Baby often wakes up at night: reasons and what to do

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

For the proper development of the child, he needs a certain sleep pattern. But often young parents are faced with such a problem as restless children's sleep. How to recognize the reasons why the baby wakes up at night? Consider what are the reasons for the wakefulness of the baby at night and how to fix the situation.

Night festivities of the baby

Many parents expect their newborn baby to sleep like an adult at night, but this is far from the case. A newborn in the first months of life, at least up to three, simply cannot rest for a long time. He can wake up to eat his mother's milk, pee, or just grunt and remind himself. But, as a rule, such awakenings do not last long and soon the child falls asleep.

If at night the baby is awake more often than during the day, then it is worth saying that the child has confused day and night. To remedy the situation, you should be patient and first of all put the baby to bed at a certain time. Experts note that 19.30is the ideal time for your baby to go to sleep, as during this period the hormone of calmness is actively produced in the body.

Also, the baby may wake up feeling uncomfortable from a full diaper. It is important to change it in advance. It should be understood that the baby’s sleep is superficial, that is, he can wake up from any rustle or cotton. Sometimes babies wake themselves up with arms they can't control yet.

Psychological aspect

There are a lot of situations when a baby wakes up at night and cries, and calms down only when he is picked up. This is due to the psychological factor. In particular, this is how children behave, who are rocked before going to bed in their arms and only then put to bed. Waking up, such a baby is very worried and worried that he is not in his mother's arms and does not hear her smell, but sees only the bars of the bed. Fear and despair seize him, and he begins to cry loudly about it.

What to do in this case?

1. Sleeping together can be a good solution. In this case, even waking up, the baby will see the mother and smell her, without feeling fear and anxiety. You can easily feed him by breastfeeding him and then sleep peacefully.
2. Teach your baby to fall asleep on their own. After feeding, you can put the baby in the crib so that he falls asleep, while being nearby. You can stroke the baby or sing a lullaby so that he feels the presence of the mother.

It is important in this case to act consistently and gradually accustom the baby to sleeping on his own in the crib. It is also worth not being zealous with motion sickness. At the age of six months, you should not put your baby to sleep in a stroller, let him learn to fall asleep not under shaking, but in his crib.

Many pediatricians note that if the baby often wakes up at night and the mother puts him next to her, this is primarily convenient for parents, but not for the baby. Not everyone wants to get up at night and calm the raging baby, it’s easier to put him next to him and sleep peacefully. But a child who, with his loud crying, has achieved a place on his mother's bed, will not want to leave her on his own and fall asleep in his own. A child who cries at night, if it is not related to his well-being, just wants to make sure that his mother is there.

Natural causes of sleep disorders

Somnologists who study the quality of sleep in children identify several factors why babies wake up at night. And this should not cause concern for parents.

Often babies cry in their sleep, which is a physiological feature of the child's body. It can be either a quiet “whining” or a loud cry. Thus, the baby splashes out his impressions received during the day. Often, parents note that the more impressions the child received during the day (for example, guests visited), the more restless he sleeps. Such a reaction of the child's body passes by the age of one and should not cause concern to parents.

Manybabies startle in a dream, thereby waking themselves up and then calling their mother by crying. This is also the normal state of the baby, since his nervous system has not yet formed and he cannot yet control his reflexes. In this case, you should stay close to the baby, calm him down or lightly stroke him so that he can sleep peacefully.

Disorders of wakefulness and sleep

Many parents wonder why the baby wakes up at night and stays awake. But few, especially young mothers and fathers, guess when it is worth putting the baby to bed so that his night's sleep is peaceful.

Experts note that the optimal time to fall asleep is from 19.30 to 20.30. During this period, the baby produces the hormone melatonin, which is responsible for its calmness. It is also important to notice when the baby wants to sleep. He usually rubs his eyes. Do not miss this moment, because then the baby will walk too much and it will be difficult for him to fall asleep. The calming hormone is replaced by the stress hormone (cortisol). At this time, it is almost impossible to put the baby to sleep, and you should not hope for a restful sleep.

Babies who are breastfed can eat up to four times a night. Babies at the age of six months can replace food with plain water or compote to gradually accustom him to sleep without waking for at least six hours, from midnight to six in the morning.

If a baby wakes up at night every hour, this should alert parents. Perhaps he is malnourished, which is observed with reduced lactation in the mother or if the milk is low in fat.

Sleep regression

The reason that the baby often wakes up at night may be sleep regression, that is, a natural process in the development of the crumbs. Each baby goes through several transitional stages up to two years, when sleep patterns can be disturbed by physiological reasons. Such a situation may arise at 4, 9 months, at one and a half and two years old.

