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Parenting

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Night terrors - 3yo

1 reply

Babychewtoy · 15/09/2024 23:32

3yo DS has started waking up a lot in the night the past few months - usually just wanting to be tucked in again / wants a drink / wants to go to the toilet. Sometimes wakes up upset. He still wears a nappy at night which is sometimes dry in the morning, sometimes not.

He goes to bed happily. He’s started asking for me to stay upstairs and will call to check I’m there but I don’t need to stay in his room or anything. However he wakes up at 5am every day and can’t go back to sleep but it’s too early for him and he’s really over tired.

He’s had night terrors a few times where he’s been screaming and jumping around inconsolable for ages. So I duly googled, read mumsnet for advice… advice was take him for a wee early in the night before usual time of night terror.

So tonight I took him to the toilet but I must have disturbed him from a deep sleep because it caused a night terror. It was awful watching him shouting for me while I was right there. And even worse that I caused it. Luckily it passed quicker than some and he went back to sleep but I feel really shaken and upset and can’t sleep myself now. I just feel awful.

Don’t know what I’m asking really - please tell me that your child had night terrors and it was a very short phase 🙏 If they went on for years don’t tell me I don’t want to know 🙈

OP posts:
mindutopia · 16/09/2024 09:50

Night terrors are normal. I definitely wouldn’t be waking him for a wee, that’s nutty advice! 3 year olds are far from being able to control their wee at night, so it’s got nothing to do with that. It’s about being woken in a strange time in the sleep cycle (hence why trying to wake him caused it) and they get stuck in a dream state. You just have to sit there with them until it’s done and put them back to bed, though I have had some success fully waking mine (turn all the bright lights on so they wake up) and then putting them back to sleep. It’s a normal phase though and will pass.

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