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My 17mth old daughter slept through from about 3mths. Then we had the big move, and everything changed. Woke up all night everynight. I got that under control, but now I am wondering at how young you can tell if you have a sleep walker!
Everynight, between 10-11pm, she wakes up crying. I listen to see if she will go back to sleep, but she gets louder. So I go into the room, and she is always standing in her crib. Sometimes looking at the wall opposite the door, sometimes looking at the door. Sounds like she is waiting for me and that it is a habit, right? That is what I thought, until tonight. Every night, when I pick her up to soothe her, she wriggles and squirms, still crying, to be put back into her crib. I put her in, and she crys louder. So I pick her up, and by now she is calming down. I give her kisses and cuddles, and lay her back in her crib, and her eyes are closed, and she is basically snoring. She then sleeps through the whole night.
Anyone else ever experienced anything like this? It is the same routine EVERY night.
Answer:
Sounds like a sleep terror to me. My son had them from about 7-10 months once or twice a week. Basically, a sleep terror is an intense form of a nightmare that the child won't even remember the next day (it has to do with their sleep patterns...you can certainly find more detailed information by doing a google search). Anyhow - they're very scary for the parents!
Here's what helped us: After learning that sleep terrors are more prevelent in kids who are overtired, we became absolutely militaristic about his naps and bedtimes. It was tough to be so rigid, but after a week or two things seemed to dramatically improve. A book that helped us was Good Night, Sleep Tight by Kim West.
Good luck - and remember that this is just a phase - it will eventually end!!!