I Put My Baby in His Crib Awake. Why Is He Still Waking Up All Night Long?

More often than not, if you mention that your baby (4 months or older) isn't sleeping through the night, someone will ask you if you are putting your baby down awake. The reason for this is that the way your baby falls asleep is likely to be the way they need to be helped back to sleep in the middle of the night. For example, if your baby is rocked to sleep, he's likely to need to you to rock him back to sleep when he wakes between sleep cycles in the middle of the night. If your baby falls asleep in his crib from awake, however, he's more likely to be able to fall back asleep without support after briefly waking in the night. 

So what do you do if your baby IS falling asleep in his crib, but is still waking up throughout the night? Try asking yoruself these 5 questions: 

1. Is my baby FULLY awake when i put her in the crib? If your baby is well on her way to being asleep when you put her in the crib, she's not actually falling asleep independently, and may need you to help her fall back asleep in the middle of the night. 

2. Is my baby getting an age-appropriate amount of daytime sleep? Is he wawke for an age-appropriate amount of time between the last nap and bedtime? If your baby is getting too much or too little daytime sleep, nighttime sleep can be harder. Your baby also needs the right amount of awake time before bed so that he has enough sleep pressure built up to sleep well, but not so much that he's overtired. 

3. Does my baby still need a feed in the middle of the night? Some babies are ready to night wean pretty early on, and some continue to need a middle of the night feed until they are 10-11 months old. If your baby is falling asleep independently and following appropriate wake windows, yet is consistently waking up and taking a full feed, he may actually need the feed. 

4. Am I feeding my baby at every wakeup in the middle of the night? If so, your baby is likely using the feed as a way to fall back asleep. Decide how many feeds you need (or want) to keep in the middle of the night, and work on helping your baby back to sleep in other ways and with fading support for any wake-ups that occur during non-feeding times. 

5. Is there something else, such as refulx that is affecting sleep? Sometimes underlying health issues such as reflux can cause consistent discomfort that leads to difficulty with sleep. If you think a medical issue may be impacting your child's sleep, be sure to mention it to your baby's pediatrician. 

Sleeping well is about so much more than sleep training. Helping families figure out why their babies are struggling with sleep is one of the most important parts of my work as a sleep consultant. If you're ready to figure out once and for all, why  your baby isn't sleeping well, I can help! Book a free Discovery Call with me to get started or to learn more. Your baby CAN be a good sleeper. I'll show you how to get there.