Friday, May 13, 2016

night terrors :(

Every Friday I usually feature a shop and product but tonight I have a heavy heart and I just can't seem to get in the right frame of mind to share my feature I had planned for this week. We've had a rough couple of nights with Mia- she's been waking up every couple of hours crying and I started to suspect night terrors. Well, tonight (Thursday night) it was confirmed when I went in her room to comfort her. I would hug her and hold her close, she would cuddle into me then moments later jump out of my arms and cry, "where's my mom?! I want my mommy!" and try to get around me and head for her door. She repeated that a few times before I took her to my bed to see if that would comfort her, but she didn't like that either. As I was carrying her back to her room, she suddenly started talking to me normal. I laid in bed with her and sang to her until she fell back asleep a couple minutes later. I was hoping to go to bed early(and was contemplating skipping blogging, oops!) as I've been so exhausted from lack of sleep, but what's the point now, right? I figured she would wake up again and sure enough, about an hour later we were on round 2. 
Of course I feel so defeated and helpless, but as I started researching and talking to people, I discovered that you're not supposed to wake them up (waking them up is when they act normal again, like I mentioned above) and I accidentally woke her up both times tonight. Cue the mom guilt on top of all the other emotions I'm feeling over watching my baby girl suffer! The first night we experienced this, I was so tired (and a little out of it myself from being woken up) and had little patience for her screams as I was trying to calm her down before she woke James up (they share a room) and wished she would hurry up and fall back asleep as I lay next to her, so that I could go back to my own bed and go back to sleep... mom of the year! Now tonight, all I want to do is sleep next to her to try and do all that I can to comfort her. 
I realize these night terrors are out of my control, but I would love to hear any experiences you all have had with your children?! Did you make a connection with any triggers? I'll be on the lookout for triggers with Mia and would love ideas of what to watch for. I know we could be experiencing much harder trials with Mia than just night terrors, but tonight I'm feeling pretty heart broken about it and wishing I could take them away from her and make them my own :(

13 comments:

Courtney @ Shiraz In My Sippy Cup said...

Our daughter had night terrors for a while. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot you can do except ride it out. We got into the habit of turning off the tv at least 30 minutes before starting her bedtime routine and would do everything possible to give her a relaxing atmosphere going into bedtime. I don't know if this helps but sometimes knowing other mothers have been there (and are currently going through the same thing) helps. Hope she pulls out of it soon!

Courtney [Sweet Turtle Soup] said...

I've always kind of dreaded these. I vaguely recall reading that if they can tell you about the dream it helps, or if they can tell you it then you ask them to figure out a new ending. Now I can't remember if this was for night terrors or just nightmares or if they both apply. I just remember reading it. I hope it is a short lived phase =(

Sarah said...

My daughter went through a short stage of this, although it doesn't sound as bad as what Mia is experiencing! I did some research and read that if you gently rouse them a few hours after they go to sleep it breaks the sleep cycle and should help with the night terrors. So, you wouldn't want to wake her up all the way but just shake her a little bit enough to interrupt the sleep pattern... maybe as you are going to bed. Something to do with REM sleep... don't ask me to explain it scientifically! :) Anyway, I did it a few times and it seemed to help but it may have just been a fluke. Worth a shot though!

Ashley @ ladyacray.blogspot.com said...

Poor little nugget :-( I have zero advice but I hope it doesn't last too terribly long.

According to Kiki said...

Oh no! My brother had these, but it was after I had already moved out. His got so bad they had to put high deadbolts on the tops of all the doors. Not trying to scare you... it's totally a "normal" thing. There's nothing wrong with Miss Mia and in time, you'll know exactly what to do. I also think it's normal to feel drained and have those "ugg go back to bed so mommy can get some sleep," moments. We ALL feel that way somedays and you are NOT a bad mom for being a tired one. (; Praying for Miss Mia to sleep soundly!

allison_cooley3@hotmail.comson said...

Brylee has these every so often-usually when she is overtired from a really busy day. I don't know of much you can do besides ride it out-as horrible as they are. If Mia's are happening around the same time maybe you could slightly wake her up to disrupt her sleep pattern a little bit....

elle jo said...

Oh I'm so sorry to hear that! Sophie gets them too not as often right now, but we've found her trigger, it's usually when she's so tired she falls asleep too quickly and slips into a much deeper sleep than usual and wakes up suddenly. The only thing we've been able to do is ride them out while rocking her gently so as to not wake her.

Alana said...

My son had these. He also had horrible leg pains that would make him cry. Started giving him a quality multivitamin (started with Animal Parade Gold by Natures Plus) and additional magnesium (not magnesium oxide-pick a better absorbed form). It made his legs stop hurting which was my original aim but he also started sleeping through the night. It may be coincidence but may also be worth a try. We eat healthy but I'm just not sure he was getting enough of something he needed for his growing body.

Lana Dawn said...

My son has had a few night terrors, and it is always when he is running off of his normal schedule and not getting as much sleep as usual.

hohoemi said...

It makes me sad when people say to just wait for them to grow out of night terrors, when there IS a way to get rid of them - Allison has the right idea, to disrupt the sleep pattern just before the episode starts and that documented process is called Scheduled Awakenings. but it's really hard for parents to chart and plot precisely when to do that, but the Lully Sleep Guardian works with a smart phone app, is simple and painless and scientifically proven to be safe and you can read tons of great reviews for it on Amazon!

hohoemi said...

It makes me sad when people say to just wait for them to grow out of night terrors, when there IS a way to get rid of them - Allison has the right idea, to disrupt the sleep pattern just before the episode starts and that documented process is called Scheduled Awakenings. but it's really hard for parents to chart and plot precisely when to do that, but the Lully Sleep Guardian works with a smart phone app, is simple and painless and scientifically proven to be safe and you can read tons of great reviews for it on Amazon!

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