My 6mo. Old and Night Terrors

[Captain FT]

Does anyone have any experience with infants and night terrors?

Here is what happened this morning:

I work nights and at 6am my wife called asking if I could leave early, something was wrong with Mason and she didn't know what was going on. She was upset and I could hear him screaming in the background like he was in pain. She said "I can't get him to open his eyes and he won't stop screaming, I don't know what to do, he won't wake up." If she held him to her chest he was fine and went right to sleep. If she tried to lay him down he would start screaming and curl up in the fetal position. It was heart breaking.

So I get home and had to check him out for myself. To me it wasn't logically making sense, but I didn't know about night terrors. In my job I'm a troubleshooter be it with servers going down or the internal or external website, whatever, so automatically I start troubleshooting my son like he's a technical issue. What has changed in his environment over the last 12 hours to cause this was my first thought. The wife and I started reviewing what his day was like yesterday, what he ate, who he came in contact with, did anything change. Nothing was out of the ordinary except he came in contact with my wife's youngest sister who had come back from a week at college. The college campus has already had 2500 reports of flu like symptoms so I automatically thought that was it right there.

We call the on-call doctor who said, try to nurse him. We did that, and it was freaky. He latched on right away, opened his eyes and looked right at my wife. His eyes were all glazed over and pupils were really big. He had no reaction though. Usually when he first wakes up he's happy and smiling. After 1 minute of nursing he clenched his eyes shut and started screaming again. Time to go to the doctor.

So 8am comes and we are in the pediatricians office, he's still either passed out cold sleeping or screaming his head off with his eyes closed. Nothing can seem to wake him up. After the nurse does all his vitals, another nurse came in with a pulseox machine to do the oxegen level reading in his blood. She clamped the sensor on his finger and about 2 seconds later his eyes opened, he looked up at me holding him and then started smiling. OMG my boy is back .

I was like "WTF this is the craziest shit I've ever experienced." The doctor thinks he could be fighting a cold and the night terror could have been induced from that.

I've been reading about night terrors for most of today, its crazy shit. I hope this was a one off, but thought I would see if any of you guys with kids have experience with this.

 

[Metasomatized Ijolite]

Sorry I don't know anything about night terrors but I just want to wish you luck in dealing with whatever the problem is. I know first hand what it's like when your infant loved one is suffering and can't tell you what's wrong.

 

[bakemeacookie]

so automatically I start troubleshooting my son like he's a technical issue.

i love this line!!

Honestly - i wouldn't just write it off as a fluke and carry on. Take him back to the doc or another doc and continue doing full checks on him. Something caused him to be like that and try your best to see if it's something simple or more serius. Maybe saerch on webmd.

c

 

[Captain FT]

Sorry I don't know anything about night terrors but I just want to wish you luck in dealing with whatever the problem is. I know first hand what it's like when your infant loved one is suffering and can't tell you what's wrong.

Yah its the worst. At 6 months he hasn't really felt any sort of pain other than his booster shots, that's the only time i've seen him cry. To lay him down and have him screaming and see a little tear poke through his eye lashes just killed me. I took the night off work and slept during the day so my wife didn't have to spend the night alone. I'm glued to this video monitor.

So far he's been good to go, so i'm hoping this was a one off.

 

[shirlene29]

all three of mine had em...all three outgrew them
its heartbreaking...being there to console sometimes helps...
sometimes prolongs it
lot of times they really arent totally awake
google it....lots of sound advice on parenting boards

 

[Captain FT]

all three of mine had em...all three outgrew them
its heartbreaking...being there to console sometimes helps...
sometimes prolongs it
lot of times they really arent totally awake
google it....lots of sound advice on parenting boards

Thanks shirlene

Yah I gathered after reading about night terrors that there isn't much you can do. Thankfully they don't remember any of it. Being first time parents and never having seen our son this way scared us to death. Now we know if it happens again he will eventually just wake up on his own, but it makes for a long night if my wife has to work the next day

 

[Captain FT]

so automatically I start troubleshooting my son like he's a technical issue.

i love this line!!

