Bad Dreams?? Waking up alot HELP!

[Triomom]

UGH!! Some nights I am up so much it feels like they are 2 months old again!! Only one of my boys seems to have bad dreams. or at least only one wakes up from them. I am not sure what to do about them?? Nothing I say seems to help, or it does for 30 minutes to an hour? Does anyone have any tricks or experience with this?? He doesn't have trouble falling asleep it is just waking up alot from the bad dreams.
Thanks for any help! I am exhuasted and I feel bad for him.

[Steph211]

I wish I had some advice, but I can only offer sympathy. Yikes. HOpefully he's just going through a phase and it will pass soon. Is there something that he is particularly anxious about? Has there been a change in his life recently like starting daycare/preschool or toilet training? Could he be worried about something? Is it the same nightmare everytime? Can he explain to you what happened in the dream that scared him?

[maryjane]

Is it bad dreams or night terrors? Does he actually remember having a dream? Is he awake or just hysterical? You may try adjusting bedtime since being overtired can cause night terrors and even bad dreams. Try putting him to bed a little earlier. Also limit eating to nothing 2 hours before bedtime. My brother had nightmares a lot as a child. He had very vivid dreams too. But Vada had night terrors and they are so different in how you deal with them. Maybe try relaxing music and a cheerful bedtime story.

[Triomom]

Thanks for the responses guys.

He hasnt' had any changes at all and I hope he isn't worrying about anything. Not sure what he would be worrying about. He can remember his dreams and the only thing reoccuring that i can tell his superman or spiderman saving him.. which he loves those characters but doesn't even watch their cartoons.. i am very cautious on what they watch.. but last night his dream was zombies come after him and the snorks!! I thought the snorks was a harmelss cartoon, guess i wasn't watching it close enough! UGH!

I don't think it is night terrors.. Not that I know much about those, but he doesn't wake up hysterical.. just often and is kinda whining/crying a little. He goes to be between 7:15 - 7:30 and wakes up usually about 6:30, so i feel like he should get enough sleep.. that is if he actually slept all night. He says he trys not to sleep so he doesn't dream.. poor guy i feel terrible for him. We eat dinner at 6 every day.. should I try and push that to earlier? also he does drink a sippy cup of milk before bed every night.. could that cause bad dreams? I have never heard about drinking and eating effecting your dreams.

Anyways off to bed, hope tonight is better. Thanks again for everything.

[maryjane]

Thanks for the responses guys.

He hasnt' had any changes at all and I hope he isn't worrying about anything. Not sure what he would be worrying about. He can remember his dreams and the only thing reoccuring that i can tell his superman or spiderman saving him.. which he loves those characters but doesn't even watch their cartoons.. i am very cautious on what they watch.. but last night his dream was zombies come after him and the snorks!! I thought the snorks was a harmelss cartoon, guess i wasn't watching it close enough! UGH!

I don't think it is night terrors.. Not that I know much about those, but he doesn't wake up hysterical.. just often and is kinda whining/crying a little. He goes to be between 7:15 - 7:30 and wakes up usually about 6:30, so i feel like he should get enough sleep.. that is if he actually slept all night. He says he trys not to sleep so he doesn't dream.. poor guy i feel terrible for him. We eat dinner at 6 every day.. should I try and push that to earlier? also he does drink a sippy cup of milk before bed every night.. could that cause bad dreams? I have never heard about drinking and eating effecting your dreams.

Anyways off to bed, hope tonight is better. Thanks again for everything.

If it really is bad dreams I would try soothing music and a comforting bedtime story. Dreams can be affected by your environment so soothing sounds while he's sleeping could help. And it would also help for the last thing on his mind before he goes to sleep be something comforting. How long does it take him to fall asleep? If he's having trouble getting to sleep you might try giving him melatonin. Hope he gets past this quickly.

[Ma Kettle]

I give my kids a dream every night when I tuck them in. I start a happy story and whisper it in each one's ear.

They love having their 'secret dream' and I love them not having nightmares.

Each one is different for each child and one might start like 'Your dream tonight is about a rusty old truck named Chuck Light who had the best day ever! His best friend Micky Stoplight was going to give him a brand new coat of paint!'

They fall asleep making up the rest of the story in their heads and in the middle of the night it's common to hear kids chuckling in their sleep or saying 'OOOOOHHHHH!'

I started doing this when my niece first came here because she had nightmares ever night. It helped her immensely!

[jeanie]

A night light has helped my dreamers alot. I also know which videos give them bad dreams BRATS is not allowed in my house they both have terrible dreams from this dvd..and some cartoons have monsters in them what are these cartoon makers thinking? wishing you sweet dreams.