SCREAMING to sleep/nightmares ??

[newbiemama09]

so i have a two-parter question:

1) is screaming to sleep normal behavior? and 2) when to children start having nightmares?

so, the most pressing and stressful question: is screaming to sleep normal behavior?

DD is nearly 2 and she goes through stages where she just SCREAM to sleep. screams like we're toturing her, some screams i've never heard before. we still rock to sleep, and the last couple of night have been H*LL!!! she's screamed for 2 hours sometimes, off and on throughout the night. and she's done this in the past, she just goes through stages of it. does ANYONE elses kid not only fight to sleep, but just scream and cry? is this normal? or maybe not normal, but does it happen? what do you do?? and why does this happen? we're reading the No Cry Sleep Solution and we've started sleeping logs, but the logs don't take into account HOW LONG it got us to get her to sleep and how much fighting there was. we just don't know what to do. we're sleep deprived, frustrated, angry and we just pray pray pray for patience and strength, but HOW do we get though it???

Question 2)
when do kids start having nightmares? the past couple of nights DD will kick and scream and cry out in her sleep. i'm sure she's dreaming and something upset her, but i'm wondering if it's not turning into nightmares, because it's been happening so often. anyone experience this, either??

seriously, ANY advice or BTDT stories would help. DH and i are seriously at our wits end. we don't know what to do.  

[hakeber]

I would not think that was normal.  I would think that something was up...if she is having nightmares maybe she is afraid of going to sleep?

Does she sleep with you?

BTW, DS's nightmares started around 20 months, he started dreaming of a red cat that terrorized him and lived in our garden.  It was WIERD.

But no...never screaming to sleep.  I would be worried about that if my kid started doing that to be honest.  I mean I have heard of little one needing that release, but this does not sound like that, this sounds like she is stopping from fatigue and then starting again...could there maybe be an ear infection or a headache issue?  So when she lays down she feels pain?  Or is there an issue with darkness?

AS for you and DS, invest in the really good pair of ear plugs and take turns.  Sleep in shifts until you get her through this.  You will need your energy to help her.