Please help me!!

[lisaandshaun]

(mods please move if in the wrong area, as i cant seem to find where else to put it)

My daughter (17mths) has been waking about 1.30am EVERY Night for the past 4 months, crying and sounding really upset. when i go in to settle her she loses the plot throws herself at the side of the cot . i finally manage to get her out and it doesnt matter what i do i cant settle her. i put her down she screams louder. pick her up she pinches and hits and crys.

I am at wits end, i just dont know what to do, i have tried ignoring it and hoping she settles her self back down (some times it works but nomally it doesnt).

WHAT DO I DO!!!!!
i dont really want to get into the habit of giving her milk (i have some times and she settles until it all gone)

[Phteven]

Have you tried bringing her into your bed? You might all get a better night's sleep.
Are you sure she's warm enough overnight? If you have A/C on overnight it might be pretty chilly by 1.30.

[*Efjay*]

could she be having night terrors?

[~clover~]

Sounds like night terrors to me. My DD1 used to have them. All I could do was sit & talk to her til she settled down. I couldn't touch her or she'd freak out.
I agree with trying her in bed with you. if it is night terrors, they do get past it.

[lisaandshaun]

Oh i would LOVE to be able to bring her to bed with us, but she has NEVER been one to sleep in bed with mum and dad. so as much as i would love to be able to do that it is unfortunatly not an option.

So about these night terrors........... do they last long (as in when do they stop having them)?

[Santosha]

Hmmm... yes, giving the consistency in time, the degree of distress and the 'irrational' response to you trying to soothe her, I would agree with the others - sounds like night-terrors. Not a whole lot you can do to prevent them but I understand some of the tricks out there work for some people - so would be worth a research.

One of the things suggested is to wake them a little bit before it usually happens (say, 1:15) so that they settle again and are at a different phase in the sleep-cycle when it hits the usual time for the terror. I've heard some success with this, but others that say it didn't make any difference.

Sounds scary, stressful and really exhausting. Hope you get to the bottom of it very soon. xoxo

ETA - posted at the same time as you.
Not sure about 'average' course of night terrors, but my sister had them for years. BUT. She'd get them every night for, say, 2 weeks, and then not again for 6 months.... then again for a week or 2... get the picture? Hers were always associated with sickness or stress - got them really bad whenever her asthma flared up. I understand it's quite common that they can be brought on by stress, change or things like growth-spurt or developmental shift.