DS goes off to sleep fine then wakes up screaming the house down...

[nobodysfool]

My ds is nearly three and has always been a great sleeper.
For the last four nights i have been putting him to bed at the normal time,he gets in his bed happily,all smiles and yawns,then after roughly an hour later (one night only 15 mins)he wakes up crying his eyes out really distressed.He will continue to cry for up to an hour.
He is usually such a cheeful little boy and has no problems re settling himself in the night if he wakes.
He is prone to ear infections-getting the doc to check tom-but he usually kicks off when i try and put him in bed if there is an infection-not after an hour of being asleep.
He wont tell me if he is hurting or having nightmares.
Any ideas.

Possibly night terrors?

nobodysfool - it does sound like it might be night teroors. Does he seem properly awake when he's crying? My ds used have these dreadful niight terros. He would race around the room crying and screaming and couldn't/wouldn't be soothed.

It's interesting that he has problems with his ears. Ds had very bad glue ear/adenoid/tonsil problems and had a degree of sleep apnoea. I think that made his night terros worse. They do grow out of night terrors but if he has them at the same time each night you can try waking him just before - sounds counterproductive but sometimes it helps avoid the terror.

Good advice but if you have to wake him for any reason he cries and cries.He just loves his sleep usually and resents being awake.
Will look into the night terror idea.He does seem awake-though very sleepy- when i go in his room but just wont resettle himself.
I really hope its not another ear infection.He has had so many and keeps being treated with antibiotics i wonder if its safe to have so many?
Just breaks my heart to see him so distressed.

Ok.What do i do now now?No ear infection or anything obvious.
What should i know about night terrors and how do i deal with them?

Ok.What do i do now now?No ear infection or anything obvious.
What should i know about night terrors and how do i deal with them?

When dd had them, nothing much made any difference, tbh....I found the best thing to do was sit next to the bed quietly, just being with her, till they passed and she would go back to sleep. She never remembered them in the morning. Now 4.5 and hasn't happened for months and months.

Its very upsetting, isn't it? Feel for you, and your ds...

thanks for the advice and words of comfort.
While ds was having a wee this afternoon he started crying and saying it was hurting-back to the doctors and he has a water infection!
Let's hope that it was the pain of weeing in the night that was waking him in the night and he didn't know why he was awake and in pain.
Poor little sod.More antibiotics and cream for the end of his willy as that looks sore now.
Ho Hum the joys of kids eh?