Maybe it is the medicine, or the pain (she has both strep and the fungus infection), or a combination, but for the past four days the Monkey has woken with one of these.
She isn't the best of sleepers; sleepwalking is not uncommon with her, and usually occurrs because she has to go to the bathroom but hasn't quite woken fully yet, and she has had episodes of night terrors before. I think she actually sleeps more deeply than most do, and so isn't able to rouse herself fully when necessary, and perhaps this is a contributing factor toward both states.
But she hasn't had only one night of regular sleep since Friday night. Two nights ago was the worse; the look on her face was such pure terror it chilled me. What was she seeing behind her eyes? What monster was threatening her?
It is so hard to deal with night terrors because one's natural impulse is the wrong one; if first attempts at calming don't help (her crying could be a simple nightmare) silence, and just lying beside her, touching her lightly or not at all is the best response. No talking, no hugging, many times rubbing her back or shushing sounds are the wrong choice. To have you child screaming and staring out at you and not being able to pull them onto your lap and snuggle close is a nightmare in and of itself, but touching only brings kicks and more screams.
Last nights episode lasted about 1/2 hr, though it seemed longer, and ended with her wanting to go to the bathroom, and snuggling down beside me in bed, finally drifiting off to sleep once more.
Posted by Rachel Ann at May 3, 2005 06:43 AMOh, I'm sorry. That sounds miserable.
Posted by: RP at May 3, 2005 07:43 PM