Toddler Nightmares

Well, we're pretty sure Little B had a nightmare two nights ago. We had put him down not 45 minutes prior, when he all of a sudden started crying and screaming. I ran upstairs as quickly as I could (which, by the way, isn't very fast) and went into the little man's room as calmly as I could muster. In the dark I searched his crib and found him lying there on his side, sobbing and clutching his blankie. His little body was shaking ever so slightly, and I could tell, even in the pitch blackness of his room, that he was terrified. I wasn't sure, however, if he was awake or not, so I opted not to pick him up. Instead, I put my hand on his back and told him everything was okay, and he instantly calmed down. After a few moments, I tried leaving, but he started sobbing again the minute I left the side of his crib. Hoping that his bear would offer some comfort, I searched the crib for Mr. Bear, found him at the opposite end, and handed him to Baylor, who seemed relieved to have his old friend back.

Feeling he was sufficiently reassured and calmed, I left as quietly as I could and headed back downstairs. Within minutes, however, he was crying and screaming again. My husband thought he was just over-tired, so I sent him up instead of going myself, in hopes that he'd understand what I was talking about. Using his cell phone as a flashlight, Bryson found Baylor in the corner of his crib, sitting up, wide-eyed with terror. After picking him up, calming him down, and putting our bathroom night light in his room, Baylor was okay enough to leave him. He cried a bit more before he fell back asleep, but he had stopped the frantic sobs and heart-breaking screams.

We both felt certain he'd had a nightmare but very uncertain of how we handled it. After googling "toddler nightmares" we found we'd done an okay job, but I'm still wondering ...

To all the moms and dads who have toddlers, how do you handle nightmares?