Can babies have nightmares?

[leander]

I've just had my most terrifying momemt since becoming a mum.Ds who is 4 months old went to bed as usual and has just woken up screaming 12am, i went up to him and he was lying in his cot stiff and screaming hysterically, I picked him up to soothe him but nothing would calm him it seemed as though he was still asleep and couldn't wake up. Dh came and he took him from me and ds seemed to wake but was still screaming.I just didn't know what to do but ds eventually seemed to calm and has gone back to sleep ,It really frightened me as i don't know what was wrong im still shaking.So does anyone have anything to say about this, has it happened to you?

I too have wondered the same thing over the last 18 mos of my babies life. Hes had a couple occasions of this type of thing in the past. To me 4 mo seems young to be having thoughts like a nightmare. Good question to ask your doctor. Id sure like to know this too.

leander my son also did this when he was very young - can't remember exactly how old he was, but I'd say it was before he was six months old. It happened about 3 times and he's never done it again. I know what you mean, it's terrifying - we would put him to bed about 7.30pm and a couple of hours later he would start screaming at the top of his lungs. I picked him up straight away and tried to comfort him, but I don't really think he was conscious - it was like he was screaming in his sleep. Anyway it frightened the life out of us and I'm just glad he doesn't do it anymore. It seems to happen sometimes with babies but I have no idea why. Don't worry I'm sure he's fine.

Forgot to mention my son is almost two now, so he's been fine ever since those couple of episodes when he was only a few months old.

we had 2 episodes an hour apart last week with my 6mth old ds, just as you describe. he calmed down when we picked him up, but was still asleep. A good tip when you put him back (it worked for me) is to keep your cheek against his and just put your hand on his chest for a few mins - seems to calm them right down.

Richard Ferber talks about these in his book. They are called night terrors and not nightmares as such as the child can have no memory of them at all. He says not to wake the child but just stay with them as it will pass quite quickly. They aren't uncommon, apparently and completely normal and don't damage or upset the child at all. If I find the relevant bit in the book I will post again. Basically, it's nothing to worry about, and you don't have to wake them up to soothe them as they aren't having a nightmare, apparently.

Thanks for all your comments, just to let you know Ds was fine this morning he woke up full of smiles,more than i can say for myself i had a terrible night listening incase it happened again.

It's happened again a few times and it doesn't get any nicer to deal with.Mentioned it to H V she said it might be his teeth but didn't seemed too concerned,but its happened twice since then.Been reading other threads with similar situations but all the children mentioned seemed older than my DS, he is only 5 mths.Some mentioned room temperture but i really dont know what to do . Can anyone help me?

Leander I know it's awful. DH & I agree that our son did this when he was only about 3 or 4 months old - could have even started a bit earlier - but we know he was very young at the time. As I said, these screaming sessions stopped as he got a bit older. I think it happened about 4 or 5 times and then that was it... I guess he just grew out of it, whatever it was. If you're really concerned, maybe the best person to consult would be a pediatrician, as he/she could probably give you the best guidance. Also, have you tried looking for information on the internet? Just a thought, to see if you can find out more about it... best of luck.