What the bleep is going on?

[DogStar]

My DD Rhiannon is 14 months old and has always coslept with us, she is not the best sleeper in the world, but we've been managing.  Saturday night we got her to bed just a little bit later than usual because myhusband and I had gone out and she stayed with Grandma and Grandpa for a couple hours, but usually that's not a big deal.  And I've had a low grade ick going on, so I went to bed with her but stayed up  reading on my Kindle with the little LED light and after she had been asleep a while suddenly Rhi starts SCREAMING.... and I tried plunking her on the boob, nope... this led immediately to screaming, thrashing, writhing, kicking, flailing, punching, screaming, screaming, screaming and more screaming. 

She was trying, with all her might to get away from me. She was absolutely and utterly terrified! So I turned on the lamp and let her crawl to the foot of the bed where she kneeled, yelling over and over and over, only kinda looking at me. I didnt really know what to do, so I laid back down, and that got her attention and she crawled towards me as fast as she could and latched on and nursed frantically till she fell asleep, which wasnt very long. So I read some more and went to bed.

At 10 it happened again! This was even worse, screaming and trying to escape, at one point I caught her by the ankle right as she was going blindly over the side of the bed. Finally I was able to get the light on, and just a split second afterwards she looked at me, recognized me and again rushed to me as fast as she could and latched on with a sad tired sigh. The poor little bean! Then the rest of the night every time she moved or made a sound I was wide awake terrified it would happen again, but it didnt.

Sunday night it happened again, twice, but both times I was ready so I turned the light on sooner, and even though she didnt snap out of it immediately like she did the second time, it wasnt very long before I was able to get her nursing again.

So what was it? Night terrors? I had been sucking on a zinc and elderberry lozenge, maybe I smelled different? It was horrible, her using every ounce of effort and strength in her little body to escape from me with terrified cries... she didnt know me at all.  I've had an easier time restraining dogs 4 times her size (I'm a veterinary technician)

Today a coworker told me it sounded like Night Terrors, she said her son had it, and her Dr told her to never touch or talk to him while he was doing it, but I dont think I could do that!  1, because I just want to hug and hold her she seems so scared and 2, because if I let her go she'd fall off the bed, and I dont want to put her in the crib.  I usually put her to bed and then go watch tv or check my email for a while before going to bed myself, now I'm scared she will freak out and fall off the bed if I'm not there.  I dont think my already frazzled emotions can handle this every night!

[yarngoddess]

I don't have any advice for you! Sounds like night terrors- but I don't have any real experience with them, certainly not at that age :(  Hang in there!

[Super~Single~Mama]

It sounds like night terrors to me too.  It's probably not b/c of the lozenges though - does she have a lovey?  That might help her calm down faster if she does.  My ds had them some too, but they didn't last very long (a few weeks MAX) and now they happen very very very rarely (last time was a few months ago - he just turned 2 this month).

Just do what you're doing, and I would try not to worry too much about it.