I know right, but that's how my brain works. when you get on critical situation calls with top level managers and PM's and PL's you have to always ask the right questions and know what to look for so that's just how I'm wired now. Its funny how you can apply that to real life stuff too.

 

[bakemeacookie]

I know right, but that's how my brain works. when you get on critical situation calls with top level managers and PM's and PL's you have to always ask the right questions and know what to look for so that's just how I'm wired now. Its funny how you can apply that to real life stuff too.

Your mind, cuz of your daily focusing on logic & math, is preconditioned to thinking like this 24/7. I'm the same way. Great for problem-solving in life! Very handy.

c

 

[cryptosporidium]

past life regression

 

[ortiz34]

never had the issue with my daughter, sounds scary

hopefully it's not nightly routine bro

keep us posted

 

[Captain FT]

Working nights and having slept from 10am-3pm after the doctor visit and then fell asleep with my wife from 9:30pm to about 12am. I've been up the rest of the night to stay on schedule for work tonight. Anyway I was glued to the baby monitor most of the night and little man was fine, didn't make a fuss. He woke up on his own around 6:15am after going down at 8:30pm the night before. Thankfully it didn't happen again. It still might happen but at least its not all the time.

Thanks for the support guys

 

[Melaina]

It must be a horrible thing to go through, but I too know a few parents who's babies had this and they outgrew them too. My daughter has woken up screaming a few times around 9 months.... too scared to go back to bed.... nothing that occurred regularly or anything. Could have been a dream, teething, gas, the dark.... who knows.

 

[stosstruppe]

Tell him to man the fuck up.

Just kidding bro, sorry to hear about that. I remember having an insane night terror when I had a bad cold one time as a teenager, I almost ran out the house in my shorts thinking aliens were coming to fuck us all up lol.

 

[Captain FT]

Tell him to man the fuck up.

Just kidding bro, sorry to hear about that. I remember having an insane night terror when I had a bad cold one time as a teenager, I almost ran out the house in my shorts thinking aliens were coming to fuck us all up lol.

lol

From what I read infants and toddlers don't remember anything that happens during a night terror, might be different as a teenager. Ya its really amazing what the human brain and CNS can do. Poor little guy just didn't know how to wake up. Its like there was a disconnect between being awake and asleep. Makes me think of that movie "The Cell" or any of the Hellraiser movies. I'd cry too if I was stuck in that shit.

 

[Smurfy]

my son did this a few times as an infant as well and yes it is freaky to see.

 

[musclemom]

past life regression

Even if he was old enough, gods no, past life bleedover can be fugly.

I've always strongly discouraged people from seeking that shit. It has the potential to majorly screw your head up. Living here and now is the purpose.

 

[nangiggles]

I work troubleshooting, so I get the feeling.... did you feel like testing one component at a time?

 

[Captain FT]

Even if he was old enough, gods no, past life bleedover can be fugly.

I've always strongly discouraged people from seeking that shit. It has the potential to majorly screw your head up. Living here and now is the purpose.

I've always found it interesting and wondered about a past life for myself. Its an interesting idea, my son having a vision from a past life and his 6 month old brain doesn't know how to handle it. I wonder what it could have been.

 

[stosstruppe]

Ref. past life regression I had a vivid dream years ago that I got bayoneted in the guts in the Napoleonic Wars as a British rifleman by some French bastard. This was years ago & I still remember it vividly lol.

Or I might have just been watching too much Sharpe at the time, but still!

 

[musclemom]

I've always found it interesting and wondered about a past life for myself. Its an interesting idea, my son having a vision from a past life and his 6 month old brain doesn't know how to handle it. I wonder what it could have been.

I'd say the primal shit, i.e., death. It's the chronologically most recent memory, stands to reason it's the most pervasive. And if a person died young (unexpectedly) before their life tasks were accomplished, they have a tendency to come back faster than if they had lived the full cycle and processed out the information (if this subject interests you, PM me and I can recommend some books that you can read).

