[Colonol Dekker]

Tequila often leads to a different sort of rash downstairs..so i'm told.

[Jeff Vader]

Tequila often leads to a different sort of rash downstairs..so i'm told.

The question is: why would anyone apply tequila to "downstairs"?

[Snail]

Tequila often leads to a different sort of rash downstairs..so i'm told.

I'll uh take your word on that I've not tried and do not plan to

[Colonol Dekker]

Tequila often leads to a different sort of rash downstairs..so i'm told.

The question is: why would anyone apply tequila to "downstairs"?

Nobody i know would, but imbibing it in sufficient volumes would bring "downstairs" into contact with women of questionable repute. . . . .

[perihelion]

My 4-year-old daughter's best friend just moved away.  She seemed to be coping with it fairly well at first.  Then the night terrors started.  She appears to "wake up" screaming about 1.5 to 2 hours after falling asleep.  Her eyes are open, and she's saying things that sound like words, but most of them are incoherent.  At one point she was asking for "her bird" (a stuffed animal she'd left downstairs), then she was saying she was scared of the water filling up her bed.  I've no idea what to make of that one other than that we had gone swimming that day.  Every time so far, she's said "I'm scared!" over and over again.  She's not awake.  Not at all.  And she's virtually inconsolable.  She can't wake up, either.  The only thing that seems to work is hold her and agree with whatever she's saying and tell her to go back to sleep.  Eventually, it seems to take.

I've heard this is a stage kids sometimes go through, but I mean good grief, the child is obviously in pain.  I wish there was something I could do.

[Darius]

Night terrors are entirely normal (though very frightening for all involved), and what you're already doing is the best thing for her. Eventually the episodes will disappear on their own.

EDIT: Episodes of night terrors and hallucinations in our family tended to be triggered by not enough sleep, so see if getting more sleep will help things.

 /internet doctor

[Colonol Dekker]

Aye aye, just continue to observe and make sure she doesn't hurt herself while flailing, it can be gutting. Trust me i do.

Is it only since her friend moved away?
Try a warm drink / night light / hot water bottle. Vary her usual routine (slightly, don't stick her on the roof or anything) minor changes one at a time may be just enough variance to help.

[Snail]

That's scary, I wouldn't know what to do.

(so I'll refrain from giving advice; the results of doing so may be catastrophic)

[Androgeos Exeunt]

Night terrors are entirely normal (though very frightening for all involved), and what you're already doing is the best thing for her. Eventually the episodes will disappear on their own.

EDIT: Episodes of night terrors and hallucinations in our family tended to be triggered by not enough sleep, so see if getting more sleep will help things.

 /internet doctor

Oh yeah, I just remembered that you're studying for a medical degree or something similar. It's always good to have a doctor in the house.

[Ravenholme]

Exams done, now for a couple of days R&R before I start preparing for my Honours Project.

[Mongoose]

I just watched the final episode of Firefly via the Science Channel's run last night.  Now I'm kind of bummed, since I know that's pretty much it.  At least there's still Serenity to watch.

[perihelion]

Night terrors are entirely normal (though very frightening for all involved), and what you're already doing is the best thing for her. Eventually the episodes will disappear on their own.

EDIT: Episodes of night terrors and hallucinations in our family tended to be triggered by not enough sleep, so see if getting more sleep will help things.

 /internet doctor

More sleep would help, I'm sure.  If she were willing.  She's been opposed / afraid to sleep since she was 6 weeks old.  I'm told it is a mark of a smart kid.  When she's not in her full-on scared-of-everything mode, it is like she just doesn't want to sleep because she doesn't want to miss anything or stop "experiencing" life.  She's having fun and doesn't want to stop.  Right now, it is more like she's afraid to ever be by herself.  She isn't talking about it right now, but for like 2 - 3 months awhile back she kept going on about being scared of the "dark outside," as in the darkness outside her room that she couldn't see.  We had enough (in my opinion too much) light in her room, but she was afraid of the darkness outside her room.  She would stay awake for hours staring at the crack under her door watching the light from the rest of the house.  When we turned the living room light off to go to bed, she'd totally freak out.  She's not afraid of monsters, she's afraid of the Dark (capitalization deliberate).  It may as well be a malevolent entity as far as she is concerned.  She hasn't been talking about the dark lately, but since her friend moved away, her behaviors have a similar flavor, if that makes any sense.