Violations can also be triggered by the fact that the child acquires new skills, which increases his excitability. Also during this period, the duration of sleep and wakefulness changes. He no longer spends all his time in a dream, but often walks.

Parents should not be concerned about sleep disturbances during these periods. It is important to be patient, and then interruptions in sleep and rest will pass by themselves. It is also worth following a certain ritual before going to bed: bathing, fairy tales or a song.

Medical factors

The reason that the baby often wakes up at night and cries may be he alth problems.

Common Medical Causes of Restless Sleep at Night in Babies:

• teething (may be accompanied by fever);
• colic (often tormented by breastfed babies, especially if the mother does not follow a diet);
• cold.

It is important to notice the cause of restless sleep, if it is not related to the physiological or psychological aspects, and eliminate it.

Sleep conditions

If the baby wakes up at night and is awake and there are no disturbances in well-being, then certain sleep conditions were not met.

What determines the quality of baby's sleep?

• uncomfortable air temperature - optimally in the room where the baby sleeps, it should be from +18 ° С to +23 ° С, you should definitely ventilate the room before going to bed;
• uncomfortable clothing - it can hinder baby's movements;
• hard or too soft mattress;
• pillow - a newborn does not need it at all, a small diaper is enough, and from six months you can lay the baby on a flat pillow.

There are also certain indicators of how much a baby should sleep depending on age. And most of the duration of a baby's sleep should occur at night. Up to three months, the baby sleeps 18 hours, a six-month-old child - 15-17 hours a day, at 12 months - up to 14 hours, 18 months - 11-13 hours, from two years old - 10-12 hours.

How to fix the situation if the baby often wakes up at night?

Having de alt with those who prevent the baby from sleeping normally at night, let's talk about how to fix the situation.

In order to normalize the night sleep of the baby:

1. Correct your daily routine. A child who is tired during the day sleeps well at night. Before going to sleep at night, he should be a little awake, but not overtired.
2. A couple of hours before a night's sleep, the baby should spend in a calm environment so that his nervous system calms down.
3. Follow a certain ritual before going to bed. So the bodythe baby will feel that it is time to sleep on a physiological level.
4. In the room where the baby sleeps, there should be dim light, you can turn on the nightlight at most.
5. If the baby wakes up at night, do not play or talk with him: change the diaper or feed if necessary and put him back to bed. He must understand that the night is the time to sleep.
6. Remove toys from your baby's field of vision at night so that when he wakes up, he is not distracted by them.

Should I take my baby to bed if he sleeps restlessly at night?

Modern pediatricians note that the joint sleep of a baby with his mother has a beneficial effect on his well-being and development. But adherents of the classics criticize this position.

Of course, when breastfeeding, when the baby sleeps "by the side", it is convenient to feed him. In addition, now pediatricians note that it is important to feed the baby on demand. But most experts are still of the opinion that it is worth observing a certain feeding regimen, starting from birth. In this case, by 4-6 months, breastfeeding can be established so that the baby will eat only once a night and sleep peacefully in his crib. Thus, both the mother and the child will get enough sleep.

Psychologists note that a baby who slept with his mother until one and a half or two years old often suffers from "nightmares" when moving to his crib. The same children who initially slept separately do not know at all what night crying or stress is.

Ifthe baby often wakes up at night, you can put the crib near the parent bed. Thus, you can always hear the baby, calm him down, but at the same time he sleeps separately. This is the best option as everyone needs their own space to sleep.

What is the most comfortable position for a baby to sleep in?

Child after a year he chooses the position in which he is most comfortable to sleep. Up to a year, the position of the baby in which the parents put him to sleep is of great importance.

Pediatricians say that you should not put a newborn or baby to sleep on his stomach. There is such a thing as sudden death syndrome, and the reason for this is precisely the cessation of breathing. A baby who does not yet hold his head or does not know how to roll over on his side can simply suffocate. It is best to lay the baby on its back, while turning its head to the side.

What to do during the day if the baby does not sleep well at night and often wakes up?

A baby's sleep at night depends on how his day went. At the same time, the psychosomatics of each child is individual. One, having been saturated with the impressions of the day, falls asleep without difficulty and sleeps all night, while the other, on the contrary, behaves restlessly during a night's sleep. This primarily applies to highly impressionable children.

It is worth giving the baby new “impressions” in a dosed manner during the day (guests, skills, entertainment). Before going to bed, it is important that the baby is physically tired. It could be a massage or a bath. Physical activity before bed is an important partnight calm.

If the baby wakes up at night every hour, this may mean emotional overload, hunger or discomfort from a wet diaper. It is also impossible to exclude the well-being of the crumbs (teeth, colds). It is important to determine the cause of the baby's restless rest and eliminate it.