Recently, Frankie had somewhat of a bad night. She would wake in absolute hysterics, thrashing about and crying uncontrollably. Except, ‘waking’ isn’t really the right word, as she didn’t seem ‘awake’ as such. Her eyes remained closed the whole time, almost as if she was crying in her sleep.
My wife mentioned this to one of her friends, who in return said she could have been dreaming, or given the nature of the behaviour, having a ‘nightmare’.
A nightmare.
A 6 month old baby. Having a nightmare.
Now, we all have nightmares. Even the best of us. I can imagine Tim Burton tossing and turning in despair at the paralysing thought of getting rubber stamped approval to remake Beetlejuice, only to be told Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter are both unavailable. Kim Kardashian waking in a trembling, cold sweat dreading the inevitable day that little North decides to pop the question on ‘how Mommy got famous’. Lady Gaga losing sleep at the perilous thought of arriving on the red carpet at the Grammys, only to discover that someone else has also turned up in the exact same outfit made of chinese broccoli and licorice ropes, wearing a space helmet filled with cream cheese.
But what in god’s name would a 6 month old baby have a nightmare over?
What could be so horribly disturbing to instill night terrors into someone who’s only been on the planet for six months?
Especially when the scenarios are limited to:
“I had a boob in my mouth and then it fell out.”
“I’ve rolled on to my stomach and I can’t get back over.”
“They left me in the car seat. Forever.”
“I dropped my dummy. And now I want it back.”
“They keep changing my clothes. Again and again. It never stops.”
“Mummy hid her face behind a blanket and never came back.”
“One of my socks fell off and now I’m only wearing one sock.”
I can understand the rational thought of a baby crying in their sleep being attributed to a ‘nightmare’, but I can’t for the life of me figure out, given our understanding of nightmares, what it could possibly constitute?
Does anyone out there have any thoughts?
What would your baby have a nightmare about?
DAD OF FRANKENSTEIN 