We've been trying to maintain a regular bed time around 9PM, but she'll stay awake as long as she can fight it.  I think she only got like 6 hours of sleep last night because of it.

I can't help but feel like I'm failing her as a father, whether it is rational to feel that way or not.

I'm not really looking for advice, though I'll certainly listen to any anyone has to offer.  Mostly I just need to tell someone.  That and writing it out sometimes helps me put my own thoughts into some kind of order.

[perihelion]

Aye aye, just continue to observe and make sure she doesn't hurt herself while flailing, it can be gutting. Trust me i do.

Is it only since her friend moved away?
Try a warm drink / night light / hot water bottle. Vary her usual routine (slightly, don't stick her on the roof or anything) minor changes one at a time may be just enough variance to help.

That's not a bad thought.  I vaguely remember Mom giving me warm drinks of milk or somat before I went to bed.  (Childhood is something of a blur to me.)  Maybe we can move teeth brushing to the last thing before bed so we can end the night with some camomile or something.  I think I've got some orange herbal teas stashed away somewhere.  That might be a treat to her.

[General Battuta]

My 4-year-old daughter's best friend just moved away.  She seemed to be coping with it fairly well at first.  Then the night terrors started.  She appears to "wake up" screaming about 1.5 to 2 hours after falling asleep.  Her eyes are open, and she's saying things that sound like words, but most of them are incoherent.  At one point she was asking for "her bird" (a stuffed animal she'd left downstairs), then she was saying she was scared of the water filling up her bed.  I've no idea what to make of that one other than that we had gone swimming that day.  Every time so far, she's said "I'm scared!" over and over again.  She's not awake.  Not at all.  And she's virtually inconsolable.  She can't wake up, either.  The only thing that seems to work is hold her and agree with whatever she's saying and tell her to go back to sleep.  Eventually, it seems to take.

I've heard this is a stage kids sometimes go through, but I mean good grief, the child is obviously in pain.  I wish there was something I could do.

I experienced night terrors matching this description up through the end of elementary school (peaking in times of stress).  Just like you describe, I was more or less conscious during them, but not awake. It's a frightening sort of middle ground.

The good news is that what you're already doing, holding her and comforting her, does get through and provide solace. I don't think there's anything more you can do. (Gentle music while she's drifting off to sleep might help - it always set me at ease as a kid, though I don't know if it had any bearing on night terrors).

[perihelion]

I experienced night terrors matching this description up through the end of elementary school (peaking in times of stress).  Just like you describe, I was more or less conscious during them, but not awake. It's a frightening sort of middle ground.

The good news is that what you're already doing, holding her and comforting her, does get through and provide solace. I don't think there's anything more you can do. (Gentle music while she's drifting off to sleep might help - it always set me at ease as a kid, though I don't know if it had any bearing on night terrors).

We do have a CD player with a sleep timer on it.  We used it to play music from The Nutcracker because she loves it so much.  (Funny how kids seize onto certain things.  She doesn't like classical music, she likes The Nutcracker.)  Unfortunately, what would happen is she would stay awake listening to it and only finally release her attention enough to go to sleep after the music shut off.  Sometimes, she'd just start crying when the music shut off.   At least some of the time it did seem to calm her, though.  She's so exhausted lately that it'll probably help more than hurt.  I'll try that again.

[idea]Maybe just set it on infinite repeat.  Maybe it will help to have the constant background.[/idea]

[Ravenholme]

Clear Skies 3, the third in the very popular (and excellent) EVE online machinima series is out and it's ****ing great. Seriously excellent stuff.

[NGTM-1R]

I have acquired a DVD of The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest. Weirdly enough, unlike all but one of its contemporaries, the show is exactly as good as I remember it.

[PsychoLandlord]

I have acquired a DVD of The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest. Weirdly enough, unlike all but one of its contemporaries, the show is exactly as good as I remember it.

I am jealous of you in the extreme, and wish to acquire said DVD for myself.

[Pred the Penguin]

I'm graduating in 9 days... that comes as a ****ing relief.

[NGTM-1R]

I am jealous of you in the extreme, and wish to acquire said DVD for myself.

To be fair, "exactly as good as I remember it as" means "the Questworld sequences are still pretty silly-looking and Johnny still kind of annoys me at times, but the show is eminently watchable and Jesse is really the only redhead I've ever considered terribly hot."

Though I have discovered a new appreciation for Hajji.