I'm one of those lucky moms who has kids who have night terrors. Not nightmares. I laugh at nightmares. Hahaha Night terrors. If you've ever experienced them, you know the difference and how horrifying they can be.
Bonus: they're hereditary, so if you have one kid who has it, you've got a great chance of having more that will have it, too.
Good news is, they are outgrown, so at least they're not a forever thing. Auds started having them after she turned two and had they occurred regularly for about six months. It was awful to hear her give out blood curdling screams for what seemed like hours in the middle of the night. She also turned into the hulk, so we had to watch her soo closely to make sure she didn't hurt herself.
Fast forward: Now it's Tony's turn. Yay! Except his are worse coz 1) he's a boy and naturally stronger and 2) he gets them during nap time.
The believed cause is poor nutrition, stress, and lack of sleep which triggers the underlying genetic condition. My kids probably eat better than anyone in the town, so I'm not worried about poor nutrition. Drum is set to arrive anytime now, but he's finally getting excited an loves talking about "da Baby Dum." He doesn't seem stressed in any outward actions. But then there's sleep. He doesn't sleep at nap due to night terrors which cause him to be overtired and then not sleep at night due to night terrors which cause him to not sleep at nap... You see where I'm going.
And, of course, this is perfect timing for a completely exhausted pregnant woman who has still not installed the car seat or packed a birth center bag.
I'm also assuming that since we've got two who went/are going through terrors that we'll have another set to look forward to in about two years. Yay.
I have no idea what I'm gonna do to help him sleep. We have a pretty set routine, he's welcome to come cuddle in our bed if he's scared, he loves his construction bed set, there's night lights and white noise machine in the room at night. The stage is pretty much set for success.
One day I'll get sleep. When they're all married and settled down, I suppose. But, at least I still have my babies. My heart absolutely breaks for those in Oklahoma whose lives have been turned upside down. That's a real terror.
Ugh. So far it's just David with them for us and it's only happened 3 times since Christmas. I didn't know it's hereditary!
ReplyDeleteWe've seen a definite link between lack of sleep and the terrors. All 3 incidents happened on days he skipped his naps and had been sleeping poorly due to family gatherings, travel, etc.