Child's night terror in hotel

[AliceinMaryland]

My little boy has night terrors. They don't happen too often, maybe 2 times a month or less and we do certain things to help limit them(atleast we think we are helping) and they seem to help but I'm very afraid that he will have one when we are in Disney. Sometimes it takes him up to 20 min. to calm down. If you're not familiar with night terrors, he screams and cries and sometimes gets so upset he throws up, all while being asleep, and you can't wake him.

So my question is, has your child ever had one in a hotel? I'm terrified the neighbors in our hotel will complain or something and we will get thrown out. My husband says that won't happen because it's a medical condition that he can't help and they can't throw us out because of it, but I'm still worried about how the hotel will treat us. Does anyone have any experience with this? I know it's an odd question, I'm just trying to figure out if they can throw us out or if we should mention his night terrors at check in so maybe they can give us a room that's more secluded.

 

[AliceinMaryland]

I'm probably just being a worry wart mommy aren't I

 

[MaleficentandGoons]

I don't see why you would need to tell anyone. As long as he isn't at the age where he could open the door on his own I think you're stressing about nothing.

 

[treehugnmama]

My daughter has them a few times a week every week. We go to wdw 2 x a year and she has never had one at wdw...wierd I know. I have considered moving to wdw.

I would not worry too much.
first off it is not something you can control....why worry about what you can't change.
secondly he may or may not have one.
even if he does I have heard "baby's" cry and all I have thought was oh that poor mom.

don't worry and have a good time.

 

[AlexTina]

My DS 5 gets night terrors. Luckily for us it only seems to occur when he is sick and/or has a fever. I'm sure their is nothing that they would do to you, it's not something that you can control, and it's not like he would be doing it several times a night (although I have experienced it twice in one night but that's rare). Anyhow my point is go on your vacation, have fun, and is DS has a night terror then so be it, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about.

Tina

 

[mommy22pumpkins]

Hello. My son is 8 and has gone through stages where he has had night terrors. His last *flare up* was over Christmaas break from school and he was off of his routine and normal schedule. I think somehow Christmas and the excitement of it may have had him a bit stressed too. Anyway my husband read of all places online that if you wake the child up about a half hour after they fall asleep it will prevent the night terror from occurring. And I was shocked to find that it works.
Apparently night terrors occur when you are passing from one phase of sleep to the next and this temporary interruption throws the night terror cycle off somehow. If you do this consistently for about two weeks it should end the night terrors at least it did for us.
Good luck I hope this works for you as well as it did for us. And hugs to you I know they are the worst thing to see your child go through.
Danielle (Mom to Owen 8 and Sara Rose 6)

 

[skatingmom]

My daughter used to get night terrors just about every night, including nights we were in hotel rooms. She would cry and scream quite loudly. We never had anyone complain. Not that she didn't bother anyone, but it's really no different than if you have a baby crying–there's just really nothing that can be done about it. Go and have fun and try not to stress about the night terrors (I know...easier said than done...!).

 

[Pineapple Whip]

If you're concerned, you can discuss it with the hotel in advance just in case they start getting calls, but really to see if they have a less occupied section of the hotel. and no, they can't throw you out.

 

[Brandee4]

My son (2 1/2) gets night terrors when he doesn't nap or when he has a lot of sugar. We try our best to make sure he gets a nap everyday but when your in Disney that is kinda hard to do. We have been to Disney 3 times in the last 2 years and he has gotten about 3 to 5 total. He cries, throws up, kicks and screams No. I know exactly how you feel.

Our Doc said to get him to focus on something. Candles, TV, music, etc. can all help. For us we put on Mickey Mouse Club House and that seems to work. We bring a lap top with us and that way we can play movies, tv on it at any time. We also keep talking with to him using his name a lot.

As far as getting kicked out or people being upset. That is completely on them! If they have kids they will totally understand and if they dont then then need to understand they are in a family place and be more understanding. Good
Luck!

Your not alone!

 

[3happydancers]

My daughter, now 12, use to suffer from night terrors, NIGHTLY, and many times more than once a night. I agree with all the previous posts:

Try to relax
Take one night at a time
The terrors may not even occur during your stay
Why worry about something you cannot control
I have never heard of anyone being tossed out of Disney for such reasons

Focus on having the time of your life!!!!

 

[AliceinMaryland]

Thanks for the support. It probably won't even happen but with us being in a new place and with all the excitement of being at Disney and getting over tired, I worry that it might be the perfect concoction to bring his night terrors on.

I have heard of waking them 30-60 min after they fall asleep but I haven't tried it. We have found that the warmer he is, the more apt he is to have a night terror. We realized that when he wakes from a night terror he is usually sweating so now we put him in a light t-shirt instead of full jammies. Someone mentioned their child gets the nt when they are sick or fever and our son is the same way. Every single time he has a cold or fever he will have a nt.

Brandee4-We also put the tv on his favorite cartoon or something that he can focus on. We talk to him and tell him where he is and when he finally answers us we know he's coming down off of it. We also try getting him to walk around or to drink some water. Getting him to change from just sitting still works sometimes because he won't want to do it and that seems to wake him.

My husband also has nt but his aren't like my childs. My husband doesn't scream and cry LOL! He wakes up and starts talking in full sentences and jumps out of bed sometimes. He has learned to go to the bathroom and turn the light on and it helps him snap out of it. Our pediatrician is looking into the nt for us to see if there is any new treatments or research going on. I've heard a lot of people say that they grow out of it but I worry he won't since my husband still has them.

