Question

My almost 3 year DOES NOT sleep through the night. no joke, he’s screaming like 6 times a night. he is saying mama but when i go in there his eyes are closed and he looks like he’s still sleeping. he has ear tubes, so i’m assuming no ear infection. bad dreams? ‍♀️ i’ve legit given him benadryl to help him sleep, doesn’t work. anyone else ever go through this? this mama needs some sleep

Answer 1

This definitely sounds like night terrors. Does he nap? If not he may need to. They occur most when a child is overtired or out of routine/overstimulated. My daughter had them from about 2-7. It’s awful. Be calm, don’t make any sudden loud noises or movements. You can stir him a bit about an hour after he goes to bed, just enough to make him shift a bit, without fully waking him, this will disrupt his sleep cycle enough to hopefully avoid it. These were all things told to us that worked,  

Comments

@corrugation yep, takes a 2 hour nap at preschool

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@crake I’m sorry  it’s different from nightmares. You may want to ask the pediatrician for recommendations. Hang in there. I know how hard it is.  

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@corrugation yeah 2-7? yikes!  

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@crake yeah. And the dr told us they could last til 12! Thank goodness it didn’t

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@corrugation this is what I came to say. My oldest had night terrors for a year and anything the pediatrician told us to do didn’t work. She outgrew it at 4

Answer 2

My son went through this. He was having night terrors. He would scream and cry and even babble random things. I took him to the pediatrician and everything. She referred him to a sleep specialist but I decided to wait it out. It was pretty much a out grow it situation for us. I was worried about him losing sleep but he was always completely well rested as for me not so much.  

Comments

@speechmaking10356 same here.  

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Has he had any big changes?  

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@corrugation yeah it was tough it only lasted about months for us but it was a very long 6 months

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My son was having them every night and now has only had 2 since October

Answer 3

Some nights i have to bring him in my bed because i just want to sleep and he sleeps like a baby, sound asleep‍♀️

Answer 4

My middle son is almost 2½ and does this. He will wake up and run to my room while doing this blood curdling scream. His eyes are also closed and my husband and I think night terrors as well. Our nieces and nephews went through this too. I carry him back to bed, get him situated and turn his music on and sit at the edge of his bed. But I never engage him because that makes the screaming worse. He literally screams himself back to sleep. Its a phase and that's the only way I've found to handle it at this point. So no advice, but know you're not alone.  

Answer 5

I might have something that can help you.  

Answer 6

My 4 year old does this. It’s night terrors. She screams and cries. She slept over my sisters house a few weeks ago and my sister said I don’t know how you get any sleep.  it’s terrible.  

Comments

@seldom2 literally the worst. i feel like a zombie everyday

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She does this at nap time at daycare too. They were so concerned at first but then I just explained she’s fine and doesn’t even realize she’s crying like that.  

Answer 7

My son is 4. 5 now but if he had to take a 2 hour nap at daycare he wouldn’t sleep. His naps went down to an hour or less around 2. 5. If he slept much longer the nights would be long. Sleepy Littles is a good group to help.  

Answer 8

Could be night terrors as mentioned. My daughter had them right around this age. I would definitely talk to your pediatrician about it. My daughter ended up having a sleep study done and it was determined that she also had a bit of sleep apnea and needed both tonsils and adenoids removed as well as turbinate reduction. Good luck Momma, I know how you feel! ❤️

Answer 9

Could be night terrors or as mentioned above, sign sleep apnea.  

Answer 10

Sounds like night terrors to mw

Answer 11

Melatonin helped my son but he’s 7 so I’d ask a dr first

Answer 12

This happened to my daughter. Dr found her adenoids were enlarged. They were blocking airway when sleeping so she would be up hourly. Once they came out, slept perfect.  

Answer 13

My son started having night terrors and sleep walking at the age of 4. Was told by his pediatrician that he will eventually outgrow it by the age of 12. We gave him melatonin for a while. Only helped for a bit though. He’s now 11 and sleep walks once in a while but thank god the sleep terrors stopped. Hang in there!  

Answer 14

Sleepy Littles

Answer 15

Sounds loke night terrors. My daughter would have these. Just have to wait it out til they overcome it. Make sure he naps and doesn't get over tired.  

Answer 16

Mine did the same thing until I started giving melatonin. works wonders!  

Answer 17

Definitely night terrors no advice my daughter had them from time to time they went away but never 6 times a night sorry

Answer 18

This might help, at least with looking into. My nephew would take this (half the adult dose). It's not melatonin; it's my understanding that taking melatonin makes your body dependent on it, versus this product supports the body in making it's own melatonin. It helps your body feel rested and achieve REM sleep. I hope you find something that helps.