Midnight screaming/hitting tantrums!!! HELP!!!

[Ingsy457]

My DD is 17 months, and LOVES bed. She has always gone to bed happy and fallen asleep easily in her cot. She sleeps for 2 hours (sometimes I have to wake her) late morning, and then goes to bed 6:30 / 7pm.
For the last 3 weeks, she has been waking up in the night, which is unusual really. Iv been assuming its teeth, and she was getting over a cold so a little blocked up. So I pick her up, she isnt really awake just crying and instantly settles in my arms. If I try and put her down she wakes up instantly, even if I hover over the cot her eyes ping open! I usually manage to get her back down, but a few times I have put her down and all hell breaks loose.
Well 4 times now, she has gone MENTAL. As in not crying, SCREAMING. She hits me, kicks, arches her back, like something out of a horror film posessed. Its a struggle to keep hold of her, she is in such a state. I can't put her down incase she hurts herself! The first time she did it I stripped her off and was checking her over as I was convinced she must of had a broken bone or something for to behave like this. But no, all of a sudden (after up to an hour) she calms down, and goes back to bed awake and happy, usually chats to herself in the dark for half an hour and sleeps the rest of the night, while I lay awake still in a state of panic/shock at what I have just been through!
During the day she does have a temper, she likes to scream rather than talk, and will lash out if she wants something. But she hasn't ever had a melt down like she does at night. I was worried it was night terrors? But wouldnt she wake in that state rather than be like it when put into her cot again?
Is it just temper? Should I leave her to cry? I do feel like she has got into a habit of waking up for a cuddle, and I do agree with leaving them to cry (within reason) and have done it with her when she was younger. But this isn't just a cross sounding cry, this is deafening screams!
Advice please! Should I try putting her in her cot when she does it and sit with my back to her and ride it out? At what point do I give in as I really think she could go on all night?! x

I think its night terrors www.nhs.uk/Conditions/night-terrors/Pages/Introduction.aspx

wow, this just brought me back to a similar thing that happened to DS at that age. he woke up in the middle of the night for a couple of weeks - like your DD, it was unusual, and he's normally a good sleeper. i think i remember reading about how it can have something to do with a rapid burst of development (language, cognition, etc.) at that age. anyway, i don't remember what we did - whatever worked, really. we picked him up, gave him some milk, held him in the dark for a while until he fell back into a deep sleep. now that i think about it, he insisted on leaving the bedroom and seemed terrified, so we had to bring him into the living room until he fell back asleep. it did only last for a couple of weeks, but i remember being afraid it was going to be a new pattern or night terrors. yet it disappeared as quickly as it came.

Thanks for the posts. I think I assumed night terrors meant she would wake up in a state, rather than it building up like it seemed to last time?
I'm glad it passed fairly quickly for you! It doesn't seem to happen on days when she is physically really tired, swimming and walks mean she sleeps like a log. Just with this weather I can't always get her out!! Fingers crossed it passes, il just keep doing what I feel she needs at the time I guess!