DD terrified of crib

[mrsberman]

Hi, this is my first post here but I am in need of help.

My DD is 14 months and she has recently (about a month) started waking up in the middle of the night terrified. She has had problems with night terrors in the past, but this is not the same as what is happening now. She is actually awake when we go in her room to get her. Last night was the worst. DH put her in her crib and she started screaming hysterically and would not stop. We tried leaving the closet light on and she still screamed. When DH and I went to check on her she was staring at the corner of her crib and wouldn't take her eyes off it. When we picked her up, she didn't stop screaming until we took a step out of her room. The minute we stepped back into her room the screamig started again. The weirdest part about all of this is she is fine in her room during the day. She'll take naps with minimal problems (sometimes she makes a fuss but is asleep within 10 minutes) and she'll play in her room. We coslept with her until about 6 months and now she has been sleeping with us more and more because of the screaming.

Has anyone ever thier child be afraid of their room or crib? What did you do? Thanks!

[dividedsky]

moved him to a twin mattress on the floor. he sleeps a million times better now! the crib is a weird thing.....

[honeybunmom]

Are you sure she's not having a night terror? I mean, one thing about them is that the child appears to be awake, but is hysterical. My daughter had them starting around 18 mos.

Otherwise, I would also check to see that nothing in her environment (in her room especially) has changed recently that may be causing her fear. Anything new in her room that is casting a shadow at night? Anything like that?

[mrsberman]

It's definitely not a night terror. She's wide awak and reaches out for us when we come in the room. The only change I can think of is we moved her dresser but it didn't bother her. When DH comes home Monday I'm going to have him convert her crib to the toddler bed. She's a little young for it, but she gets in and out of our bed and the guest bed without problems.

[holothuroidea]

We had to get rid of the crib at 14 months because she was climbing out of the crib. It's not too young for a toddler bed.

Could it be something other than fear? Could she be having stomach pains, has there been a change in her diet, especially something she eats before bed time? It's also not uncommon for LO's to find their "screaming voice" at this age, and practice at inconvenient times like when they're trying to go to sleep.

At this age she could also be having some separation anxiety, she's really still a baby and may not want to be alone.

[mrsberman]

There's nothing new in her diet. It could be separation anxiety. She is used to always being around people. Last night she was fine in the crib and didn't wake up once but Friday night she woke up four times.

[lifeguard]

This was why we gave up on the crib & switched to a twin bed with rails@ 16mos.