21 month old waking in night, screaming and inconsolable

[Snowgirl1]

Our 21 month old DD has started waking in the night screaming and crying - but when we go to pick her up and give her a cuddle she pushes us away. A cuddle used to be the surefire way to get her to calm down and - eventually - to go back down and go to sleep so we're at a bit of a loss as to what to do. Anyone with any suggestions?

At this age it's likely to be one of two things, in my experience

• back teeth coming through, can cause quite an upset in sleep for a while. Have you tried calprofen?
• a more developed awareness of the world, which can include bad dreams and starting to be afraid of the dark (a nightlight can help)

Or often unsettled as a new baby is on the way - but of course you'll know whether you can rule that one out or not!

It sounds exactly like night terrors to me. Google it (on sensible sites!) All I can say is I sought advice from HV who advised lurking in the room throughout the experience, watch and wait until it's over. No lights, no talking, no interaction at all as it tends to prolong the duration, just be there in case DC comes a cropper. Do check with HV or GP, just in case there's some underlying problem, though.

We just had this a couple of months ago, also around 21 months. For us, it was night terrors brought on by being over tired. My daughter had just started dropping a nap and was switching between having one and two naps, so everything was thrown out of synch for a couple of weeks.

We solved it by forcing extra naps and it resolved itself. I seem to recall that the advice is not to try to cuddle or wake them because it extends the length of the terror, but just to be nearby to keep an eye. Google toddler night terrors.

It sounds like night terrors to me, my son used to get them, so we used to tell him his teddy had super powers and would protect him especially if he gave him a big hug. I'm not sure if it worked or if he grew out of it.

Thanks for the replies

brainonastick definitely no new baby on the way. I had wondered whether it might be her back teeth coming through - might dig the baby ibuprofen out and see if that helps. We do have a night light, but it's pretty dim, so might try something a bit brighter and see whether that makes a difference.

Blissfullyignorant thanks, I've googled night terrors and it does sound like it could be that. Although she actually stands up in her cot and screams out out for mummy or daddy (then pushes us away) so seems awake. I'll try to bring bedtime earlier so that she's not overtired in case that's triggering it.

Lucy and Beamae thanks for your replies too

If it is night terrors you will probably find that they occur at the same time/sleep cycle every night.
If this is the case you need to break the cycle by gentle rousing your DC 10 mins before you expect it to happen. It maybe will happen a little later as your DC goes into the same stage of sleep so you have to also note that time and then gently wake her again before that one. Eventually you will retrain her to not have them and it takes a lot of persistence but is far less distressing for you and her so worth it in the long run.

Thanks Buzzard I'll have to try and make a note of the time they happen.