Waking up every 20ish minutes SCREAMING? Help!

mommytobe87

I have no idea what's going on. DS just had a cold last week and still has a slight runny nose at times. He never has a fever and still doesn't. The last couple nights have been horrible. We put him down at his normal time and literally every 20-30 minutes he's up screaming his head off. I think he's also cutting his molars ao I did Motrin before bed tonight but same thing! We can rock him back to sleep but it starts up again. We have let him CIO....nothing works! He is totally his normal self during the day though. Advice please!

bumpuser260585

DS is like this when he's teething too. Nothing really helps. We give motrin and use teething tablets. For us this usually only lasts 1 night, maybe 2.

sherd

DS has been known to do the same thing. What exactly is he doing when he wakes up? DS would be sitting up in the crib and most of the time have his eyes closed. Nothing would console him, other than eventually my husband. I don't know if it is the warmth of his chest or that he is big enough that DS can lay on him?? Although DS was also cutting his top two molars at that time too, I think he was also having bad dreams and was scared which is why he was doing what he did. We would also give him IBU before hand and it didn't always work. I would think maybe the combination of the two? Could also be sinus or ear infection. I dont' know what your copay at the dr is but I would take him in just to be safe because DS was also known to have ear infections. Came down to us just rocking and comforting him because either way he was scared or in pain. Good luck and I hope I didn't ramble on too long to confuse you!

mavs_girl07

Sounds exactly like what DS does when he has an ear infection.  I'd take him in tomorrow just to be sure.

MrsMommyQ

Last week DD did this every single night for a week. She was up screaming at least 2 times a night, for an hour or more, and nothing made it better. I was at my wits end. We took her to the pedi and she did not have an ear infection. He said it might be the incisors coming in. We tried motrin, tylenol -- nothing helped. A few nights ago, she went back to normal though.

Hang in there, it might be teeth, it might be a stage. It'll pass!

MrsWindyCity

mavs_girl07:

Sounds exactly like what DS does when he has an ear infection.  I'd take him in tomorrow just to be sure.

Same here. DS is always fine during the day when he has an ear infection, but the nights are terrible. 

carolyn02

I think we're finally getting over this ourselves.  DD was a HORRIBLE sleeper until we did Ferber around 8 months.  Worked like a charm, and she's slept great since then (with the exception of when she's sick).  For the past 2 weeks, she's regressed to where it takes hours for her to fall asleep, and when she does sleep, it's frequently interrupted by inconsolable bouts of crying/screaming.  We tried everything and eventually we came to the conclusion that it was a separation anxiety thing.  We went back to Ferber and within the first night, there was a drastic improvement.  I'd suggest trying Ferber or some other method of progressive CIO that works for you.

JoannaJes

Given the fact that your LO had a cold prior to this, I would put my money on an ear infection.

ETA: please take your kid to the freaking doctor before you let him CIO. Screaming is usually indicative of pain, and you thought you should just let him cry?  

Mama2DBoo1624

This happens with my DD when she is going through a growth spurt or cutting teeth. Cold-like symptoms a few days prior give us a heads up that bad nights are ahead. We haven't found anything that helps her.

Hope he feels better soon so you all can get some rest.