 

[3darlings]

Unfortunately it happened to us our first night at Disneyland when DD was 1. It definitely wasn't fun! I sure it was a combination of lack of sleep and the time difference (we are on the east coast). She screamed for maybe 15 minutes. The worst of it is we weren't really awake either. I felt really bad about it but really there is nothing you can do. Of course she was up the next morning at 5 too! They actually said something to us the next day at the front desk but they were nice about it (oh, so that was your baby last night). Luckily it was the only time we had to deal with night terrors at a hotel!

 

[Gretchen]

Hello. My son is 8 and has gone through stages where he has had night terrors. His last *flare up* was over Christmaas break from school and he was off of his routine and normal schedule. I think somehow Christmas and the excitement of it may have had him a bit stressed too. Anyway my husband read of all places online that if you wake the child up about a half hour after they fall asleep it will prevent the night terror from occurring. And I was shocked to find that it works.
Apparently night terrors occur when you are passing from one phase of sleep to the next and this temporary interruption throws the night terror cycle off somehow. If you do this consistently for about two weeks it should end the night terrors at least it did for us.
Good luck I hope this works for you as well as it did for us. And hugs to you I know they are the worst thing to see your child go through.
Danielle (Mom to Owen 8 and Sara Rose 6)

Yes-this is true. Night terrors happen when a child is going from one sleep state to the other. We needed to wake my DD up at the same time (10:15pm) every night-not actually wake up, but we got her up and walked to the bathroom talked to her etc. she never remembered in the am that we woke her-or she would have one. Screaming, odd open eyed staring, really weird and quite disturbing if you didn't know what was going on. (she's laughing as I type this-sitting right here) Never had one in a hotel or at WDW. This lasted for about 18 months. She's 14 now and has normal sleep patterns, no more screaming in the middle of the night LOL.

Oh BTW---look at his diet, too much dye, sugar etc. can mess with your sleep too. Check into what DH is putting down too--soda, processed food etc. My son had a huge reaction to benadryl, was my standby! We tried the dye free and no more problems for him. DD just had to wake her before the terror thing started, about 2 hours after she went to bed. Good luck!

So-don't worry about it.
Gretchen

 

[Tiana]

.........

 

[Mickeypooh99]

My DS has night terrors. He had his worst one ever at Disney. His poor little heart was beating so fast it really freaked me out! We got through it, and while I did wonder what the other guests thought there wasn't anything I could do about it.

We do our best to prevent them. At home we really limit stimulating activities for a couple hours before bed. No TV, video games etc. We never use TV for him. It makes it worse! On vacation its hard to limit these things. All the music, noise, etc at Disney plus the junk food etc. I'm not surprised he had a bad one there. He has less now that he is older too.

 

[princessmom29]

They are scary! I had them as a child and di have one in a hotel, but it was a long time ago. I would think you would be fine. The worst that could happen is that soemone would send security to check on you. Once they know what is gonig on,then you shouldn't have a problem.

 

[julluvsdisney]

I am a sleep tech and often have children, and adults, come in for night terrors. They find often times it wont happen when in new environments. They call it the first night effect but Im assuming can happen the entire time in a new place ie hotel. You are somewhat aware of being in a different environment so some sleep disorders can be reduced or completely go away in a new environement. That being said it's not 100% so Im sure some kids will do exactly what they at home and maybe in severe cases get worse. My son and brother have night terrors and my brother have REM behavior disorder and neither had any issues last year in disney. and Im sure no one will even bother. At most you may get a concerned parent and I would just inform disney (if they respond ) that he has night terrors and Im sure they will leave you be! Good luck! I wouldnt be too worried about disney's reaction they will understand! Have fun!

 

[Disney Ella]

We have had this happen in several hotels. My daughter has night terrors and she sleep walks. She is 14 now so it happens less, but it still happens and seems to happen more often away from home.

One year, we stayed at Windsor Hills and she woke up screaming and scared her sister, who also started screaming. There were people in the townhouses on either side of us and I was sure someone would call the police because it sounded like the kids were being murdered, but luckily no one called. She also screamed in a Homewood Suites in another state and once tried to get out on the 3rd flood balcony at WL in the middle of the night. We now pile up luggage and bags in front of all exits from the room before we go to sleep so that we'll hear her if she tries to get out of the room. This past year when we went to WDW, I woke her about 60 to 90 minutes after she fell asleep for the first few nights and we had no problems.

I do feel sorry for the people in the rooms around us and if there was any way we could absolutely control and prevent it, we would, but you just never know when it will happen.

 

[andee]

My little boy has night terrors. They don't happen too often, maybe 2 times a month or less and we do certain things to help limit them(atleast we think we are helping) and they seem to help but I'm very afraid that he will have one when we are in Disney. Sometimes it takes him up to 20 min. to calm down. If you're not familiar with night terrors, he screams and cries and sometimes gets so upset he throws up, all while being asleep, and you can't wake him.

So my question is, has your child ever had one in a hotel? I'm terrified the neighbors in our hotel will complain or something and we will get thrown out. My husband says that won't happen because it's a medical condition that he can't help and they can't throw us out because of it, but I'm still worried about how the hotel will treat us. Does anyone have any experience with this? I know it's an odd question, I'm just trying to figure out if they can throw us out or if we should mention his night terrors at check in so maybe they can give us a room that's more secluded.

Stress can increase night terrors. maybe try to give your child time to unwind at the end of a busy day. Give them a warm bath, play peaceful music and snuggle up with a story book before going to bed.