New things happen daily with toddlers and babies. There is never a dull moment around our house. Last night, we experienced something all together new.....night terrors. How horrible does that sound, right? At Ben's 18 month checkup, the Milestone Handout that they always give parents for info about their child had this mentioned on there. I read "night terrors" and thought, "oh, so they have nightmares." Well, at 20 months, we have finally experienced it.....wow!
Night terrors are the equivalent to sleep walking....except they aren't walking.....they are screaming! It usually occurs around 90 minutes into sleep. They don't really wake up....they are somewhere in between sleep and awake. They cry, scream all while still partially asleep. So, when Ben started crying, I didn't rush right in. I usually give Ben a few minutes if he wakes up crying because it usually takes him seconds to go back to sleep. Well, not last night. He screamed and screamed LOUD for about 5 minutes straight. Wanting to avoid him throwing up, I decided to go in. I walked in thinking maybe he just needed his paci. He screamed even louder. I held him as he screamed. I rocked him while he screamed. He would quieten down then start again. He never spoke. He didn't respond to my words. He just cried and cried. Then, after about 30 or so minutes, he quietened and I put him down.
Night terrors are for real....and are no fun. The good news is that the info I read said that they have no recollection of this the next day. The bad news....I did!
He has been asleep tonight for about 30 minutes....praying for peaceful sleep!!
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