Why Won't my Baby Sleep

This is a frequently asked question. See below:

What Is Normal And Why Won't My Baby Sleep?

Babies often struggle to sleep. Some occasional sleepless nights are normal, especially during times of illness, stress and discomfort. Babies often wake up once or twice a night. Newborns usually wake many times during the night until about 6 or 8 weeks of age.

After the first 3 months, if your baby is awake for very long periods during the night, or if there are lots of wake-ups, there might be a physical problem that is causing her pain, discomfort or irritation. There might also be an emotional problem or something that is upsetting your baby or making her feel unsafe. See your doctor or clinic sister to check for any possible problems, such as teething pain, colic, reflux, earache and so on.

Before you try sleep training' or medication for your sleepless baby, try to think about the possible emotional causes. Anything that makes a baby feel insecure could disrupt her sleep. Babies react to their environments so changes can affect their sleep. Here are some examples of these changes:

Mom Going Back To Work Or Starting Work 

Sleep problems could start when you go back to work or when your baby starts crèche. If you work long hours, your baby might try to stay awake when you are home so that he can make the most of his time with you. Perhaps he's afraid you are going to leave again.

You may need to sleep with him, both for yourself and for him, because you have missed each other during the day. If sleeping together feels like it is working for you both, it's probably a sensible thing to do, for both your sakes.

Stress At Home

Babies can carry all kinds of psychological baggage for their families. They are like sponges. They sense tension, unhappiness and unspoken conflict. It makes them feel insecure. When parents fight, it causes stress to babies and can interfere with their sleep. When either parent is physically or emotionally absent, it also causes stress and interferes with sleep. This includes a parent who is depressed, stressed, very busy or preoccupied.

Separation Anxiety

Sometimes when babies can't sleep, it's because of separation anxiety', which is linked to their relationship with their mothers. Babies can feel nervous about going to sleep because it means being away from their moms. Some babies don't feel safe enough to sleep. When things are complicated and difficult between you and your baby, it can lead to separation anxiety.

Going to sleep for a baby is like being away from the mother. Sometimes you can even unconsciously make your baby feel scared to sleep because of your own fears of losing her. This can happen more often if there have been threatened miscarriages, past miscarriages or losses in a mother's life.

When there are fears about the baby and when parents are nervous about losing their baby for whatever reason, it can contribute towards a pattern of disrupted sleep. Babies seem to be sensitive to being away from their parents at night, especially when there have been emotionally complicated experiences in the lives of the parents, either before the birth of the baby or afterwards. Parents who have lost loved ones sometimes develop a real fear of losing their baby. Babies, in a strange, intuitive way, seem to sense that fear. It's almost as though they stay awake and they demand to be close to you, in order to reassure both of you that she is alive and well and that you are not going to lose one another.