how long do nightmares/night terrors go on for?

[painfullyhonest]

DD is 2.6 and waking almost nightly, screaming for a minute or 2. She sits up, and wants a cuddle. She doesn't respond if I talk to her, just wants a cuddle. I am pg and having a lot of back pain so I only hold her very briefly then put her down again and cover her, make sure she has bunny etc.

Any idea how long this will go on for? She was just starting to get better with her sleep!! Am feeling very cross (irrational I know) because I am already sleeping badly due to back pain etc. Also takes me longer than DH to go back to sleep but he doesn't usually get up because he works very long days.

Anything I can do to help it? She doesn't seem to realise she wakes at night so not sure she can explain what she's feeling.

Very fed up here. She was up 4 times last night.

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hi, I have 4 children and my oldest boy has real trouble sleeping. It does get better but if I am honest his trouble started about 2-3 years old and it stopped about 6. He is 7 now and we don't have many problems but sometimes he will wake up and be scared so I have to sleep downstairs (my room upstairs his down) all you can do is lie her down and then leave...I'd not cuddle. I know its frustrating...my husband and I had real trouble and it made me what to tear my hair out...
Chin up...it does get better

I'm afraid I don't have any good news about when she might grow out of it, because I've had night terrors for literally all of my life (sorry). But I can offer some thoughts about coping with it:

• They often get worse with stress. Is your daughter aware that you're pregnant? Or has she had any other big changes in her life (starting nursery, etc)? If so, you might find it gets much better in a week or two.

• They are definitely worse when I'm over-tired. Does she do it more when she's had busy days or a change of routine? My parents used to swear by a strictly-enforced and rather early bedtime.

• The good news is that she is almost certainly not awake. When I was little I honestly used to think my parents were making it up for some unknown reason of their own. If you can stand to do it, try leaving her to cry for a couple of minutes and see if she settles back down on her own. (You might want to use a watch to time two minutes, because it will feel like a lifetime.)

Good luck, and I hope her sleep improves soon! My DH (who has to live with me screaming my head off right next to him the bed with him) sends you all his sympathy.

PS Congratulations on your pregnancy! I hope it all goes smoothly.

stress does make my ds worse as does being over tired or over stimulated during the day...we always take time to wind down this helps.

Thanks for kind posts.

I am struggling to judge dd's sleep/overtiredness because we are attempting to shorten her nap. Reason for this is that she was going into a very deep sleep if the nap was over an hour and then difficult to wake her and she was grumpy once awake. So have shortened to 45 min. I am never sure whether she will fall asleep immediately or, like last night, if she will be up playing for ages. I had to go in 3 times last night and I think she fell asleep around 845 or 9pm. She is normally very happy to go down and rarely cries before falling asleep. Last night was unusual - she cried a few times and I had to go in and tell her it was time to go to sleep. I guess may be best to enforce a strict "stories at 6.45 and down by 7pm" from now on so that even if she is up in her bed playing or chatting to bunny, she should still be asleep by 8.

Term has just ended and she was getting over tired because she was missing her nap 3 times a week on nursery days. We have moved her to mornings so she can have her nap in the afternoons.

Tonight I will try just laying her down if she wakes screaming. I have tried letting her settle herself and occasionally she is fine, but last night was particularly bad - she has a slightly stuffy nose atm.

DD knows I'm pg but haven't launched into any detailed explanation and she doesn't talk about it unless prompted so I'm not really worried about that.

Really hope that this doesn't continue. ~I am very aware of her sleep but she does have an awful lot of energy so it can be hard to read her!!! I do understand the importance of sleep tho so will be careful about not leaving bedtime too late.

it is such a mind field as all children are different and all need different things. Just keep reminding yourself its a phase and you know her the best and you'll find whats good for you both! Sounds like you are doing all you can! xx