Night Terrors

Before Hannah was a year old, she started having night terrors.  The first time it happened she had screamed and cried inconsolably for close to two hours.  I tried everything I could think to do to try to calm her.  I changed her diaper.  I changed her clothes.  I rocked her.  I offered her a bottle.  I walked with her.  I put her back in her bed and let her cry it out for a while.  I gave her her pacifier.  Nothing worked.  I finally told PK that I was going to take her to the ER because she must have an ear infection.  She didn't have a fever, but Rachel had multiple ear infections as a baby and usually did not run a fever.  By the time I had gotten dressed, the episode ended just as quickly as it had started.  She was out cold.

Her night terrors did not occur every night, but occasionally it would happen.  One time she was old enough to walk and we sat in her room.  At the time, the desk and computer were also in her room.  All she really had in there was her crib and changing table.  Our living room was always a play room.  I finally sat her on the ground and she walked over to the computer tower and smacked it.  I had to laugh.  She wasn't fully awake and had no idea what she was doing.  At least I don't think she did. 

When she was old enough, I would ask her in the morning if she remembered anything and she always gave me that , "What in the world are you talking about?" stare.  Many times she would wake up in the morning and demand to know why she was in my bed and how she got there. 

We visited friends one year who lived in a townhouse at the time, so there were three stories.  I took the screaming child to the basement level in hopes that she wouldn't wake the entire house.  My friend, Shannon, came down to check on us.  She knew there wasn't anything she could do, but offered anyway.  I dreaded staying with other people, but a hotel was worse.  Imagine what other guests thought when a child screamed bloody murder during the night.

I think the night terrors continued until Hannah was about five.  She has never been a sleep walker, thankfully, but she tosses and turns like she is in a wrestling match.  She also holds full on conversations.  Other people I have heard talk in their sleep kind of mumble or speak in partial sentences.  Not Hannah.  Her sleep talking is often fussing at Aaron which always cracks me up.  Once in a while, she still climbs into our bed.  A couple weeks ago, she was asleep between us when she sat up and said, "We have to wait for those masked men to go by."  I had to sit up to make sure she was asleep and didn't really see someone.  It was that real.  Last night she lifted her head, leaned over to mine and said, "Dad's head is a stone with glasses on it." 

When she is an adult and meets the man she is going to marry, I really, really, really want to keep her sleeping habits a secret from him until they are married.  It would be so funny to hear his shocking tales of being punched and kicked during the night by Hannah while she has full on nonsense conversations.