Remember how I said yesterday that Tyler went to bed fairly easily and Ryan and I were excited to go to sleep at a reasonable hour? I spoke too soon.
Today's topic: Night Terrors.
It's happened before where Tyler would wake up in the middle of the night screaming, inconsolable, and flailing but they didn't last very long and it happened only maybe once or twice. Last night was the worst. Tyler woke up around 11 in a panic because he couldn't find his my-my and I went into the nursery to help him. He was crying hard and feeling around for the pacifier, which had found its way underneath a mound of blankets. I found it for him and gave it to him but he was screaming at that point and when I touched him he started hitting me and throwing his Wolfie and my-my at me. He kept hitting me and I thought he was angry at me for not coming to his aid sooner. Ryan came in and Grandma Geri came in and Tyler was still crying/screaming. We tried to pick him up to console him but he flailed against us. Grandma Geri ended carrying him into our room and we put him on the bed. He grabbed onto my hand and tried to walk away saying, "Go! Go! Go!" the entire time as though he wanted to run away with Mommy. We had to stop him because he was trying to walk off the bed. Grandma Geri picked him up and put him on the floor and he screamed harder and began hitting her. When we realized that he was having a night terror we placed him back on the bed and let him be, we didn't touch him and we just let him lie there. After he finally calmed down, I bent over and looked at his face and realized his eyes were open. He had woken up. Grandma was able to kiss him goodnight without him going into a panic and Mommy and Daddy turned on the Disney Jr. channel to take his mind off of scary thoughts. We also let him sleep with us in the big bed, which meant we didn't sleep as well but at least he didn't have any more terrors. As he watched Mickey and his friends, he snuggled up to me and I was able to hold him and I admit it, I started crying. It was incredibly scary watching him scream and flail and not be able to calm him or console him. Your instinct is to hold him close and kiss him and love him but in their dream-state that containment is incorporated into their terror and only makes it worse. As a parent you feel so helpless, it was awful. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry again.
So Ryan and I did some research on night terrors today.
We've concluded that what could have triggered Tyler's night terrors was a combination of being sick, having a hectic weekend with a sudden change in routine, and lack of sleep. We had also watched an episode of "Parenthood" last night and there was a scene when Amber got super drunk and started yelling and crying and Tyler was pretty upset. He's a sensitive boy and he doesn't like seeing other people upset. Grandma Geri thought that might have triggered it as well.
We learned that the best thing to do during an episode is to let it play out, make sure he is safe and unable to hurt himself, but don't touch him or hold him down because that will only frighten him more. We also learned that night terrors are common and affect about 6% of children but that most children grow out of it. I am hoping that tonight will be easy on him and that he won't suffer them frequently. The nice thing that, like sleep walking, they don't remember their "terrors" in the morning. It's different from a "nightmare" and occurs in a separate sleep stage. And Tyler did well today at playschool so it didn't seem as though his night terror affected him negatively. He was also a lot less tantrum-y so I'm hoping that means he's recovering from whatever bug he caught over the weekend.
Proof of our happy baby:
Well, he isn't smiling but he was definitely in a playful mood. Some outtakes to lighten the mood from today's depressing topic:
Today's topic: Night Terrors.
It's happened before where Tyler would wake up in the middle of the night screaming, inconsolable, and flailing but they didn't last very long and it happened only maybe once or twice. Last night was the worst. Tyler woke up around 11 in a panic because he couldn't find his my-my and I went into the nursery to help him. He was crying hard and feeling around for the pacifier, which had found its way underneath a mound of blankets. I found it for him and gave it to him but he was screaming at that point and when I touched him he started hitting me and throwing his Wolfie and my-my at me. He kept hitting me and I thought he was angry at me for not coming to his aid sooner. Ryan came in and Grandma Geri came in and Tyler was still crying/screaming. We tried to pick him up to console him but he flailed against us. Grandma Geri ended carrying him into our room and we put him on the bed. He grabbed onto my hand and tried to walk away saying, "Go! Go! Go!" the entire time as though he wanted to run away with Mommy. We had to stop him because he was trying to walk off the bed. Grandma Geri picked him up and put him on the floor and he screamed harder and began hitting her. When we realized that he was having a night terror we placed him back on the bed and let him be, we didn't touch him and we just let him lie there. After he finally calmed down, I bent over and looked at his face and realized his eyes were open. He had woken up. Grandma was able to kiss him goodnight without him going into a panic and Mommy and Daddy turned on the Disney Jr. channel to take his mind off of scary thoughts. We also let him sleep with us in the big bed, which meant we didn't sleep as well but at least he didn't have any more terrors. As he watched Mickey and his friends, he snuggled up to me and I was able to hold him and I admit it, I started crying. It was incredibly scary watching him scream and flail and not be able to calm him or console him. Your instinct is to hold him close and kiss him and love him but in their dream-state that containment is incorporated into their terror and only makes it worse. As a parent you feel so helpless, it was awful. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry again.
So Ryan and I did some research on night terrors today.
We've concluded that what could have triggered Tyler's night terrors was a combination of being sick, having a hectic weekend with a sudden change in routine, and lack of sleep. We had also watched an episode of "Parenthood" last night and there was a scene when Amber got super drunk and started yelling and crying and Tyler was pretty upset. He's a sensitive boy and he doesn't like seeing other people upset. Grandma Geri thought that might have triggered it as well.
We learned that the best thing to do during an episode is to let it play out, make sure he is safe and unable to hurt himself, but don't touch him or hold him down because that will only frighten him more. We also learned that night terrors are common and affect about 6% of children but that most children grow out of it. I am hoping that tonight will be easy on him and that he won't suffer them frequently. The nice thing that, like sleep walking, they don't remember their "terrors" in the morning. It's different from a "nightmare" and occurs in a separate sleep stage. And Tyler did well today at playschool so it didn't seem as though his night terror affected him negatively. He was also a lot less tantrum-y so I'm hoping that means he's recovering from whatever bug he caught over the weekend.
Proof of our happy baby:
Well, he isn't smiling but he was definitely in a playful mood. Some outtakes to lighten the mood from today's depressing topic:
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