My son is 5 months old now. Right from the first month, while in deep sleep, he suddenly wakes up and screams on top of his voice (this is louder than a vaccination scream) as if he had a nightmare. This is different from the way he whines to let us know that he is awake and he needs attention. Initially he used to stop screaming as soon as we picked him up. But last two times, he didn't stop even after we picked him up or tried to console. It went on for about 5 mins and the intensity was very high compared to the previous episodes. He is not awake before he starts the scream. He is not wet and the room temperature isn't doing it. There is no specific pattern of situations. Sometimes during day time sometimes in the night, sometimes in his cradle and sometimes in the bed when I'm sleeping next to him. It happens atleast once in every 10 days. He is not a colic baby or he doesn't cry unreasonably for anything else. He looks as if he is frightened by something. Believe me, he really cries his heart out while this happens. Sometimes he even misses a breath. We are absolutely helpless, not knowing what to do while he does this. I am really anxious to know what is frightening him at this age. He is well taken care so far as I still haven't joined back to work and my in-laws are around him always playing ad talking to him while he is awake. Had been googling a bit and found that infants from day one can get dreams and nightmares. Have any of you had similar experiences ? Any advices? Wondering if I could do something to keep monsters(or whatever is frightening him) away from his dreams. supriyasanoj replied. When i saw your message it really surprised me.because i was in the same situation 2 years back.my son would do the same thing.my husband would pick him up rock him then sprinkle little drops of water in his eyes,then he wakes up from his sleep.then after seeing me and his dad he used to smile even though he is whimping.then after speaking with him softly and consoling him i used to nurse him and he again falls asleep.but this whole drama lasts for atleast 30 min.now after seeing your message i went back to that time.but he came ovr it by 7 months.now he is almost 2.5 years old and sleeps throughout the night.dont worry this phase will go off. Hetal replied. it is true that babies do happen to get nightmares and dreams,which explains why ones a while they start smiling for no reason even when they are alone in room !
or sometimes they cry for no reasons,..
but its not a proved concept,babies at 5monhts,cannt remember the things they see, until the things are reappearing again and again.
what all they see thru out the day,,,except certain things that are in his surroundings and often too big for him,..sometimes just a flare of some colour, some kind of music, laughter or some kind of people whom they have seen ,,,they happen to remember it only in case of certain odd things and they cry when afraid,,,
however, their memory is temporary at 5months !
also,there should be some showpiece which might look decorative to you but to your baby it might be scary..c if anysuch thing is bothering him..sometimes in a way the parents laugh or argue or sometimes continuous noise also triggers your baby mental peace and they feel disturbed ! if nothing, sometimes its just a distant noise that had startled your baby,like some ambulance just passed by,,at that time,he might not even react, after a while he might ! because he got startled to it,afraid ti it, there is a 50% possibility that he might have happen to remember it...
apart from what you mentioned,the other reasons could be -
1.want to be held near to mom all time.
2.While newborns seem to thrive on a lot of attention, they can easily become overstimulated and have a "melt-down." this carries to sometimes at their age of 1 year..

You may find that your baby cries longer than usual after spending a holiday with many adoring family members or has periods at the end of each day when she seems to cry for no reason. or sometimes when there had alot of hand helding with differnt people than their own parents.
overcaring, excess cuddling makes them tired and has proved that they dont like it at all times of the day.
Newborns have difficulty filtering out all the stimulation they receive the lights, the noise, being passed from hand to hand,,too much of responsiveness from people around and can become overwhelmed by too much activity happening around them.
Crying is their only way of expressing and saying "I've had enough."
This usually happens when your baby is tired. Take her somewhere calm and quiet and let her vent for a while, and then see if you can get her to sleep.dont call her, let her listen to some calm music or jst look around.take her to drive,if he likes it.regular rythmic motions make them sleep.or put him to swing.
3.Let her hear the rhythm..Babies are used to the sound of your heartbeat; that's another reason they love to be held close. But you can also try playing soft music, singing a lullaby, or even just putting her close to the steady rhythm of an electric fan or the white noise of a vacuum cleaner.
a friend of mine, she would let her baby sleep in kitchen whenever her baby was fussy.she said her baby slept well when the dishwasher was onn ! it was funny to me, i merely laughed too, later i happen to study all about it & i felt bad that i shouldnt have questioned that !
and after all the trials,,take care of yourself.No baby has ever cried herself to death, but a crying baby can be very stressful for new parents as well.
If you know your baby's needs have been met and you've tried to calm her but she's still crying, it's time to take care of yourself so you don't get too frustrated.
Give yourself a break and let someone else take over.Put on some quiet music to distract yourself.
Take deep breaths holding your baby very close to you..your calming breathe might help baby to slow down and rest.whenever overstimulated, absorb your baby energy by holding him close to you and let him feel your slow breathe..babies get into the rythm of the surrounding they are in !
Remind yourself that nothing is wrong with your baby and crying won't hurt her she may just be having a good cry about something and can't tell you what it is.
Repeat to yourself, "She will outgrow this phase of anxiety.",,some babies start the seperation anxiety..swaddle them, wear them in baby sling.some babies start teething at 5months,,check his gums about its swelling and redness on it.give him something to suck,sometimes that helps calm their anxiety.
when it comes to babies, never have a traditional approach..however, there is traditional practises that we do in India, when we feel babies are getting bad dreams or something like you said any bad monster bothering..we do it by putting a silver coin of lord hanuman or a goddess durga(any god or goddess who wins over evil basically)
depending on the culture you follow,,down the line is to believe in it,...

but its practical enough to talk to your dr about it. sometimes we think we are doing the best and after all that we do, there is a point where we leave hands up..
sometimes,taking to dr, there have been cases where dr lets us something that might be very tiny detail but its mighty enough to make your baby fuss about.
and that we have been missing that point somewhere !
so take care and good luck