baby nightmares

my baby seems to wake up during the night screaming as if she has had a bad dream or something???? does anyone have the same thing happen or any ideas????

Hi,
My name is Hayley, i asked my mum the same question when my son kept waking up screaming or he cries in his sleep and you cant do nothing about it. She told me when i was young i had tests done on my heart rate and they diagnosed me as having night terrors, she also said the worst thing you can do is if they are in the middle of one is to wake them. The only thing you can do is comfort them.
Hope this is of some help to you.

Hayley

Hi,
The same thing happens to my daughter who is 9 months. Apparently sometimes their dreaming can be so strong it wakes them up screaming and they can't resettle themselves.
This happens to Ella atleast once to twice a week and I know she's had a bad dream as it takes ages for me to settle her down, whereas normally she will go straight back off to sleep in her cot.
Atleast you know you're not on your own.

Hello, I find my son wakes up screaming when he is teething. He may wake up a few times in the night or just the once. He does this for a few weeks then stops once the tooth has actually cut. I find the only way to calm him is to use bonjela. Once either applied to the gums or put on his dummy (depending on how many teeth they have) he goes straight back to sleep. He usually has other systems as well like not wanting to eat, nappy rash on his bottom, soft poo's and a runny nose.
Its terrible when they wake up in the night screaming. I hope you find a solution soon.

Hi Ryan,
Our 17 month old also has bad dreams and will start screaming. We have found that just saying soothing things too him like Joshua it is okay, Mummy and Daddy are here and making sh sh sh noises tend to help. Sometimes we wake him up if he is not settling, but it is only if it gets really bad. We also pat his bottom or stroke his face which also seems to help. I wish I could give you a magic cure to stop it as I know how gut wrenching it is to hear you little one scream out like something really terrible is happening to them. Our little boy had his first one at around 5 weeks of age, Hubby and I were both really distraught by it but now we know that we have to stay calm to soothe him. Thankfully he doesn't seem to have them too often lately. I know it may not help but I hope knowing that you are not alone brings you some comfort.

Hi Emma,

I know what that's like. It's only happened once so far. My 6 month old woke in the middle of the night not so long ago and howled and howled. I thought something must have happened, but after doing all the checks and nothing came up, I thought it must have been a bad dream. We thought that he must be dreaming already but weren't sure. The poor little mite. It took about 10 minutes to settle him. He wouldn't stop crying. But it was still so cute, even at 1 in the morning. He was trying so hard to stop crying but kept sniffling and whimpering. We also noticed mostly in the mornings he will whimper in his sleep and we know that he is dreaming. It doesn't happen that often - once every few weeks. But it is just like what our dogs do when they are dreaming. They whimper and woof and twitch and it is funny to watch. You have to wonder what they could have nightmares about or dream about for that matter, but I guess they are experiencing life just like we are.

We just have to calm and soothe and rock them and they will go back to sleep eventually. Doesn't take that long.

Ange.

My daughter who is now 5 months began night crying from a few weeks of age. It comes on suddenly and is a heartbreaking cry that I have never heard at any other waking time. I find leaving her asleep and stroking her head and giving a few small kisses helps to settle her and she's usually back to sleeping peacefully after a few minutes. I also wonder what she could be possibly be dreaming about that gets her so upset... Their lives are so sheltered you wouldn't think there are too many scary things in their minds at such a young age.

Isn't it funny, you have to wonder what they are dreaming about at such a tender age. I never thought the monster dreams happened until the toddler years, but now I know they start alot earlier.

Hi Everyone, My little boy also has bad dreams and has done from a young age. The Clinic Nurse and Pediatrician both said that it could have been because he had a traumatic birth, which makes sort of makes sense to me. So maybe it is because of their birth that they have these dreams, even if it wasn't consider a traumatic birth I think being born would still be a scary occurrence for a little one. One minute you all safe in a lovely warm little cocoon that has been you home for 9 months and the next minute you are being squeezed down a tight passage and people are poking and prodding you, there are bright lights and all these sights and sounds you have never experienced before, sounds pretty scary to me. Any way just my theory.

I have two children, a boy 6 and girl,1, both of who had night terrors to the extreme. I am glad to say that they do grow out of the screaming. My two have night terrors to the point of not waking. It is scary especially for the first few months, but you do learn how to comfort them and yourself while its happening. It is also nothing you have done during the day or parenting skills.

Hi every one,
My little boy who is now 5 months old started having bad dreams at about 2 months. The third time it happened was while I was at the doctors and he said its sad but it does happen and the best way he said was just to comfort them during it and dont wake them if can help it. Yet my twins that are 5yrs now never had any think like that. Yes you it really makes you wonder what there little minds are thinking about to have these dreams but thank god my bubs doesn't have them very often.

Di.

I have twins who also have the odd nightmares. At first I wasn't sure if it was teething or not - my son was literally screaming and screaming but totally out to it. I felt awful. My daughter has them less often but it's still heartbreaking. Having two babies of the same age in the same room also meant that we were rushing in to pick the crying one up so they didn't wake the other baby. We have learnt that its better to resettle them in their cots awake or asleep rather than picking them up.