Okay, now I'm really confused. Brigid the SuperToddler continues with serious sleep disruptions, screaming and crying and just generally being miserable, and as I can discern no physical cause, I would assume that it's night terrors, except the information I read said that it doesn't start this young, and that she's probably just having nightmares. And I didn't even know toddlers COULD have restless leg syndrome, but apparently they can, so that's just perfect--something new for me to worry about! I have no idea what to think, but I feel like I'm going to crawl out of my skin because I just have to let her cry, and have no way to help her. I try to go in her room and comfort her, but she's trying to go back to sleep, and being bothered only makes her more upset. Of all the unpleasant experiences in the world, feeling helpless is definitely one of the worst, and it's not one that I'm used to as a mommy, since I can normally alleviate her toddler woes fairly easily. I guess it's good training for when she's sixteen and some obnoxious boy breaks her heart, because I won't be able to fix that, either. I was planning to post a book review tonight, but it's clearly not going to happen. The crying continues in a weak, intermittent fashion, and I can barely think straight, let along string together coherent sentences.
Emmelia had night terrors at Brigid's age and they are exactly as you describe. The good news is, they usually only last 5-7 days at a stretch.
ReplyDeleteWhat worked for us (because let's face it, 5-7 days is TOO long!) was waking her up an hour before they usually hit and then putting her back to sleep. It disrupts the cycle enough that they go away.
Good luck!
Thank you, Shamassy! I had read about that technique, but it just sounded so cock-eyed to me that I wasn't sure whether to try it or not. I mean, Brigid gets so mad when she's woken up against her will! But, it would be FAR better than what's been going on around here lately! Last night was fine, though, so hopefully this cycle has run its course. We'll see when or if they surface again.
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