A memorable sleeper

When my son was around 12 months old, he used to wake up screaming. Not in an “I’m having a nightmare” sort of way, but in a “someone is trying to kill me and it hurts really bad” sort of way. We had no idea what was happening to him.

The first time it happened it was terrifying. We couldn’t wake him up. Half of his face was frozen into a frown, while the other half was that screaming red crying face. He was stiff as a board and immovable when I picked him up. It was heartbreaking and we didn’t know what to do. We called 911, but by the time the EMT’s got there to check him out, he was sleeping happily and everything was back to normal. We ended up at the local Children’s Hospital, waited for several hours (it was a busy night) and about 3 in the morning, after watching him sleep happily the whole time we were there, decided to just go home and keep an eye on him.

The second time it happened, we called our regular doctors after hours line. When the screaming and terror eventually subsided, he again went back to a normal sleep. We went to the doctor the next day to have him looked at, but again, everything was fine. She didn’t really have any suggestions as to the problem, but told us to keep her posted.

I started doing research, but didn’t really know what I was looking for. I was hoping it would just go away, but obviously that wasn’t realistic.

It happened a few more times and really had us freaked out. After each incident we'd head to the doctor, but we could never come up with a solution. One night, in an act of desperation, I called the nurses line from the local hospital. The nurse and I started brainstorming together and she said it sounded a lot like night terrors.

Night terrors?

I grabbed my “What to Expect the Toddler Years” book that was on my nightstand and looked it up.

“During a night terror your child seems to be awake, but is in fact asleep. You may see him sweating and breathing fast and even feel his little heart beating at a rapid rate. He's likely to appear scared and confused, even panicked, and may talk, cry, or scream. A night terror usually occurs early in the evening (one to four hours after he's fallen asleep, during very deep or non-REM sleep). Fortunately, your child will not remember any of this the next day (though you surely will!).”

Yes! This was exactly what we were experiencing! This woman, I loved this nurse. She was my saving grace. She solved what my doctor and the EMTs blew off. We finally had a reason. A diagnosis.

In our research we learned that lack of sleep can cause an incident of night terrors. We started tracking it and, sure enough, on days where we had to skip or shorten a nap for one reason or another, the night terrors happened.

After we figured this out, we were very diligent about his nap schedule and ensuring he had x amount of hours sleep every day. We made sure grandparents or anyone else taking care of him were just as diligent. Bed time was not flexible, nor were naps. Thankfully, we never had another incident.

Typically, toddlers outgrow night terrors and there are no lasting repercussions. Even still, nine years later, we pay a little more attention to his sleeping patterns and his behavior during the day. I don’t ever want to see that kind of pain or hear that kind of fear again. But I'll never forget it.