Is it possible for a 2 month old baby to have nightmares?

[sabitta]

My two month old baby makes weird noises while sleeping like she's scared and sometimes wakes up abruptly crying. Is she having nightmares or am I overthinking this?

I'm not sure about nightmares/dreams at that age. But I can certainly say that babies make all sorts of weird and wonderful noises when they sleep. My 11 month old DS still whimpers and cries out occasionally in his sleep (but it was definitely worse in the early months).

Babies under 6mo can have night terrors. I know because mine did . Can’t remember if it was as early as 2mo.

They sound and look to us, awake, like nightmares. But the child isn’t actually having a nightmare. They don’t have that level of cognition. They won’t remember it the next morning, wake up feeling totally normal. My eldest used to let out blood-curdling screams. Giving me goosebumps just remembering it!

Worst thing you can do is wake them, as (a) they’re awake and that in itself is the last thing you want () (b) they’re all disorientated and freaked out, which does actually scare them. So let them whimper, give them a stroke or a cuddle to semi- but not fully wake them, then lay them back down again. It’ll pass eventually (that episode and the night terrors themselves).

I read somewhere that this happens when different parts of the brain develop at different rates. So, cognition before sight, sight before smell etc. It’s just too much and the brain goes a bit haywire. That’s why it passes. Eventually everything comes together as it should.

Ahh thank you x