Sleepless Nights

Okay, okay...I realize that I have not been the best of bloggers since coming home from the hospital.  I apologize.  I was hoping that once we got settled in at home and caught up on our rest, I would have plenty of time to take cute little pictures from our day and update regularly on his wonderful progress.  But, I was wrong.  The transition from hospital to home has been a tough one.  Not because Hayes is still recovering from his surgery, and not even because he is still on supplemental oxygen.  We are going through something that is all new to us and that we were not in the least bit prepared for - night terrors.  After doing lots of research, I learned that these recurrent episodes of intense panic and crying can occur after a child has endured a stressful life event, been deprived of sleep, or undergone surgery requiring anesthesia.  And as you well know, Hayes fits in all three of these categories.

Each night, we go through our typical bedtime rituals before putting Hayes to sleep in his crib.  He always falls asleep quickly and easily...but within an hour or two, he wakes up abruptly screaming and trembling.  I try to console him.  Try to wake him up fully.  Try to tell him that I am there and that he is okay.  Nothing works.  It is absolutely heart-wrenching, and I feel totally and completely helpless during that time.  Eventually, he falls back to sleep though.  I return to bed to try and get some sleep too.  However, after another hour or two...the screaming begins again.  This continues all throughout the night, over and over again.  It is horrible.  I have continued to read and research everything I can on the subject, and I am trying a new technique tonight though.  In just a few minutes, I am going to try to wake him before he would typically experience his first night terror.  Hopefully, it will disturb his sleep pattern just enough that it will break the cycle, and we will finally get some sleep tonight.  Otherwise, we will be making a trip in to our pediatrician tomorrow to see what the next steps will be...