A couple nights ago, we had yet another night terror. We put the babies to sleep around 7:30 - slightly later than usual, but nothing too noticeable. At around 9:30, we heard Miles shrieking in the nursery. It is the kind of sound that you imagine your baby would only make if they were in extreme pain. We both immediately dropped what we were doing and ran up the stairs going 2 steps at a time. When we got into the nursery, we saw Miles, face down, crying uncontrollably into the mattress. I picked him up, but it was obvious that he was still asleep. His head was flopping all over the place and his eyes were rolling back in his head. He continued to scream and cry. I took him into our bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. That did nothing. I laid him down on our bed and lightly smacked his cheeks. Again, that did nothing. Jason took him, and he continued to scream and cry as if he were in pain or terrified. We took him into the nursery and he eventually started to wake up a little, but I don't think he ever completely came out of it. Jason set him down in his crib and he eventually put his thumb in his mouth, lied down and fell back asleep.
Of course, by this time, Vivienne was wide awake and started crying that we left her in the nursery. Luckily, she fell asleep after only a couple minutes.
They say with night terrors that it is best not to pick them up. But it is so contrary to my gut instinct. I feel that - at the very least - I must pick him up and assess whether he is somehow hurt or in some other state of emergency. I swear you would think he's having a seizure or some internal pain (like an appendix burst or something crazy like that) when this is happening. It's a horrifying experience as a parent.
They also say that the kids don't remember it. I sure hope that that is the case.
I'm with you - even though "they" say not to pick them up, leaving my child screaming in the crib is just contrary to my every instinct. I wonder if "they" ever had children who experienced this!
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