re: 9 month old having nightmares?

[dragonsMom]

Hi

My son Hud is about 9.5 months old, he cries/screams in his sleep in the early morning and flops around the bed.  I'm not sure what is wrong with him, he isn't awake but if I pick him up to soothe him he wakes up.  I intially thought that it was teething pain but it has been going on for some time.  Is it possible for infants to have nightmares and if so what should I do?  I should also tell you when this started I brought him back into my bed but I have to go back to work in a month and need to get him sleeping through the ight again.  I have been putting him back in his crib for the last three days and doing pu/pd.  He has been getting up more and staying up longer since I started this.  Let me know if you need more information.

I appreciate any and all suggestions.

[¤ Efka ¤]

But when he wakes up , when you pick him up does he stop crying?
Is something changed in his day lately?
What sis his day routine?

[Layla]

HI & welcome

What is his daytime schedule like?

[dragonsMom]

Hi

He usually snuggles into the nape of my neck and goes right back to sleep, but sometimes he keeps crying/screaming if so I was giving him a bottle.  I believe that the screaming started around the time that he started pulling himself up and climbing.  I don't think much has really changed in his day.  I'm not sure if this is useful but we sometimes sleep at his Gramma's instead of at home.  Some weeks it's more there some weeks it's more here. 

His daytme routine is

7-7.30 Wakes has a bottle or some toast
          Playtime
8-8.30 Has breakfast
          Plays a little more until he appears to be tired
9-9.30 Take him for a nap (until this week I was giving him a bottle to get him to sleep)
11 ish  Has a bath
12       Lunch
12.30-2.30 Plays
2-2.30 Try to get him to take a nap
3-4ish falls asleep - he sleeps anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours
5-6 plays
6.30 has dinner
730 has bath and gets ready for bed
8-8.30 has bottle to get him to sleep
11/12 has dream feed

I have reviewed the Baby Whisperer solves all your problems book again last week and have stopped giving him the bottles to get him to sleep.  I have been trying to get him to sleep at 2-2.30 but everytime I finally get him to sleep something wakes him (yesterday it was the neighbours lawn mower) and then he's up and wants to go for another 2 hours. 

I have also cut out the dream feed at 11 at the advice of my doctor. 

The pu/pd seems to be working he was only up twice last night and went straight back to sleep when  I put him down. 

Still interested to know if it is possible for infants to be having nightmares I understand it is something that some toddlers experience. 

Thanks

[Layla]

I don't know if its a nightmare as such.... i really don't know if babies that young can have nightmares & nightmares usually occur in the middle of the night. If he's up and crying right before he would normally wake up (like an hour or so before) then it could be from night terrors.....
Nightmares dont tend to happen every single day (I think an av is about once a month) from what I've read.


Is he taking 2-2hr naps? Some babies have a hard time sleeping at night when they sleep too much during the day....

[dragonsMom]

He doesn't always sleep four hours during the day.  Sometimes he sleeps for and 1.5 hours in the morning sometimes he only sleeps for 45 minutes in the afternoon.  He's still not very consistent in his sleep pattern, but if he's happy when he wakes up I just let him be instead of fighting with him to try to get him back to sleep.  I guess it must be teething he did it again this morning, it started around 6.15 he was crying crying crying and flopping around in his crib, but he was still asleep.  I gave him his soother and he went back to sleep for another 10 minutes, then started screaming again.  It's been a week tomorrow, he is going down easier for his naps and at bedtime.  And getting him back to sleep in the middle of the night is easier but he's still up at least 3 times.  Is it possible to do pu/pd wrong.  I wait until he is almost a sleep again but not, if I put him down to early he just stands up and starts crying?

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[Layla]

At this age you might be better off doing just PD rather than pu/pd

A schedule for a 9mo would be something like this:

6.30am - wake
9:30 - morning nap (can be 1-1.5hrs long)
10:30/11 - morning nap ends
2/2.30 - afternoon nap (1.5hrs long)
3.30/4pm - afternoon nap ends
7/7.30 - bedtime

When he wakes at night if you are finding that you have to give him the soother to get him back to sleep it could also be a prop .

If you are finding that its harder to get him down for the afternoon nap you might want to try waking him up 1hr into the morning nap so that he is tired enough to sleep longer in the pm. He should also be able to stay up for longer than 2hrs in the morning... so you could try to push him slowly(add 10-15mins over a couple of days) until you get there

This is a copy from the FAQ's in the pu/pd board:
8 MONTHS TO A YEAR - At this age you really don’t do any pick up as babies 8 months and up tend to soothe faster in the crib. 

·   You wait for them to stand up or pull up and then you place them back down so they are looking away from you and not at your face.
·   If you feel they are truly frantic and need more you can pick them up for a moment but you put them straight back down. 
·   At this age it’s important to use your voice even more.  Your baby will start to recognize what you are saying, eg. “I’m not  leaving you, you’re not alone, it’s nap time” etc. 
·   At this age you may need to pair pu/pd with gradual leaving of the room.  First you stay in the room until asleep, then move a few feet from the crib, in a few days you move to the door, then out the door.