We think our son has night terrors!

I often wonder about my son's dreams. He's 8 months old, and he'll sometimes wake up in the night shaking and crying. He's fine as soon as I pick him up and give him some attention, but he just wakes up scared sometimes. I was going to ask his doctor about it at his next appointment, just in case it's something serious. I'm not really sure what else to do for him. When it happens, I get him up and try to comfort him. He sleeps in a crib in my bedroom, so he's not that far from me. And we have a nightlight, so it's really not that dark. Hope some more experienced parents can give us both some advice!

We just found out from a developmental/behavioral pediatrician, that our son (who is 3 1/2) is most likely having night terrors. He wakes up frequently, typically once during the night (not every night), crying. He cannot be consoled. he doesn't really wake up, either. Trying to calm him down, pat his back, ask him if he's ok.. nothing works. The doctor told us just to make sure he's safe, his diaper's dry, etc.. then go back to bed. It might be worse for him to wake him up.

Who knows what these little babes dream about or what wakes them from a sound sleep. The good thing is that he goes back to sleep for you. I remember my kids waking in the middle of the night (that was some 22 years ago!), they would be sobbing. I would have to rub their back to calm them and get them back to sleep.

i think it must be a missunderstanding