Starting today, we will be sharing tips from the team at Maternity Coach! A group specialized in the well-being of babies and parents, with valuable advice that will help many families! Welcome, ladies!

The truth is, we only truly know what it is to go without sleep after having a child… even the late nights out during our teenage years were followed by a few hours of peace and a good breakfast. Unfortunately, that comes to an end one day! Worries, on-demand night feedings, and the pacifier that falls out of the mouth are just a few of the many reasons that keep parents from having peaceful and restorative nights (so necessary for anyone with a baby!).

Starting from the 4th month, most babies begin to sleep 8 to 10 hours per night1, giving parents the much deserved rest. But what if this doesn’t happen? For many of the families I help with sleep training, the biggest challenge of parenthood is not sleeping through the night. In this post, I’ll discuss some of the reasons why babies might wake up and share what parents can do to help prevent this from happening.

  • Hunger: if your baby is under 9 months old and is being breastfed, one nighttime feeding is considered completely normal. However, if your baby is gaining weight and developing properly, try to gradually eliminate this (or these) nighttime feedings by making sure they get enough milk during daytime feedings.

  • Your baby might be cold or hot: depending on changes in the weather, things like using a heater or swapping blankets might be necessary to keep your baby comfortable. Remember that babies are extremely sensitive to both cold and heat.

  • Teething: teething pain can begin up to 3 months before the teeth actually show2. That’s right! And this pain can make it hard to fall back asleep after each sleep cycle. Talk to your pediatrician about ways to help lessen this discomfort.

  • Incorrect sleep associations: if your baby can only fall asleep while nursing, it will be hard for them to doze off again without breastfeeding after a sleep cycle ends. Remember that sleeping is a learned skill, and if your baby learns that they need to nurse to fall asleep, they probably won’t be able to go back to sleep on their own. This applies to any habit related to sleep that parents introduce. The ideal scenario is for a baby to learn how to fall asleep on their own, because then they’ll know what to do when they wake up at night: fall right back to sleep.

  • Overtiredness: all children (babies or not) need to sleep as soon as they show signs of being tired. Many parents think that keeping the baby awake will make them sleep through the night, but often the opposite happens: the child takes a long time to fall asleep, wakes up several times in the night, or wakes up very early. The signs of tiredness differ from child to child and aren’t always rubbing their eyes or becoming irritable. Usually, parents say the baby “fights sleep”. In reality, they may be asking to go to sleep earlier, so it is the parents’ job to notice and respect these signs.

Always remember that the key word for a good night’s sleep is ROUTINE. Children feel safe when they know “what’s going to happen next”. A structured and consistent routine brings peace and calm to families and, to conclude, here are just some of the many benefits of sleep for children3:

  • Sleep plays a fundamental role in the neurological system
  • Getting enough sleep helps prevent attention deficit and hyperactivity
  • Babies who sleep well learn better and have a good memory
  • The immune system works better when sleep is up to date
  • Sleep problems can lead to depression in adolescence

Soon we’ll talk about other reasons that may cause your child to wake up at night. Stay tuned for more posts from Maternity Coach for Famivita!

Sweet dreams,

Michele

Michele Melão is an infant sleep training specialist and baby planner at Maternity Coach (http://www.maternitycoach.com.br/) certified by the International Academy of Baby Planner Professionals (IABPP) and International Maternity Institute (IMI). In addition to sleep consulting, Maternity Coach offers a range of services for pregnant women and babies such as shantala massage, breastfeeding support, aromatherapy, and maternity and newborn photography.

See also: How to Care for a Baby with Colic