Unexplained Crying

[supernature]

Hi

This has nothing to do with my illness but I have to ask a question....

Does anyone have a child that just wakes up in the night for no apparent reason and will cry uncontrollably for an hour or more, will push you away in the first few minutes and then will want to cuddle and the push away again, this cycle then goes on until the crying subsides and then will accept a final cuddle and a kiss goodnight?

Steve does this, occaisionally, I have no idea what sets it off, he has done this for a long time now, now he can communicate I have been asking him if he has had a bad dream, or a tummy ache or other problem, but he always says no, It doesn't seem to have anything to do with anything physical.

I just don't know what it is, should I consult a doctor about it? At a loss...

Jude

[Hayley]

Hi Jude,

My little girl wakes up like that sometimes but she usualy only crys for about 30min max, always put it down to a bad dream.
how long has he had them. Do you think he might grow out of it? , if it gets worse or your worried defently contact the doc .

What am i saying of course you worred or you wouldent have posted it.
Dont think it would harm to ask the doc about it

[time]

Hi Jude

How old is Steve? I am sorry you have probably mentioned in the past.

One of my children did something similar when she was about 18months old or so. It can be quite frustrating really as i remember i didnt know what to do. I sont think that my daughter was as bad as your son though. If i remember correctly it was stress related. I had just had a new baby and she felt quite pushed out. How long has this been going on and has something happened that you havent concidered? I thinkt that sometimes what we deem to be minor can in fact be pretty major to a child. Sorry i dont mean to insinuate that you havent thought of any of this but it is just a thought.

I hope things get better soon
Time

[francoise]

my amy did that , when she was little and actually quite a few times as she got older , it was always bad dreams , they seem so scary dont they to little ones and actually to us adults to when we have them , sam never had them though , i remember having them when i was little and my mum coming into to me alot to give me a cuddle and tuck me back in to bed or let me sleep in with her , yeah if it was pain they would get it in the day to i reckon so it must be either the dark or dreams i should think , anyway i think these things are phases hun and hopefully will subside again soon , and like time says anything can make a child think differently , sometimes we do forget dont we that they think about stuff so differently bless em , i forget with mine thinking they r so much older but really they are still babies to me and havent been on the earth very long atall
love fran xx

[Jane]

Hi Jude,
I don't know how old Steve is but my eldest is 6 & will just start screaming, crying & then occassionally will get up & start to walk. He's still asleep cause we try & talk to him but he rambles as though he is in a dream, & he does it regular at mo. He didn't do it when he was a toddler but started late on. However my partner used to do exactly the same thing at that age according to his mum but eventually grew out of it.
Sorry hun, I'm not suggesting your little boy is like Lewis at all.
He's probably having a dream, even if he says not, I think when they're toddler's their brain will be active even when they sleep.
I don't know if that helped any, probably not?
Think he will grow out of it,
Love Jane x (sorry for rambling on)

[Supernature Jude]

Thanks everyone

I think you are all right, its probably just a bad dream, I shouldn't think it was the dark that was scaring him as he has always slept in a completely black room, he does seem very upset when it happens, but he does settle again and go back to sleep, he does not have any pains or anything during the day, it's not a regular thing but say once every 7 - 10 days ish, but different days and different times.

I can't think that anything has happened but I also can't quite remember how long its been like this, certainly well before Xmas but I don't think he did it during the summer, so it wasn't a reaction to his dad moving out because that was last April. It could be a reaction to me getting bad again, because my pshycologist pronounced me well back in August last year. I felt this coming on again before Xmas, didn't do anything about it until January, and of course I would have been one of the last people to notice really so he could have picked up on it first. I'm feeling much better now and can cope most days without problems I only blip once in a while now, still if I feel better and he still does it, maybe its not connected to how I feel It's a real puzzler, I think I will just not over react and wait to see how things go . Thanks for the advice

Jude

[Supernature]

Sorry forgot to say, Steve will be three in about 1 month.

[Vikki]

My eldest girl did this from the age of 18 months to just after she was 3.

I did take her to see my HV, and she was going to refer her to a sleep study.

What we found out it was, was night terrors, she would be crying uncontrollably for ages during the night, sometimes getting up and running around the room.

She was never really awakew tho, so even tho I was trying to calm her, she didnt hear me.

