound asleep, i spoke to my health visitor about it yesterday and she advised that i was not to wake him as this wold scare him, but to be there and sooth him and be calm and comfort him ithout waking, she also advised that he should grow out of it and that if the problem didnt stop within the next month or seems to get worse then i was to seek medical advice from my GP, hope this informations helps you too!

Annmarie - posted on 08/20/2010

My daughter suffers the same thing, and reacts the same way. I just sit with her and talk softly letting her know shes OK etc. Eventually she calms down and goes back to sleep. Its hard tho just waiting it out.
I found that if she gets to hot it can cause them, or if she goes to bed too tird.

Crysten - posted on 08/18/2010

Wow...I have that problem too! My son has had night tremors since he was about 6 months so I completely understand. It scares the crap out of me to! Sometimes I stay up all night just holding and rocking him. Something about being able to listen to my voice or hear my heart beat soothes him and helps him sleep.

Melissa - posted on 08/18/2010

Wow, what you're describing is exactly what my son was going through. My son's Pediatrician said they're typically too young for night terrors, although it could still be possible. However, my son ended up cutting his first two molars and the screaming bouts at night stopped! It lasted for about a month. I was just like you and would try absolutely EVERYTHING I could think of, and nothing worked.. The only thing is that I forgot about teething because my son hasn't cut any teeth since he was about 11-12months. Then, about a week before his sleep pattern returned to normal, I started giving him a little motrin/tylenol to help him sleep in case some kind of 'pain' was the culprit. I would try to take a peek in your son's mouth to see if you notice a change in his gum color, if his molars hadn't cut already.. and then try the motrin or tylenol at night and see if that helps. GOOD LUCK!! I know exactly how you feel.

Zoe - posted on 08/17/2010

aww bless him. it could be night terrors as at such a young age they are taking in so many new things and their brains r working really hard atm. see if you can narrow the time 1-3am down abit and try going into his room and gently waking him up before he has a night terror give him a little cuddle and kiss before laying him bk down to sleep. hopefully this will interrupt his sleep and he wont have a night terror.