Why oh why does DS (over two!) still screech out 3/4 times a night...most nights??!!

[PussinJimmyChoos]

Its getting very very wearing now. Even if we don't need to get up to him, its still disturbed sleep. If we have an early night, the screeching (which starts from around 10pm) wakes us up and then its usually again around 3am and then 5 or 6am. He never seems to be awake, just screeching. Sometimes its for his dummy or comfort cloth but other times, he has both and he still screams....

I gave him a pillow last night as I thought that would help but it didn't....

You poor thing. Our DD does this too, she's 2 and a half. She is a light sleeper but I think she does it if she wakes a little too much between sleep cycles. Sometimes she falls back to sleep before we do anything, sometimes not. I have just come to the conclusion she is good at many things, but not sleeping. I would suggest leaving him to cry, but I know it doesn't work with DD - settling her back usually works, but not always, but leaving her certainly doesn't. The only thing I can suggest is make sure you and DP/DH take it in turns, and if DS's best patch is 10 until 3, make sure you are in bed too...
Hope it gets better...

I've told DH he can go in the spare room tonight with ear plugs and I'll do the night shift - he is seriously knackered - more than me as I'm deaf and so if my equipment isn't plugged in, I don't get disturbed but I've done a couple of nights this week already and its bloody exhausting. Mind you, I physically have to sit up and reset all my various gadgets and check the cctv each time he screeches so its a wee bit harder when I do the shifts. We want to TTC no 2 as well but DH is at the thought of having to deal with a new one and DS at the same time...I can sort of see his point!

bump for the evening crowd..

my dd has just started doing this aswell, she is 22 months old and will suddenly wake very suddenly wailing vey loudly, she will not settle at all which is very unlike her, then i cuddle her for a bit but this is very disturbed sleep for both of us...any advice.....

it could be night terrors?

my dd1 had it and its more distressing for the parents than the child who doesn't even waken up during it

unfortunately if it IS terrors there is nothing you can do but wait till he grows out of it

please be assured though that there is no reason for him having them, he won't be in pain or having a bad dream or anything and he won't be loosing sleep because of them - just you

someone else said night terrors, does seem to fit in and can not console her at all and she still seems to be a sleep as well but standing up with her eyes closed

def sounds like it to me miarosemum but I'm no expert, I just had a dd who had them for a period of time

they were horrible but only distressing to us, she didn't have a clue and woke up bright as a button wondering why we were all so shattered

they stopped just before dd2 was born so dd1 must have been just under 3yrs old when they stopped as dd2 was born in May and she was 3 in July

thanks dizzydixies for the advice, fingers crossed for tonight no sounds from her yet but the night is young...

no problem
we were referred to the hosp/sleep clinic etc where the fantastic consultant only printed off the BBC website info re night terrors and told us to ride it out

we had been asked to keep a diary of her sleep pattern e.g. naps and what she'd been doing/eating etc during the day

none of it helped as there was no connections and she's now 5yrs old and sleeps like a log every night

sorry I can't give you anything more positive - I hope it passes soon