4 Reasons Why Your Child Wakes Up in the Middle of the Night
You got through the newborn stage up being up every hour or two with your baby. You thought things would get much better with overnight sleep once your baby turned 4, 5, or 6 months old, but things aren’t improving and your baby is still up multiple times a night! Here are 4 reasons why your baby is waking up in the middle of the night.
Waking because of an isolated incident
If a baby has a wet diaper soaking through the PJs or a dirty diaper, chances are good that your baby will wake up because it’s uncomfortable to sleep in that! You can try using a diaper insert to help with wet, leaky diapers. If dirty diapers are the issue, check out this blog post: What to do when pooping affects your child’s sleep!
There could have been a loud or unexpected noise. Thunderstorms, car alarms, sirens, dogs barking, etc. all have the potential to wake a child (typically before they have stronger sleep skills…once they have those, they can sleep through most things!) That’s why it’s a great idea to use a white noise machine that doesn’t cycle and stays on continuously all night.
Temperature fluctations can also affect whether your child sleeps continuously. It’s helpful to have an independent thermometer in the nursery (and not depend on the one on the baby monitor which may not be accurate) and dress in layers with PJs and sleep sack appropriate for the season. The goal is that the core (stomach) is normal temperature once you unzip for the diaper change after the nap or in the morning. If the back of the neck is sweaty or cheeks are flushed, your child was too warm during sleep.
If your child didn’t consume the normal number of ounces during the day, he may wake up in the middle of the night due to hunger. You’ll know your child needed that night feed if he stayed awake for the full feed and didn’t just take an ounce or two and dose back to sleep on the breast or bottle. Keeping a food diary of number of feeds/minutes or ounces in a bottle can be helpful to track daytime consumption and how it relates to night wakeups.
Waking in the middle of the night because of too much daytime sleep
Think of nap sleep and overnight sleep as two buckets. If the daytime sleep bucket gets too filled up, it’ll take away from the night sleep bucket (and vice versa). So if your child sleeps too much during the day, it’ll affect overnight sleep - not seeming tired at bedtime, waking in the middle of the night or waking early.
When to wake a sleeping baby from a long nap explains the amount of daytime sleep children should get by age.
If you’re struggling with wakings during the 4-6am timeframe, that is technically an early morning waking and no longer a night waking. Check out my Early Wakings Guide to help push morning wakeup later!
Waking looking for something they want
If your child wakes up in the middle of the night and you immediately go in and offer something they want - rocking or feeding back to sleep, popping the pacifier in, etc. - you’re just reinforcing those wakeups because they’re getting positive reinforcement each time you go in! (Of course this only applies to babies who are developmentally ready to night wean…if your baby still needs a night feed, be sure to keep baby awake for the full feed and put back down awake.)
There are so many pieces to successfully sleep training - Download your free PDF and get weekly sleep tips to help set you up for success!
Waking in the middle of the night because they can’t get back to sleep on their own
First ask yourself how your child is falling asleep at bedtime. If your baby needs you to help get to drowsy or asleep at bedtime, then every time she wakes up in the middle of the night, she’ll want you to recreate how she originally fell asleep at bedtime - by rocking, bouncing or feeding to sleep (or drowsy). Instead of being able to slide into the next sleep cycle on her own, she’ll fully wake up and look for help from you.
This is where a nudge is needed to teach your child how to fall asleep without you doing a percentage of the work. Your child should be able to go from Point A: Awake to Point B: Asleep 100% on her own without you doing something to help her get drowsy.
If you need a step-by-step plan to teach your baby how to fall asleep independently without feeding or rocking to sleep (or drowsy!), as well as learn the easy way to determine whether your baby is ready to wean from night feeds and get 11-12 hours of uninterrupted, continuous sleep, check out my baby sleep course! (That link will give you a 25% off discount for a limited-time!)
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This post is for informational purposes only and may not be the best fit for you, your child and/or your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your child’s physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.