It's 3 o'clock in the morning and your baby is crying...again. When a newborn wakes at night, there might be a physical reason, but as the months pass, if your baby is still waking up frequently, the cause might be something else. Most new parents are eager for their infants to sleep longer during the nighttime hours so they, too, can get some much-needed rest.
Newborns
Although a newborn infant requires up to 16 hours of sleep per day, according to the website, KidsHealth, it's unlikely that she will sleep longer than three or four hours at a time until she is two months old. At this tender age, your infant requires frequent feedings, as often as every two hours. Premature babies may need even more frequent feedings and breastfed babies may wake more often than formula-fed babies, advises the website, KidsHealth.
Habit
Like older children and adults, babies can develop habits. If you turn on bright lights and encourage your little one to interact during nighttime feedings, she may expect to get up and play every night. The Mayo Clinic recommends keeping nighttime feedings as "low key" as possible. Use dim lights and speak only in hushed, comforting tones.
Sleep Needs
The "Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health" reports that a baby's sleep needs decrease as he gets older. At three months, the infant needs between 14 and 15 hours of sleep and by the time the baby is a year old, he will require approximately 12 hours of sleep daily.
Regression
Just when you think your baby is developing a solid sleeping pattern, she may start waking up again at night, according to KidsHealth. This may be due to her increasing awareness that you're not in the room, often occurring between the age of eight months and her first birthday. During this stage, she may also resist taking her nap. Setting a strict bedtime routine might help you and your baby get through this stage.
Bed Sharing
It's easy to bring your baby to bed when he wakes in the middle of the night, but it might postpone his ability to sleep on his own, according to The Mayo Clinic. Instead, make it a practice to put your baby in his crib when he's sleepy but, still awake, which will allow him to get used to falling asleep alone in his crib.
Side Effects
Babies exposed to harmful substances while in the womb may experience disrupted sleep patterns, according to a 2010 study conducted at the Brown Center for the Study of Children at Risk, in Rhode Island. The study concluded that babies born to mothers who smoked during pregnancy suffered from persistent sleep problems that lasted as long as 12 years in some children.
References
- http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/sleep/sleepnewborn.html
- "Gale Encyclopedia of Children's Health"; Kristine M. Krapp, 2005
- Mayo Clinic: Baby Sleep: Help your baby sleep through the night.
- KidsHealth: Sleep and your 8-to-12 Month Old
- PubMed: Sleep problems in children with prenatal substance exposure: the Maternal Lifestyle study.
