Nightmare (Terror?)

Last night was the worst night we have had to date with Charlotte.  Not because she wouldn't sleep, or she was crying too much, but because she had her first, genuine nightmare (terror? Really not sure).

It was a completely normal evening. Took a bath, played with daddy, got ready for bed. She was running a low-grade fever, but I thought little of it.  In fact, I put her in her warmer, footie jammies because it was a cold night.  We brushed teeth, read books, sang songs, and in her bed she went. Happy as a clam.

Jer and I headed to bed around 9:30 to read and I feel asleep probably by 10. Next thing I know, my baby girl is screaming. Not crying, not yelling; screaming. The most blood-curdling, heart breaking scream you have ever heard.  I flew out of bed and into her room. Scooped her up and tried to hold her tight. Her entire body was shaking so intensely that I literally could not hold her close to me. She continued to scream and shake for what felt like eternity, but realistically was probably a minute or so. I kept talking to her and holding her.  She calmed down, and snuggled into my chest. I sat in her chair to rock her and less than 30 seconds later, the screaming and shaking started again. We headed down the hall to our room, hoping it would help her snap out it.  When I got her in our bed she calmed down enough that Jer and I could talk to her. It was then I realized that she was burning up, and drenched in sweat.  I took off her jammies and had her lie on her tummy.  Jer and I rubbed her back and held her close; she fell back to sleep.  I took her temp: 102.  Not high enough to cause seizures, but high enough to warrant some medication.  As she dozed in our bed, I ran and got her some Advil and light weight jammies.


After about 30 minutes in our bed, she picked up her head and said, "nigh nigh." She wanted to go back to her crib. I wanted to keep her with us, but Jer was right: she would rather be in her own bed with her dollies and blankies.  So I brought her back to her room, thinking she would scream when I tried to put her in her bed. Nope, she practically jumped back in bed and fell straight back to sleep.

Very traumatized, I climbed back in bed and eventually fell back asleep.

For 3 hours. When the exact same scream woke me up again. Again, I flew out of bed and down the hall, scooped her up and squeezed her tight. This time she calmed down faster. I believe she was back asleep in my arms within 5 minutes. I could tell her fever was gone, even though she was still sweaty. I held her for a while and then put her back to bed.

She didn't make a peep the rest of the night.

As I type this, she is still sleeping. But I'm confident she will wake up her normal, happy self.

I did a little research on the difference between a nightmare and a night terror.  The first is during the dream state of sleep, the later during the REM state. The later, the person is unaware of the terror and will have no recollection of the event the following day. They essentially stay asleep through the entire event. A nightmare is dream that the person is aware of, and probably able to recall the next day.

I'm not sure which one Charlotte had last night. I know she woke up when I brought her to our room, but was that after it was finished?

Either way, it was completely heartbreaking. I have never heard such a horrible noise coming from sweet baby.  If night terror was a person, I would have chopped his legs off for torturing my baby.

I'm praying this was an isolated event, perhaps related to the fever, and it won't become a regular event that terrorizes her throughout her childhood.

Do you have experience with something like this? What kind of advice can you offer?