What broke the cycle in the end was disney films, strange I know, but I didnt let her watch them to start, especailly the scary ones like Sleeping Beauty, but i sat and watched them with her, and once she saw that good always won over evil, she slept a lot better, she had them occasionally after that, but she doesn't have them at all now.

she watches a disney film in her bedroom before bed now tho, just in case.

We also have a unicorn at the bottom of her bed, who wards off bad dreams.

I don't know if any of that is relevant, but it worked for Caitlan.

Good Luck

Vikki

[Vonda]

Hi Jude

I agree with Vikki. It sounds like it could be night terrors. My daughter has not had them but from what I have heard, they are like what you are describing. I don't know much about them, but I do think that they grow out of them. I think that some of the other more experienced mums will probably be able to help more than me. I hope it gets better soon.

Vonda

[Vikki]

Hi, me again!

I just asked Caitlan why she doesn't have bad dreams anymore, and she sadi when she starts having a bad dream, she changes it.

I think that it comes from a programme called blues clues on Nick Jr.

This programme was on maybe a year or more ago, and she has taken that on board.

Again, i dont know if that will help, but I know how draining it can be, but he will grow out of it, there is no cure for night terrors, but i think it can be stress related as adults have been known to suffer with it too.

Anyway, i'll be thinking of you!!

[time]

Yeah night terrors sound familiar.

I know the episode of Blues CLues that you are talking about Vikki. In the programme a little girl is having a nightmare and so they change everything into something nice eg scary waving trees into party balloons etc. One of my children also went through a nightmare phase which lasted for months. She frequently dreamt of lions attacking her and crocodiles and other animals. In the end i went to Toys r us and got her a stufffed lion to take to bed with her to frighten away any bad dreams and i have to say that it did help.

I hope this helps
Time

[supernature]

Yep seen that one, I think I may have seen them all by now, Steve is Blues Clues mad. And Dora, and Andy Pandy, and Thomas and Kipper oh yeah and Peppa Pig Oink Oink, Bob the Builder, I never get to watch anything

And yes night terrors, i agree it probably is, after all thinking about it I get them too very occaisionally, the last time, was when hubby and I had just moved into new house his snoring was IMPOSSIBLE So i vacated to the next room, that's when it happened, I woke up in cold sweat thinking I was wrestling with a demon ... urgh still shudder when I think about it. I wouldn't really sleep in that room again. Its was Steve's bedroom eventually. He never seemed to suffer until just before Xmas. But we don't live there anymore and he still does it, in fact he did it last night and we were staying at his Nan's, so it doesn't matter where he is.

Also, I didn't mention before, but Vikki brought it up saying that they are not quite awake and that definitely is the case with Steve. His eyes are open but he doesn't seem alert for a while then he seems to be more responsive has a cuddle and seems to relax and calm down. I used to sleep walk as a child, I wonder if he will too and this is the start, I wish I could ask my mum, but she died, I am not sure if my dad would know, worth a try tho...... Big Pause whilst she talks on messenger........
Nope he doesn't remember me sleepwalking or nightmares... ummm, I also remember a dream about a lion chasing me across the playground at school too. How Bizarrre

Thanks guys

[Hayley]

ohhh night terrors i hate them i get them when im worked up about something. i sleep walk and no one can wake me,the last one i had a broke my arm. I also have conversations with people who think im awake but im not.
Do you think it runs in the family? hope not
Hope they get better

[time]

I used to sleep walk as a child. I think i remember my mum telling me how i played the piano once in my sleep too I have also had conversations with people whothink that im awake. My girls talk in there sleep so maybe it does run in families

[rach]

hi

i would agree with the others about the night terrors my son has suffered from around 8 months old, however i keep getting told he was to young.

he has always been the same he crys and moves around the bed, sometimes talking his eyes are wide open but he looks blank, i discussed with my pyciatrist who advised that even at this age they are absorbing info and are trying to make sense of it all.

he suggested trying to wake him 15 mins before he would have the terrors and then let him sleep, however i couldn't as it was not at the same time of night, i tried black out blinds, moving cot, lamps
music and eventually my dad told me that he had the same problem with my brother and the old family doc suggested an old fasioned alarm clock with the bells on top with hammer as the tick was really loud, he said to keep by bed or when older under the pillow as the child associates it with the mothers heart beat.

this has helped as they are not as frequent, however don't know if its just a coincedence.

hope this helps

love rach