21mth old, waking at 5am in hysterics, don't know whats wrong.

[TopCat1]

My daughter who is 21mths has been waking up the past few mornings at 5am, in absolutely hysterics. There is no consoling her, she doesnt want us near her AT ALL. She thrashes about and pushes us away, and if we try to leave her to it she squeals for us. To be honest, it sounds as if we are killing her. We try to bring her into our bed but this makes her worse (if thats possible). She was like this for 2 hrs yesterday morning, and slept in the car for half hr on the way to my mums (who looks after her)and woke up fine.

This morning she calmed down after a half hour, but didn't go back to sleep, so on both occasions we ended up down stairs at 5am (we both work, although I only work part time, but we don't get the chance for naps during the day).

The girls in work tell me to leave her in her cot, but
I absolutely refuse to do that, she is in a bad enough
state.

Although I'm exhausted, I'm more worried about my daughter, as I don't know what is causing this, could it be she is just waking up too early and the tiredness is upsetting her?

I would really appreciate your advice. But to answer
a few questions that might be asked:

She has a well needed nap during the day for 1/2 hrs
(without this she gets cross and refuses to eat)

She is her normal self all day.

She has her dinner at around 5/5.30 and then maybe
something light about 6.45, so its not hunger.

She goes to bed at 8pm (and is ready for it)

There is black out blinds and curtains in her room.
And shes not too hot/too cold.

Thanks

[Chessman]

Hi TC, iv'e asked a couple of questions on a similar thread before, but they weren't answered, it could be just a phase she's going through, and please god, thats all it is, but does she stare at lights (over pre-occupied), is she possibly constipated. when she has her hysterics, does she cry tears/sobs. if she does any of these, could you please reply?, if not, maybe somone else can help.

[woofgang]

A friend of mine had the same trouble with her little boy. It tooka few visits to the doc to work out that the littlie was having night terrors but this was compounded by the fact that he had glue ear in both ears, so couldn't hear properly what his mum was saying. During the day awake and focussed, no problems, sleepy and afraid, couldn't understand at all. He had grommets fitted which sorted the hearing, which made him more able to be comforted, so easier for Mum to manage the night terrors, which gradually subsided

[woofgang]

here's a link about night terrors

http://www.babycentre.co.uk/refcap/553861.html

[louadams6]

Ive read the books from the health visitor and in there it says it is common for children between 1 and 5 go through this waking in the night. But it also explains about night terrors. it says they can begin from the age of 1 but are most common in 3 - 4 year olds. they usually start with the child screaming or thrashing about while asleep, or they may sit up and talk or look terrified. It then goes on to say if its happening at about the same time each night you can break the pattern by gently waking your child about 15 mins beforehand, keep them awake for a few mins before letting them go back to sleep. Not sure if this helps as i havent had this problem with my daughter (yet!) but it may be worth a try. good luck x

[louadams6]

p.s. it does say that night terrors are usually of no importance and your child will grow out of it!

[qapmoc]

Hi TC, have you introduced anything new into her diet or changed something from one make to a different one, juice for instance? Check for anything with coloring or food additives which might have crept into the diet. yeah I know additives gets blamed for everything sometimes but it is also true that they do affect some kids very badly.

[Chessman]

You have some good, common sense answers here, and obviously, you should take notice of them, but if possible, i'd still like answers to the questions I posted, if you don't want to, thats fair. but it would be nice, and settle something in my mind.

[Lily_b]

The main symptoms of night terrors are that the child is actually still asleep even if their eyes are open. If they do wake up afterwards, they will have no recollection of being upset and be wondering what you are doing cuddling them, but soon go back to sleep.

My son has had night terrors and what we were advised to do was disturb his sleep prior to them happening, we did this when we went to bed and they usually happen at 3 in the morning. This makes the sleep pattern change so that at the time the terror usually happens they are not in the right stage of sleep.

What your daughter is experiencing doesn't quite fit the bill as she it has lasted for a couple of hours. Give your HV a call, she may have some ideas as to what the cause is.

[mimififi]

It could be night terror, or it could simply be waking and feeling rotten. My niece wakes like this sometimes and it is normally because she has had a bad dream (not necessarily night terror) but it is nearly always because she has also got too hot. Her mum ties her hair back every night, keeps her in summer P-J's and opens the window just a tiny crack just for some fresh air. My neice has over heated even when she hasn't felt hot or when the house has not been overly hot.

Have you noticed this happening since the heating has been on? Does your heating come on at 5am? could she be too hot?

Ear problems do also wake children and the pain can be excruciating. Ear problems are always worse at night and sometimes unnoticable during the day.

Are there any outside noises that could be waking/frightening her, eg the milkman etc?

Is she dry during the day? If she is could it be that she wakes cos she needs the loo, but once she is awake, she can't remember what she wanted?

Does she have a comforter, dummy etc, that is then 'lost' after a night asleep?

maybe it is as simple as her beginning to grow out of needing as much sleep during the day. maybe you could try confining her sleep to the morning, or cutting down a bit and upping her exercise in the afternoon so she is more tired for bed. Kids can do odd things when they begin to grow out of their day sleep. If the sleep is affecting her eating when she doesn't have it during the day, you could try giving her her main meal at lunch time and then just a tea at tea time, then it will be easier to eat if she is getting tired.

I hope this is helpful, Good luck with sorting the problem; Poor her and poor you, it must be really distressing.

[Solarjunkie]

As a couple of people have mentioned a possible link with glue ear or earache, may I suggest a visit to a cranial osteopath? This very gentle therapy can cure glue ear and other imbalances and has been described as "magic!" by relieved parents.

I was so impressed with the improvement following treatment to my son, I took my other son along too even though I had no concerns for his health. I am glad I did.