It's a Nightmare!!!!

Last night just before 9:00 Ben started screaming bloody murder for no apparent reason. He was sound asleep then !BAM! screaming at the top of his lungs. He has never done this before so I bolted from the office into his room.

When I got there he was in serious crying position, on his back, fists clenched over his head. Tears were streaming down his face, but here's the odd part...his eyes were closed. I immediately tried to comfort him. I put my hand on his chest and gently rocked him while putting his pacifier back in his mouth. No dice.

I turned off the baby monitor and picked him up. He was still screaming. Allison had come upstairs to see what was going on. I handed him off, but still he wouldn't wake up and he wouldn't stop screaming. We though "maybe he's teething, give him some Baby Orajel." He woke up when we did that and stopped crying for the moment.

He was awake for about a minute. He was doing the breathing after crying thing...it's so cute. After we baby orajeled him, we tried to get him right back to sleep. Bad idea. He closed his eyes again and immediately he went right back to crying and screaming. Maybe it's not his teeth. Maybe like in Vanilla Sky...

It's a nightmare!!!!

We woke him up again and let him calm down. It took a good 5 - 10 minutes. Finally he regained his composure and fell asleep in my arms. I put him down and tip-toed out of the room. I was nervous for the next hour or so, wondering if it would happen again. He was good for the rest of the night. I fed him a late night bottle at 11:30. He was happy and took 4 ounces.

I guess he had night terrors or a nightmare. That sucks. Poor little guy. I felt so bad for him. I wanted to cry for him. It was so unsettling to see him that upset with nothing I could do to help him and not knowing what caused it.

I thought to myself, how can a baby have a nightmare? What could a baby see that could scare him? It's not like we let him watch Nightmare on Elm Street. You have to be at least 3 yrs old to watch that one. ;) The more I thought about it, the more I could see it. The more I think about the animals in his books and the characters on TV, it's a wonder he gets any sleep at all. Some of these characters are scary looking.

First up: I'll Eat you up!
The monsters in Where the Wild Things Are have faces only a mother could love. And they say "Don't go, I'll eat you up" Yes, they say it in a loving way, but it CAN be heard as "DON'T GO!!! I'll EAT YOU UP!!!! AAARRRRGGGG" And not that he's seen the movie yet, but one of the monsters is played by Tony Soprano. AHHHHH The horror.
Next up: Those damn dirty apes.
Ben's room is covered with monkeys and he has multiple stuffed animal monkeys. How would you like it if this is what was watching you sleep?
Exhibit C : I'm from the streets yo!
He did watch Sesame for the first time last week and suddenly this happens...hmmmm

Having a bad trip? Don't watch this show. Maybe Ben thinks he was going to be a guest for the party in Brobee's tummy. Look at the DJ...never trust someone that smiles that much!
Last up because I have to get back to work. I could honestly do this all day...and if I got into altering pix in Paint I could do this all week. But the last one is a fashion nightmare. What if Ben was dreaming about this! Sandals with socks! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!