Sleep Talking and Night Terrors

[NumTumMum]

My dd is 4 and has for a long time woken several times in the night calling out or crying. It is clear to me that she is suffering nightmares but she seems unable to speak to me about it or recall it in the morning. Quite often she is not actually awake although she will sometimes answer you. It is quite eerie on occasions as she will sometimes recoil from me as if I am frightening but I can see that she is not actually focused on me. This tends to co incide with her weeing in her nappy (this is something else we are working on - still not dry at night). I tried waking her once as she was screaming the house down and waking her brother but I've a feeling that you are not supposed to shock people awake in those circumstances. Has anyone got any experience of anything similar, do you have any strategies or any ideas on how to help her?

[NumTumMum]

I'm not sure if I've put this in the right section.

[notnowbernard]

Hi

That Live Sleep thing on C4 was on tonight - I caught the end of it, there was something about night terrors on there. Can you watch it on catch-up tv?

[Sanjifair]

It said wake them up a bit before the night terror usually starts, it resets the sleep cycle.

[notnowbernard]

I wouldn't worry about the weeing thing either - DC become dry at night when they are physiologically ready (it's hormone related) - you can't 'train' them, IYSWIM. To try will just give you both another night-time issue to worry about

[NumTumMum]

Thanks, I'll try and find the program. With regard to dry nights, that is what I was thinking but I had to take her to OOH at the hospital a few weeks ago and took her in her jamas and the dr was quite surprised she had a nappy on and said she shouldn't. The HV has also told me to start trying to get rid of nappies at night. Prior to that I'd assumed she would stop when ready (like she did in the day) and I would do it when she was dry in the mornings. I think I'll carry on with the nappies then as it's a source of additional stress for her.

[PigeonPair]

DS (now 8) had what I took to be night terrors for about two years between 4 and 6. Not very often but they were horrible to watch. His happened a couple of hours after he went to bed. We would be downstairs and then would hear him on the landing really crying and shouting. He was obviously dreaming and terrified of something - he used to look right through me - like he didn't even know I was there. I just used to sit on the edge of the bed and cuddle him and let him slowly wake up saying, it's just a dream darling, mummy is here etc. After a while I would sense he had come out of it and he would smile and go straight back to sleep. Never remembered it in the mornings!!

[NumTumMum]

That is exactly what it is like PigeonPair! The looking through you thing is absolutely horrible. She doesn't remember it either.