We are almost 1 week post-op & Harper's sleeping cycle has gone down hill. We went from sleeping 10 hours straight to having night terrors every hour!
What is a night terror?
A night terror is a sleep disruption that seems similar to a nightmare, but with a far more dramatic presentation.
Night terrors happen during deep non-REM sleep. Unlike nightmares (which occur during REM sleep), a night terror is not technically a dream, but more like a sudden reaction of fear that happens during the transition from one sleep phase to another.
Some things that cause night terrors are:
Stressful life events
Fever
Sleep deprivation
Medications that affect the central nervous system (the brain)
When she is having a night terror, her eyes are closed but she is crying, kicking her arms & legs & rolling all over the bed. It will last from 1-5 minutes. We don't comfort her, this tends to make it worse.
Harper's mouth anatomy has completely changed as well, so breathing & swallowing are difficult for her which is traumatic for a 2 year old.
We'll get through this, but it's been rough.
I am SO sorry Harper is having these terrors... our first daughter had them as well. Haven't seen it in Jing yet. SO praying Harper will stop having them and you all can get some rest!
ReplyDeleteblessings!