If you're willing to buy the reincarnation theme, be realistic, people can die a whole lot of scary, lonely ways. Doesn't have to be painful necessarily. Think of coal miners who get trapped and run out of oxygen. They're in the dark just waiting.

I'd think about playing a radio (very softly) set on something like a classical music station and leaving a soft light on in your son's room at night. Worst thing you could do is give your son an early interest in Mozart ...

 

[chris302001]

Even if he was old enough, gods no, past life bleedover can be fugly.

lol

 

[musclemom]

lol

None so blind as those who will not see.

The egoism of Western medicine (which echos the entire personality of our culture) that: "I KNOW, you're stupid/ignorant/laughable," is probably its most shameful characteristic. Particularly in arenas where it's anybody's guess, where there is any potential explanation (and there are plenty in medicine), the snobbery is just sad.

Still going into anesthesiology, I hope? Choosing to be oblivious is something you should relate to very well

 

[bakemeacookie]

I still run out of my house thinking aliens are gonna attack. They are.

c

 

[miplank]

Still going into anesthesiology, I hope? Choosing to be oblivious is something you should relate to very well

huh?

 

[cryptosporidium]

None so blind as those who will not see.

The egoism of Western medicine (which echos the entire personality of our culture) that: "I KNOW, you're stupid/ignorant/laughable," is probably its most shameful characteristic. Particularly in arenas where it's anybody's guess, where there is any potential explanation (and there are plenty in medicine), the snobbery is just sad.

Still going into anesthesiology, I hope? Choosing to be oblivious is something you should relate to very well

+1

in my og post, i wasnt referring to regression as in the technique.. but spontaneous "bleedover."

 

[musclemom]

+1

in my og post, i wasnt referring to regression as in the technique.. but spontaneous "bleedover."

Gotcha, terminology

What's an interesting point (and IMO only serves to back up the past life memory aspects) is that night terrors most commonly occur in children up to about age 6. I remember reading that children around that age are naturally in an alpha, theta, or alpha/theta brainwave state, while most adults are in a beta brain wave state and actually have to strive (through meditation or other relaxation methods) to achieve the slower levels children are in naturally. Basically, children exist in a light trance state

And the other thing, night terrors are NOT nightmares. They have nothing to do with dreaming. There is no REM activity.

 

[EnderJE]

My two kids had similiar sounding situations for a short time (ie about two weeks). The only thing that I did was sleep beside the crib at the time to cuddle them when they woke up in fear. If I recall correctly, I went to work for the first week and took the second week off (due to the fatigue). I'm afraid that I never found out how to help them other then to wait it out.

 

[Cutiebaby]

My oldest son was diagnosed with night terrors when he was 2 yrs old. He would pull the same thing as you described. He would sit up in the night with his eyes closed and he would scream and cry, yet he would not wake up. It was a pita for me. At one point he freaked out so much he had to be rushed to the hospital and received o2 and breathing treatments.
Over time he got better and he ended up no longer having these terrors.

You should go to the pediatrician and have him looked at to ensure it is nothing else. And if diagnosed professionally you can then go forward from there and hope that they end soon.

 

[Captain FT]

Little man had another episode last night, not nearly as bad though. In the process of comforting him he chomped down on my finger and he has a tooth sprouting. I think this could be the root cause of his screaming.

That damn thing is sharp, no wonder he's not happy

 

[chris302001]

Little man had another episode last night, not nearly as bad though. In the process of comforting him he chomped down on my finger and he has a tooth sprouting. I think this could be the root cause of his screaming.

That damn thing is sharp, no wonder he's not happy

if its real night terrors, kids grow out of it. the good thing about night terrors is that the kids dont remember it, so its only traumatic for the parents.

 

[chris302001]

huh?

dont waste your energy, shes fuckin retarded.

 

[PICK3]

I use to get night terrors when I had sleep overs at Uncle Chester's house

 

[miplank]

dont waste your energy, shes fuckin retarded.

lol!


anything you can prescribe?

 

[chris302001]

lol!


anything you can prescribe?

plane ticket to a deserted island?