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BabbyO
05-27-2011, 12:14 PM
Two nights ago, DS woke up in the middle of the night (he's generally a VERY good sleeper) and started whining, "I scared, I scared." DH went and got him and brought him into our bed. When I asked what he was scared of he said, "The Chicken."

Now this was really funny to me, but the next morning I asked again what he was scared of and he said, "The chicken." I asked where it was, and he walkd behind the diaper pail in his room and pointed and said, "There. He climbed the wall." He's stuck to his story and told DH the exact same thing.

Last night he woke up about 1 am screaming like I've never heard him scream before. I went in his room and he was breathing heavy, heart racing and he immediately jumped up and wrapped his little arms around me tighter than he ever has before. When I asked what he was scared of all he could get out was, "I, I, I."

I brought him into bed with me and he (normally a figety little guy) snuggled into the crook of my arm and was asleep in under 5 min. He woke up when I put him back in his bed about 15 min later, but didn't complain or cry or make a peep.

I don't think this is a ploy to get into mommy & daddy's bed. We do occasionally let him come into bed with us, but he ALWAYS ends up back in his own bed, an he's often awake when we take him back.

I'm just wondering if this is normal. I can't think of any TV that would have been disturbing to him (although with my sprained ankle we've watched a lot more "Dora" & "Blues Clues" than normal). Both our babysitter and I sprained our ankles this week and he was with us when it happened.

He watched me "bounce" off his side of the car when I tripped over a curb and he was holding the sitter's hand when she tripped on a side walk. Could this have something to do with the nightmares?

Sorry this is so long...just a curious mama. I didn't expect to be dealing with nightmares until he was a bit older.

bubbaray
05-27-2011, 12:24 PM
My DD#1 started having nightmares and night terrors around age 2.5. Let me tell you, night terrors are really freaky as a parent!

sarahsthreads
05-27-2011, 12:33 PM
Yeah, I think it's pretty normal. They started around 2.5 here too with both girls. It's heartbreaking to hear a little sobbing "I am a-a-afraid I am a-a-afraid I am a-a-afraid" over the monitor, isn't it? :hug:

Sometimes DD2 can tell me what scared her, sometimes not. One night during the wee hours I heard a blood-curdling scream and was halfway down the hall before I was fully awake. I ran into her room expecting death or dismemberment based on the severity of the scream. She said up, sobbing, and said "Nikki ate my cake!" (Nikki is her little toddler friend, not sure what the cake was about.) The adrenaline rush nearly made me pass out. Sometimes...it's a darn good thing they're cute. ;)

I have not noticed an increase in the frequency of the nightmares, despite the fact that I do normally bring her back to our bed and let her stay until morning, so I don't think it's a ploy.

Sarah :)

BabbyO
05-27-2011, 01:48 PM
Like I said, I just didn't expect to be dealing with this so soon. DS is not quite 2.

Poor kid, I don't know what his dream was about last night, but he was more scared than I've ever seen him.

The chicken climbing up the wall...well that was just plain funny...it still makes me laugh. We wrote that one down. Some day it will be funny to him...his first nightmare!

LMPC
05-27-2011, 01:49 PM
Totally normal IMO. DD started having nightmares (or at least being able to tell me about them) about 3 months ago. She would wake up crying and then when I asked her what was bothering her, she would say "the worms are getting me!" or "the spider is after me!" I would tell her that she had had a bad dream and that those things were not real. Sip of water and then back to sleep in her bed. FWIW, she was always calm after the explanation and sip of water...don't want you guys imagining me trying to get a traumatized DD back to sleep lol!

BabbyO
05-27-2011, 02:16 PM
Totally normal IMO. DD started having nightmares (or at least being able to tell me about them) about 3 months ago. She would wake up crying and then when I asked her what was bothering her, she would say "the worms are getting me!" or "the spider is after me!" I would tell her that she had had a bad dream and that those things were not real. Sip of water and then back to sleep in her bed. FWIW, she was always calm after the explanation and sip of water...don't want you guys imagining me trying to get a traumatized DD back to sleep lol!

No judgement whatsoever....DS was back in his bed about 15 minutes after he woke up...like you said, once he calmed down.