Infantile Gratification

[BigGrannyPants]

My DD was diagnosed with this at around 18 months old. We were told she would eventually grow out of it. It settled down for ages, didn't actually go away but episodes were less intense and less often.

Over the last 6 weeks I have noticed it's virtually every time we are in the car, and the episodes are really intense, maybe more is tense than it ever was. She has just turned 3.

She also has really disturbed sleep, hard to put down, teary, emotional and every night wakes up really upset and clinging on to me like a monkey. She says she's having bad dreams but can't really seem to tell me what they are. I wondered if this is at all linked with the infantile gratification. Does anyone have any experience of this?

Her older brother has history of night terrors and is awaiting assessment for ASD. My DD is a twin. Her twin brother doesn't have any of these issues.

Is there anyone that lives with you or has access to your DD. I don't want to alarm you but feel I need to raise that these symptoms can be all be signs of sexual abuse. Hope you get to the bottom of it OP, please be vigilant, maybe have little one sleep in the bed with you for a bit and see if the bad dreams reduce.

My daughter was the same from a really young age from memory I think about 6 months old. It was investigated first as some sort of silent reflux and then secondly as seizures. Regular pattern of tensing her legs, glassy eyed, grunting, getting extremely sweaty and red-faced and then falling asleep straight after. She also had EEG but nothing showed up. The hospital then diagnosed it as a habit she could be distracted out of rather than anything more sinister. She carried on for quite a while in high chairs, pushchairs, car seats almost anywhere where there was straps. It did carry on into toddler years but gradually petered our when she started school or at least was no longer done in public. She did it especially when tired.

I find it a subject that is not discussed especially when it is girls. I don't think it is particularly common at this age but definitely not unusual. It is just a bit embarrassing.

Thanks @SoSoFullTooMuchChoolate I'm certain there's nothing concerning going on, she's in with me most nights anyway because of her bad dreams. She never stays over night anywhere away from us and we don't really have babysitters to speak of, so I have no concerns like that. I do have a friend who's DD was more active and visibly seemed to enjoy it etc and she is now the subject of investigation unfortunately so I do see where you're coming from.

@carben that sounds exactly like my DD I was just a bit concerned as the intensity seems to have increased recently but we have had a few very long (12 hour) car journeys so perhaps it has just brought her attention back to it. We too were told to distract her out of it, and it does work to some extent. Her older brother has suffered night terrors from a young age and I wonder if perhaps she is the same as him. It only happens in the car now whereas it used to happen when she was just sitting on the couch, but it is ALWAYS when she is tired.

@SoSoFullTooMuchChoolate meant to say, he does have less bad dreams when in beside me but not always, some nights it's all night, she just doesn't settle. But I can usually comfort her better when she's beside me meaning they don't last so long but sometimes it's hard to snap her out of it. I'm cautious as I know not to wake a child up from a night terror and just to comfort them while they are still asleep. That's what we have to do with my oldest