Waking from Naps Hysterical
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Waking from Naps Hysterical
February 2004
My 2 year old child has his share of tantrums but the other day
he woke up from his nap and was so upset/frightened/mad nothing
could calm him down. If i picked him up he started kicking and
screaming...same thing if i put him on the floor. I finally
left him on the floor UNTIL he started scratching his face and
his eyes. He scratched himself so hard that he drew blood. I
got really scared and tried to pin him down which was also
awful. Has anyone else experienced this? A friend of mine said
he may be having a 'night terror' during the day as he woke up
and didn't really know I was there and started flailing around
and nothing could calm him down...does this sound familiar? I'm
beginning to wonder if he is normal!!!
A few years ago I worked as a nanny for a two year old child
who would wake up in the middle of the night screaming and
clawing at himself because his feet fell asleep and he couldnt
wake up all the way to tell us what was going on. We would hold
him with one arm wrapped tightly around his hips and use the
other hand to lightly slap and rub the bottoms of his feet.
After a few minutes (of him screaming and arching out of my
arms, even clawing his and my face- which could only be
prevented by tucking his arms between our bodies) the blood
would begin to circulate back into his feet and he would fall
back to sleep. He would never remember the episode in the
morning and it happened as often as two or so times a week
until he was almost 4. Wish I could give you a ''current sleep
status'' but I lost touch with the family.
I just thought I'd share that in case your kid is kicking
becasue his feet are asleep and he is in pain but isnt awake
enough to tell you.
H
Lots of toddlers do this to some degree. When it's minor, I
let it ride. When he's hurting himself, I restrain him as
lovingly as I can. Better he rail against me than himself.
Put on earplugs to spare your sanity, grab a big blanket to
protect yourself and him, wrap him up and hold him firmly
until he finishes his cry, talking to him when you feel it's
helpful. He will finish it.
Good luck
February 2004
My daughter has always been a great sleeper. At 20 months, she
sleeps 10-12 hours a night and 2-3 hours every afternoon, at
pretty much same time every day (give or take 30 minutes). The
problem is that lately she has been waking up from her naps
screaming and crying. She is normally a good communicator and
can express her needs quite well, but I cannot figure out what
is wrong. Nothing seems to make her happy! The only thing that
does seem to work is Sesame Street, but that doesn't feel right
to me. I am sure there is another solution! If you've been
through this or have any suggestions, please let me know. Thank
you!
My 2 year old has also gone through a phase of going straight
into a tantrum after nap (and on occassion when waking up in the
morning). It felt so chemical. After talking with our
pediatrician we figured out that her blood sugar was low. We
make extra effort to make sure she has had lots of protein
(milk, beans, meat etc.) before going to sleep/nap. When she
wakes up, I'm there with a cracker. It has improved things
quite a bit. No telling if this is what's going on with your
kid. Maybe worth a try.
Lori
December 2002
My 27 month old daughter takes a 2 hr afternoon nap. She wakes
up from this nap, calls for me, and as soon as she sees me
starts a hysterical 30-60 minute tirade. She screams for a drink
and as soon as I give it to her throws it down, asks for TV but
screams that I should turn it off and immediately after it is
off, she wants it on. This can go on for a good 20 repeats. It
invovles everything from wanting hugs, to food, to TV, whatever
and then being hysterial at getting them. I dont just mean
grumpy, I mean hysterical, pounding the floor, throwing
things... It has started scaring me. And then it stops kind of
by itself sometimes it is when I try to engage her; other times
it is because I ignore her; at times it is because I put on
music;yet other times it is because I make it mellow. I ask her
afterwards why she was sad and she doesnt know or doesnt know
how to communicate it at her age. She sleeps10-12 hours at night
with maybe one waking in which we go in and pat her or sit with
her. In the morning she is in a great mood. We thought maybe it
was low blood sugar because once she settles down and has a
snack, she is fine (though that can just be because she has
settled down BEFORE having the snack). The only thing that the
books I have consulted even come close to suggesting is night
terror. It is that kind of not knowing what she wants, not
wanting to be held or comforted, being angry at getting what she
asks for ... Does anyone have experience with this? I should
mention that two months ago I weaned her and nursing was the way
she 'woke up'. I tried to replace it with snuggling, warm milk,
books... to no avail. I guess I thought she would be grumpy for
a while but it
is getting worse not better. (this all could be coincidence)
Should we rush her out to see a specialist? an MD? If she were
sick would she not be sick the rest of the time? Am I
overreacting? Thanks for any input.
a concerned mom
This has happened with all my kids (4). Unless I held them the
entire nap (I usually do this til about 18mo) it happens. I try
to diffuse the situation with juice (low blood sugar), reading
them a book while I hold them or (last resort) a video.
I jsut re-read your post. Does this happen if she wakes up and
you're out and about? What if she slept in the car (nap) and
woke at a playground? What if you held her for her nap? What if
you slept with her during her nap? Have you tried nursing her
during the tirade (cringes at the thought of a chomp, but my 3yo
has never chomped during a tantrum)?
If none of the above work, I'd simply ''be there'' - let her know
you're available to her and give her words for her feelings. Let
her know you support her and that it must be overwhelming being
so out of control and try to give her the words she needs.
This must be so hard for you too. (((hugs))))
Kathy
My son did EXACTLY the same thing. I imposed a rule that after three "NO!
YES! NO!" repetitions (the conflict-o-change-o man, as his sister dubbed it)
I gave up and told him I wouldn't talk to him until he could calm down.
Letting it go on after three reversals seemed to just make it worse. Can
you put her in a place where she can't hurt herself or anything else, and
let her be? For me, TV and a snack were the usual solutions. After a while,
though, I got so sick of the post-nap freak-out scene that I stopped the
nap. I think what is going on is that they are still so tired after a late
p.m. nap, sort of ready to go to bed for the night but not quite yet, that
they become unable to deal with themselves. Skipping the nap and moving the
bedtime much earlier seems to work a lot better. Good luck - it's hideous,
I know.
Fran
My son used to sporadically wake up cranky and would cry inconsolably
for up to 20 minutes. We finally figured it out that it was reflux. Now he
takes prescription Tagamet 3xs a day and is much better. In hindsight,
there were symptoms all along such as spitting up a lot as an infant,
easy gag reflex, gulping and burping. We didn't take him to the doctor
until it was really bad and he was waking up in the middle of the night -
coughing and gagging until he threw up. I believe that the reason he
cried when waking up was because laying down exaserberated the
condition.
Helena
My 31-month-old daughter has always been a good sleeper, but
since becoming potty trained wakes up very grumpy -- although
not hysterical. She seems mad that a full bladder has woken her
up and either calms down or goes back to sleep after going to
the bathroom. Maybe your daughter is waking up with gas or is
hungry -- both of which could have been been alliviated by
nursing. Maybe try giving her a snack or milk before her nap,
or giving her gas drops or getting her to go to the bathroom
soon after she wakes up.
Liz
How long does your child sleep?
I've experienced that my daughter sleeps 2 hours in the
afternoon. If she wakes up after about 1 hour she is hysterical
and unconsolable unless I lay down with her and she slowly goes
back to sleep. This realization came with her transition from
two one hour naps per day to the one two hour nap. For awhile I
figured that because she was up that she was done with her first
nap so I just got her up and she went crazy. It took a few of
these sessions to realize that if I just layed with her she fell
back asleep....Perhaps your child is just still tired?
nicole
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