Four Reasons Your Child May Not Be Sleeping Through the Night.

Before you become a new parent, you receive an influx of advice and suggestions on how to care for your child. Probably one of the biggest pieces of advice you might receive unsolicited is about your baby’s sleep. Where they should sleep, how you should put your baby to sleep, do you wake them for feedings, etc. 

You might also hear from those closest to you to “enjoy the sleep now because once the baby arrives, you’ll never sleep again.” It’s almost as if when you choose to become a parent, you have to sacrifice getting rest. 

However, that doesn’t have to be the case for too long. 

However, we know there are times when your little one might be having a hard time falling asleep. Any type of disruption to your family’s sleep schedule can be frustrating and disrupt your schedule for the day — or even the next couple of days if you are not able to support your baby back on track to their normal schedule. 

Here are a few reasons why your little one might be having trouble falling asleep: 

1. Your little one is not falling asleep independently. This might mean your child is more comfortable falling asleep being rocked or nursed/bottle fed to sleep than being put down in their crib awake and falling asleep on their own. 
2. Your baby’s nap or daytime schedule is off. Your child might be waking up too early or is ready for a later bedtime, causing their daytime wake windows to either be too long or too short. 
3. Your baby is getting ready to drop a night feed. As your baby grows, so do their tiny stomachs. Your child might be letting you know he/she is ready to wait until the morning to eat. 
4. Your little one’s sleep environment is causing them to wake. Do you have blackout curtains? There may be too much light entering your child’s sleep space. What about a sound machine? Babies sleep thrives when their environment is dark enough it’s difficult to see your own hand and their sound machine blocks out any outside noise.  
5. Your baby is experiencing a developmental leap or growth spurt. Your child’s growth is exciting and beautiful to see. They also want to practice all the new skills they are learning at night. If possible, support your little one in experiencing their new skills during the day. 

No matter what the reason your baby may be experiencing trouble falling and staying asleep, it affects your entire household. If you are looking for additional support in ensuring your baby and everyone in your house is getting proper rest, don’t hesitate to reach out to me today to schedule a free discovery call. During this call, we’ll chat about what’s going on with your child and see how I might be able to help. 
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