So last week Nathan battled a couple of night terrors...not to be confused with a nightmare. This has happened a couple times before but not to this magnitude. What happens is this: while Nathan is still sleeping, his eyes are open, he is sitting, standing or like last week he walked and screams the whole time. He screams so loud and so hard that he gags. It is the saddest thing for Cass and I to watch. There is NOTHING we can do, he doesn't want to be consoled. I have done some research and we do all the right things (pat on the back). We turn on a light so that when he does wake up he does not see shadows. We keep him in his crib so he does not walk around and hurt himself. We talk to him to let him know we are there and that he is ok. There really isn't much more we can do. Night Terrors can be hereditary and after talking to my mom, it's possible it comes from our side. My brother used to get them as a kid. They can happen on and off until sometimes 12 years of age.
Last week it happened on Tuesday night and again Wednesday night. He hasn't had one since. Do you think it had to do with all the Halloween festivities and subconsciously Halloween scared him and then had night terrors about it? Could it be that he had slightly more sugar last week than normal??? I talked to the pediatricians nurse but she didn't tell me anything I didn't already know...in fact it was quite frustrating...she asked ME questions. Isn't that why I called HER? Anyway, it's a very sad and scary thing to go through and I wish I knew what triggered them. Well, I take that back...an overtired child is more likely to experience them but I really don't think that's Nathan's case. He goes to bed by 8pm every night and sleeps for ten or eleven hours. Plus he still takes 2 naps a day for at least an hour each nap.
I was home alone with Nathan on Thursday night and said LOTS of prayers at bedtime. There have been lots of prayers since then and I think that is helping...join in the "pray for Nathan" club if you would like.
Thanks for reading...It's time for bed.
5 comments:
Hey girl, I was reading your blog off Amber's and had to leave a comment on this entry...Mia went through the exact same things that your poor little guy is going through. Her doctor finally found the culprit, maybe it can work for you too =) She was spending quite a bit of time with my mom and being the loving Nana that she is she would give her an ice cream or sucker too close to bedtime, well Mia started having horrible night terrors and I turned to her Pediatrician for help, he said that it's more than likely from the sugar in her 'treats'. He said that even though her body physically wears out and gets tired that the rest of her organs are still processing the sugar (particularly her brain) and it's still in full 'go' mode which in then causes a night terror because her mind is racing and startles her out of a dead sleep! It was horrible watching this happen over a period of a few weeks until I finally stopped her having any sugar within 3 hours of bedtime. I know every child is different, but I know how hard it is to sit and watch so I figured I'd let you know our story. Still to this day if she gets any kind of sugar close to bed time she will have night terrors so I have to be super careful! Luckily she's not much of a sweet tooth kid so we dont have issues but maybe once or twice a year =) Hope things get better for you all!!! I'll be sure to say a prayer for your little man *hugs*
Thanks for the story Kandis...I was really wondering if the sugar was playing a part. Do you have a blog?? If not, you should...I've become a blog stalker and would like to add you to my list!!
So glad that you've had a good couple of nights. Jackson and I remember you in our prayers each night too.
Oh man. That sucks, Trac. I have no suggestions, just sympathy. i hope you can figure it out so if it happens to Peyton I can call you. Prayers and hugs to all of you.
Oh man I feel for you. I had night terrors as a child (around age 5-9) and my poor mom was at a loss of what to do. She said the only thing that would calm me down was to take me to the bathroom. I would go and then she'd put me back to bed. Obviously that is a little harder since he's younger, but just wanted to share that with you. Poor guy, I'll definitely join in the prayers hun.
Post a Comment