Is your baby waking up every hour? This is a very common complaint! When a baby wakes up every hour crying, or waking frequently throughout the night, there is usually a culprit! Most babies wake anywhere from 2-6 times a night. This is NORMAL. Adults wake too, we just don’t remember it. It’s when a baby can’t fall back asleep that it becomes a problem, not the actual waking. Babies like adults go through different stages of sleep. At the end of a cycle, there are partial wakings. When a baby has good sleep habits they can usually drift right back to sleep without a peep. So mom or dad may not even notice the waking. But babies that have bad sleep habits or need sleep props will wake and cry for those props. So let’s talk about the most common reasons a baby wakes up every hour.
Sleep props
The most common and biggest culprit of frequent night wakings are sleep props. These include rocking, bouncing, pacifier reinsertion, or feeding to sleep. When a baby needs this to get to sleep, he/she will likely need it in between sleep cycles to get back to sleep. Some babies even fall asleep on their own at bedtime, but need the prop all throughout the night. Teaching a baby to fall asleep on her own and without props is the solution for this culprit. Not sure how to do this, I can help! View Sleep Packages—>
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Poor nap schedule
Sleep begets sleep. So if your baby is napping poorly or napping at the wrong times, you can expect your baby to wake up every hour. Getting your baby on a proper schedule will help not only improve her naps, but her overall sleep.
Teething
It should be no surprise that if a baby is in pain or not feeling well that he/she will start to wake up every hour. Teething is not painful for all babies but the babies that it is painful for it can certainly keep them up all night. Keep in mind that teething pain is usually only painful about 3-4 days before the tooth erupts up to about 3-4 days after it pokes through. So if your baby is “teething” for a few weeks now, chances are this is NOT the cause of the hourly wakings. Also, swollen and red gums, and a white bud showing through the gum usually accompany the pain. Actual teething pain is quite apparent. Regular teething that just involves chewing on things and drooling, is usually not indicative of pain. And this sort of teething is usually not enough to wake a sleeping baby.
Habit
If your baby gets something every single time she wakes like a bottle, some water, a pacifier, bouncing etc chances are your baby’s body is just set to wake up for that. In other words her internal clock is waking her out of habit. The solution for this is to stop the habit, by not offering anything unless absolutely necessary. If your baby needs a bottle because she’s young, and is hungry then sure she may need that. But if you are offering a feeding every hour just to get your baby to sleep, chances are this has now become a habit for her. Eliminating unnecesary habits that interfere with sleep is key!
Illness/discomfort
If your baby is ill or not feeling well he/she will most likely be up all night. Comforting your baby and handling her symptoms based on your doctors recommendation will help her through this. Tummy troubles, spitting up, or reflux will also certainly cause frequent night wakings. Speak to your pediatrician about this.
So there you have it, the most common reasons a baby wakes up every hour! Most sleep troubles such as frequent night wakings can be resolved by teaching your baby good sleep habits and not reinforcing the wakings.
Not sure how to get started? I can help! View Sleep Packages
