Just like adults, infants require the right environment, temperature, bodily equilibrium and mood to sleep. Thus, when your infant is having a hard time falling asleep, it may be hard to know what the cause is. However, chances are your infant's sleep issues are one of the common problems among infant restlessness.
Cannot Fall Asleep Independently
Just like adults, infants wake in the middle of the night when shifting in between levels of sleep. The problem is that most infants don't know how to switch positions, get comfortable and lull themselves back asleep. Instead of teaching himself how to fall asleep, your baby has you to rock him, sing to him and ease him into slumber. To help him, try including a stuffed animal or a blanket when in the rocking chair. When it's time to move to the crib, place the comforting object by him. The intended outcome is that when he wakes, he will find the object beside him, associate it with comfort and familiarity and be able to fall back asleep.
Too Riled Up for Rest
Sometimes infants are too excited to wind down for bedtime. This can be caused by many factors, including exciting play with you, stimulating visual material or a busy household. It could also be caused by parts of the bedtime "wind down" routine that aren't so calming for your infant, including baths. To remedy this, try to adjust the bedtime routine to accommodate more relaxing, yet enjoyable activities. Also, try quieter, softer lullabies and limit the distraction of the TV or stimulating toys to help her fall asleep.
Not Enough Exercise
Infants may not get that much exercise. Because of this, infants are less tired at night, and can even experience achy muscles as a result of not using them as much. However, you should try to provide as much vestibular stimulation, or any form of physical movement that moves his body through space, like swinging, says the Wonder Baby website. To provide vestibular stimulation, take your infant to the park and hold him as he goes down a slide or place him in a baby swing. Or nix the park for some home activity, moving his arms to dance or tickling feet his to encourage movement. These kinds of stimulation, though not much exercise, will help to tucker him out and prime him for sleep.
