Massive inconsolable night screaming in 20 month old DS2

[theyoungvisiter]

Does anyone have any experience of this? I'm completely at a loss.

DS2 (20 months) has always been an okay sleeper - not great - but ok. He usually wakes at least once or twice a night but has a quick feed and goes down again within 10 minutes or so.

However just recently he's been waking up totally inconsolable and furious - screaming and thrashing and hitting out. It's like a temper tantrum - and he's completely uninterested in being cuddled, or fed, or rocked, or anything.

It usually lasts about 20 minutes and he'll cry himself into exhaustion and then allow himself to be cuddled to sleep.

This has been going on for a couple of weeks and what's worrying me is that it's been getting more frequent - the last three nights it's been like this every night.

Any ideas what could be causing it or how to deal? DS1 never did this so I'm completely stuck and it's beginning to cause real problems as the whole house gets woken up, including our neighbours.

DS2 is his usual happy self in the day - but could it be an intolerance or teething or just developmental...?

Sometimes, DD3 (26 months) does this - wakes up wailing and screaming, won't take her dummy, full-on tantrum.I can sometimes calm her but DH had no success. However, recently we were staying in a hotel where I was in one room with the older two DDs, and DH had DD3 in the other room. She started with the screaming and DH felt she wasn't really waking properly. So he got a wet cold flannel and washed her face with it - she woke up properly and calmed very quickly, when she realised Daddy was there, took her dummy and went back to sleep!

Could it be something similar with your DS?

I don't think he is properly awake - he barely seems to know we're there at all. It's kind of like a sleep-tantrum if there is such a thing!

Maybe we'll try the wet flannel thing - though we did try changing his nappy the other night in the bright living room with all the lights on - and that didn't work.

Night terror?

My DD did this when she was little. Try googling it.

hmm it does sound like the same symptoms as night terrors, from what it says on Wiki.

I don't think he's particularly overtired but perhaps I'll try an earlier bedtime tonight and see what happens.

What triggered night terrors in my DD were overtiredness, and inconsistent bedtime routine, or change to bedtime routine (e.g. staying in hotel). Once we had cracked those issues the NT went away.

My DD did this, I would go in 5 mins before the usual time it began and gently rub her back. Sometimes it helped and prevented them. I can't remember what else I tried right now. I'll have a think and come back again.

She definitely was more disturbed at night if she was overtired or missed a nap in the day though at this stage as well.

They never happen at the same time so I don't think I can preempt them - but it can't hurt to see if he needs more sleep.

Nothing's changed about his sleep routine but he's had an exciting summer with DS1 round the whole time, so we've been doing a lot more activities in the day. I guess that it might be cumulatively knackering - I know I'm tired!

thanks for all the help btw - it's good to know other children have come out the other side!

link...

pediatrics.about.com/cs/sleep/a/night_terrors.htm