17mo DD and nightmares (I think)

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DD has just turned 17mo and I think she may be suffering with bad nightmares.

It all started about 6 weeks ago, where she would cry and scream in her sleep and has progressed to her waking up with it but not being actually awake IYSWIM. She has her eyes open but she is not awake.

It has started to get to a point now where it is seriously affecting her sleep, as she can be affected several times a night. She has always been a very good sleeper up until this started.

I hate the thought of her having horrible dreams/nightmares etc.

Is there anything I can do for her?

Sounds like night terrors.

You can try and break the cycle by waking her up just before it happens and re-settling her. They tend to happen at a certain point in the sleep cycle and you can preempt them happening by breaking the cycle. You don't have to wake her fully, just rouse her a little. Have you noticed a pattern?

Be reassured that she is not unhappy and you have done nothing wrong. It's horrible to witness I know. When dd woke up with one we had to turn on a light and cuddle her close until she 'came to'. She couldn't see or hear us and was calling for us the whole time. She was awake but not at all awake iyswim. They do grow out of it in most cases.

My DD is exactly the same age as yours and I have also been wondering if she has nightmares. Used to think she was teething or had wind but even when she doesnt appear to have either she sometimes wakes up screaming and pushes me or DH away until she wakes up properly.
Sorry havent got any advice for you, just wanted to know your not alone!(will be watching thread with interest).

here

SOH, thanks for that link I am going to have a good read of it. It is interesting to see that it can run in families. I used to sleepwalk as a child and even now to this day have terrible nightmares (several a night, every night)

Keels, it is awful isn't it. DH and I thought the same as you that DD was maybe teething or poorly or something. It has only just occurred to us that she may be having nightmares.

My DS1 started with night terrors at this age. The characteristic thing with night terrors, as compared with nightmares, is that they occur in the earlier part of sleep (around 9-10 pm in his case). He also occasionally had them after he was woken during a daytime nap eg, by getting him out of the car.

They were very scary at first, because he would appear to be awake, but hallucinating, (when he got older, he actually used to be pointing at something ), and absolutely terrified. He did not appear to be able to see me, but I used to hold him tight, and talk and sing gently to him.

He is 8 now, and hasn't had one for over a year. They decreased in frequency as he got older. They are frightening and worrying for you, but when he got older and could talk to me about it in the morning, he never remembered them (again, unlike nightmares).

Sorry, haven't read the link, so some of this might replicate what's said there.

I sleepwalked as a child too.

My ds has terrible nightmares which started about 18months. I find they are much worse when he is having a grow. He wakes up crying with growing pains in his legs and seems to sleep really badly for afew days-a week then back to normal. He is a good sleeper rest of the time.

Does she have a favourite teddy to take to bed? I found this helped loads. And when he was awake I tell him that it is only a dream and it is pretend and that he is safe. When he was younger (he is 3 now) I used to make it clear when we were playing make-believe games in the day that it was 'pretend' so he understood what I ment.

It is horrible though. Hope they improve for you.

Thank you everyone. It always seems to happen about an hour or so after she has been asleep, but then it happens again in the middle of the night. Sometimes it can be 2 or 3 times a night.

DH and I have taken to jumping into bed with her (she has a normal sized single bed) and just cuddling her and talking gently to her. We find it does do the trick and she is usually back to sleep within about 20 minutes or so.

I think I will start to keep a diary of when they occur so that I can pre-empt them and gently wake her. Hopefully it will break the cycle.

DH says that I sometimes can have full on conversations with him when I am in bed asleep and I seriously cannot remember them.
I do remember a lot of my nightmares/dreams though. I feel very guilty that it is likely to be from me that DD gets this. I so wish that I could take it away from her