I had a phone call about a one year old baby that had suddenly started waking up at midnight screaming his head off.
He'd been self settling well, snoozing away nicely and then waking up at midnight every night for a week. And when he woke it wasn't quiet! No, it was a major decibel attack on the eardrums. His parents were naturally, very concerned.
I knew straight away what it was ... the dreaded night terror. Night terrors are very different from nightmares. They happen at an early stage of development and the baby or child is not actually awake, no matter that they look as if they are! The child is in deep sleep and even though their eyes may be open they are not awake. They occur in deep sleep and may last a few minutes and up to half an hour. They may be inconsolable, hysterical and agitated.
It's really important not to wake them, reassure them and sit by the cot. Try not to take them out as you risk waking them and then they will have a memory of what they were having a night terror about!
So why does it happen? They are a normal stage of sleep development and may run in families. They are not a sign that anything is wrong with your child. So try and stay calm, they will pass.
Here are some links to further information on night terrors:
You get access my 3 decades of experience as a registered midwife and child and family health nurse.
You'll be equipped to help your baby self-soothe with gentle and kind methods.
You will take your baby from sleepless to slumber in up to 7 easy lessons across 3 age groups when you join.
➡️ https://nurtureparenting.com.au/nurture-sleep-program
FOODS that promote baby sleep
ROUTINE: easy, flexible, sleep-ready
ENVIRONMENT: getting it right
DEVELOPMENT: changes, how these affect sleep
SLEEP METHODS: secret tips that will change your life
It will stop the guesswork and give you:
✅ A tried and tested approach (20 years of helping families with baby & toddler sleep)
✅ Evidence-based
✅ Gentle baby sleep methods
✅ Holistic assessment
✅ Nurture & Nourish nutrition program – all recipes have sleep-inducing ingredients and a perfect balance for a good nights sleep
✅ Access to a closed Facebook group for one on one support from Karen and 90+ timecoded Facebook Live videos
✅ Prevention for under 4 months so no need to do sleep training ever
✅ And all at a low $97 for a very limited time
He'd been self settling well, snoozing away nicely and then waking up at midnight every night for a week. And when he woke it wasn't quiet! No, it was a major decibel attack on the eardrums. His parents were naturally, very concerned.
I knew straight away what it was ... the dreaded night terror. Night terrors are very different from nightmares. They happen at an early stage of development and the baby or child is not actually awake, no matter that they look as if they are! The child is in deep sleep and even though their eyes may be open they are not awake. They occur in deep sleep and may last a few minutes and up to half an hour. They may be inconsolable, hysterical and agitated.
It's really important not to wake them, reassure them and sit by the cot. Try not to take them out as you risk waking them and then they will have a memory of what they were having a night terror about!
So why does it happen? They are a normal stage of sleep development and may run in families. They are not a sign that anything is wrong with your child. So try and stay calm, they will pass.
Here are some links to further information on night terrors:
- http://raisingchildren.net.au/articles/night_terrors.html/context/615
- http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sleep/terrors.html
- http://sleepopolis.com/education/sleep-disorders-in-children/
You get access my 3 decades of experience as a registered midwife and child and family health nurse.
You'll be equipped to help your baby self-soothe with gentle and kind methods.
You will take your baby from sleepless to slumber in up to 7 easy lessons across 3 age groups when you join.
➡️ https://nurtureparenting.com.au/nurture-sleep-program
FOODS that promote baby sleep ROUTINE: easy, flexible, sleep-ready ENVIRONMENT: getting it right DEVELOPMENT: changes, how these affect sleep SLEEP METHODS: secret tips that will change your lifeIt will stop the guesswork and give you:
✅ A tried and tested approach (20 years of helping families with baby & toddler sleep)
✅ Evidence-based
✅ Gentle baby sleep methods
✅ Holistic assessment
✅ Nurture & Nourish nutrition program – all recipes have sleep-inducing ingredients and a perfect balance for a good nights sleep
✅ Access to a closed Facebook group for one on one support from Karen and 90+ timecoded Facebook Live videos
✅ Prevention for under 4 months so no need to do sleep training ever
✅ And all at a low $97 for a very limited time
