Night Terrors
Lola is prone to night terrors: hysterical screaming, intense crying, and shaking while still asleep. Talking to her, holding her, consoling her: none of these actions make it better because she does not recognize the external stimulation. She doesn't see us or hear us or feel us; she's trapped in a terrifying situation of her brain's making and there's very little we can do about it once they occur.
Lola's terrors are connected to lack of sleep; if she doesn't nap, for instance, she's very likely to have an episode that night, or, conversely, if she doesn't get a good night's sleep, then she'll have one at naptime. (Can you imagine finally getting 20 kids down for a nap and having one of the kids sit up and start desperately screaming?! Daycare doesn't like Lola's night terrors either.)
We know adequate sleep is key and, with the use of the crib tent and a solid sleep routine, we had minimized the terror occurrences. But, right now, Lola is sick, certainly is not sleeping well, and she's averaging 2 sleep terrors a day. Today's nap episode had so many tears that they dripped off her hair like rain dropping from a leaf. It's incredibly disheartening to watch these experiences -- where she's so intensely upset that she's soaking wet from sweat and a racing heart -- and know that we'll just have to wait it out and try again the next day to have her sleep better.
Poor Lola.
Lola's terrors are connected to lack of sleep; if she doesn't nap, for instance, she's very likely to have an episode that night, or, conversely, if she doesn't get a good night's sleep, then she'll have one at naptime. (Can you imagine finally getting 20 kids down for a nap and having one of the kids sit up and start desperately screaming?! Daycare doesn't like Lola's night terrors either.)
We know adequate sleep is key and, with the use of the crib tent and a solid sleep routine, we had minimized the terror occurrences. But, right now, Lola is sick, certainly is not sleeping well, and she's averaging 2 sleep terrors a day. Today's nap episode had so many tears that they dripped off her hair like rain dropping from a leaf. It's incredibly disheartening to watch these experiences -- where she's so intensely upset that she's soaking wet from sweat and a racing heart -- and know that we'll just have to wait it out and try again the next day to have her sleep better.
Poor Lola.
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