Screaming on waking... Help please!

[Luckystar1]

My DS is 14 months. He's never going to win any medals for sleeping but he's getting better and usually sleeps from around 7pm until usually betwee 6 or 6.30.

The problem we have however, is that often it can be earlier (this am was 5.30). He wakes screaming the house down, will not calm down, we take him downstairs and after about an hour he falls asleep again for another hour or so.

Needless to say this is not only bloody annoying, but also messes up the whole daily routine.

I have just (forceably) dropped his morning breastfeed. And he won't accept cow's milk as a good alternative in the morning, but in any event I don't want to get back to feeding him to sleep. He's not hungry as he goes back to sleep without food after the hour or so awake.

What to do?! Any advice?!

I should add, he does tend to cry immediately upon waking from all sleep (none of this nice babbling) but this type of crying is full on screaming.

Thank you!

[ThumbWitchesAbroad]

Any other symptoms? Is he walking yet? Does he wear a hat ok? Is he randomly sick and then fine?

[Luckystar1]

Oh no, sorry should have said! He's completely fine. Has been walking for 4 months, wears a hat, very rarely ill, very healthy, big strong boy, is prone to tantrums though and isn't very verbal (cables and chats loads but only can say mama, dada, baba, cat and dog).

[Luckystar1]

Babbles not cables!

[ThumbWitchesAbroad]

OK. Probably not what my first thought was then. :)

[Luckystar1]

Never mind! Thank you for trying.

[Eminado]

What is the hat thing about Witches?

OP when you say screaming what do you mean? Is he scared?

[Luckystar1]

No idea tbh. He literally wakes and then after about 2 seconds, he starts screaming. Doesn't stop when we lift him or talk to him, won't be soothed back to sleep. We have to take him downstairs and turn on a light to waken him for him to calm down.

And then he dicks around for an hour and then snuggles into me and falls asleep again

[ThumbWitchesAbroad]

OK - my niece, when she was 18mo, used to cry on waking, wouldn't wear a hat or anything in her hair or on her head. She was randomly sick, and went from being able to run at 18mo to being unable to walk by the time she was 20mo, as her balance had gone. She couldn't put her feet to the floor. She could still babble as she had been able to. She'd been diagnosed with ear infection (nope), tonsilitis (nope) and eventually, just prior to Christmas, with febrile convulsions (no fever). I hadn't seen her for a few weeks prior to Christmas, but at our parents' house it was very clear that something was very wrong - the poor child had a fit when doing "row your boat", couldn't walk, couldn't put her feet flat to the floor, was sick before Christmas lunch but then ate a full meal, had no fever - I told my sister to take her back to the doc, or A&E. Being Christmas, sister didn't want to, as her DD had been like this on and off for a couple of months (!). She went a week later when a paed nurse strongly recommended it - turned out that my niece had a brain tumour on her brain cerebellum that was blocking the flow of CSF and causing pressure on her brain (hence the refusal to wear a hat or anything in her hair) and the crying on waking can be a symptom of brain tumours, as people wake with a severe headache that goes off after a short while.

But since your DS doesn't have any other symptoms that relate to this, it's unlikely to be this.

[Luckystar1]

Fuck! That's awful!! Your poor niece! As annoying as it is, I'll put up with it and hope and pray it's nothing terrible.

I hope she's improving.

[HanSolo]

My DD was almost identical to your DS. Screamed herself silly falling asleep, woke screaming every time. Drove me nearly demented. Everything was checked out. She did have reflux, and she suffered a lot with ear infections (had grommets aged four).
She did it until about six, I'm afraid.

She finds the transition from wake to sleep, and from sleep to wake extremely challenging.

Now she can rationalise and explain things are easier, she hates the loss of control as you become unconscious. She was terrified of sleeping, but getting completely overtired. I also think she hated being a baby! (She had no words until 19 mo though, didn't babble at all. Just pointed at what she wanted)

She does have Aspergers, but this may not be relevant (though lots of children with ASD have sleep issues).

[ThumbWitchesAbroad]

Oh yes, sorry, I should have said - once she went into hospital it was all dealt with asap - a shunt was put in the next day to relieve the pressure on her brain (fluid jetted 10' across the theatre, apparently!) and 2 days later they removed nearly all of the tumour. She's 10 now, and still has regular scans to make sure nothing has changed; but if anything the 2% residue that they had to leave so as not to cause further damage, has shrunk. It has had an effect on her intellectual capacity, she has trouble reading and writing, but otherwise you wouldn't really know. :)

[Luckystar1]

Han oh dear. I'm hoping we have 5 more years of this. The screaming is a relatively new thing. And he goes off to sleep with only a few moans so I'm hoping it's not a long term thing.

I was wondering if he is afraid of the dark and was thinking of putting a nightlight on a timer for him?

witches so pleased she is ok. Poor wee mite!

[Eminado]

Gosh witches
So glad she is ok

Ok OP so your baby is crying in his sleep? Then I think it is the start of night terrors which I read as being when their brain starts processing images in their sleep but they dont have the understanding for it yet.

We gave DD a nightlight, took things that
Might cast shadows away eg dressing gown on back of door and no tv/screens from late afternoon till bed. It stopped soon enough. No idea if what we did worked but used to upset me seeing her so upset little face all wet with tears.

I also found she used to wake up crying having pink calpol so I stopped that and only use sugar and colour free now.

[Eminado]

*after having pink calpol

[Luckystar1]

Ok that's very interesting! Thank you. He has had pink recently so I'll change that.

I did wonder if it might be night terrors, so I will get a night night up and running tonight. Thank you!