[ncannard]

hi , everyone im new here so i hope im in the right place

im a first time mum, i have a beautiful 5 month old daughter Tippi .. So im here for some advice from other mothers who might be able to help me out...

ok so here we go ...
From around 4 months old every now and again my daughter would start screaming and cring like she was in extreme pain or having a realy bad dream.. the only way to console her was to stroke her cheek and keep saying her name softly or give her boobie but the whole time she is compltley asleep... Since then its been about once a week now shes 22 weeks and it getting to be everynight sometimes lasting from 5 min to 45 mins.. the last time it happened about every 2.5 hours each lasting maby half hour.. i have no idea what to do should i take her to the doctor ?? but then people tell me its normal... it just doesnt seem normal to me ... ANY help would be sooooooo appreciated

This post has been edited by ncannard: 24/04/2012, 02:02 PM

[Guest_**Leprechaun**_*]

I would say that perhaps she might be teething? Check to see if she has any bumps on her gums and try some bonjela or perhaps panadol.

My little ones always had horrid nights when they were teething.

[Missmarymack]

I too think it could be teething or a developmental leap. Have you checked out the wonder weeks? They have always been very accurate for my DD. if you are super worried then of course, put your mind at ease and take her to a dr.


I though night terrors we're a toddler thing?

[ncannard]

yes i thought they were as well but the symptoms sound the same .. she does laugh , smile , makes noises and twitches alot in her sleep as well..

[rob6712col]

I don't believe this is "night terrors" as this is a toddler thing due to being over tired generally. I too think your DD is having some type of pain, probably teeth moving around or tummy problems. I would probably take her to the doctor just to rule anything more severe out though.

[chocolatecrackle]

As PP suggest, I'd take her to the doctor to rule anything out. But if she's asleep while crying, maybe she's just (loudly) moving between sleep cycles, and trying to settle her is actually keeping her awake. I know DS (4 months) will often yell out in his sleep and then toss and turn to resettle himself. Maybe this is more extreme version and she's now got used to the more disturbed sleep and is doing it more? I know that the resettle between sleep cycles is harder if they're more tired.

[mpjp]

Another one who thinks there is most likely another cause.

My dd was diagnosed with 'cyclical night terror disorder' at 22 months, but the paed said it was less usual in one so young and that most commonly they are found in pre-school aged kids (i.e. 4 year olds), although when I researched night terrors i did see some reference to younger.

I'd be taking her to the doc for a good check up.

My dd went to a sleep centre for a proper diagnosis as she was having terrors every 20 mins or so for about 6 hours a night.

One differential was that she looked AWAKE not asleep during these times (and so I would comfort her - thus actually waking her, and made the whole situation worse). It got to the point where she was actually having waking terrors as well during the day which were even scarier.

If the doc finds everythign is OK and these sessions dont dissipate then maybe a sleep paed could help? I got mine through monash medical centre (although I think they only treat children not babies).

[mumto3princesses]

I also think there may be another cause.

My DD2 suffered from night terrors for years and still gets the odd one on occasion. With night terrors they will usually have their eyes open and scream and thrash around and even stand up and kick. With DD2 if I touched her or spoke to her her night terror would become 100x worse.