Baby Waking Every Hour? Here’s the Solution

Baby Waking Every Hour? Here’s the Solution

Becoming a new parent is an amazing feeling. It is exciting, enlightening, and encouraging but nonetheless, it may get severely taxing at times. Although comprehending the wails and emotions of the baby without words being shared is more of an intangible thread of communication between your infant and yourself, it is not impossible that you may feel worried over some of the behavioral patterns of your baby. One of those many worries come up when your baby is waking up every hour. 

In this article, will look at the possible causes of your baby waking every hour and some potentioal solutions too for all you wonderful parents that are worried.

Why does my Baby Wake up every Hour?

1. Your Baby is Hungry

When your baby is growing in the womb, s/he doesn’t need to ask to be fed. The nourishment was available to the fetus through the umbilical cord added to a soothing effect created in the environment of the amniotic fluid. However, outside the womb, the baby’s relationship with food changes to getting breastfed or bottle fed, despite his/ her dependence on food remaining on a rise for fast-paced growth and adaptation. The frequency indicates their pace in utilizing the food. If your baby feels hungry, it is beyond question that the sensation shall disrupt their sleep, as it even does for us adults, waking them up.

2. No Sleep Schedule

Your baby’s body clock is more perceptive and adaptive than that of grown-ups. If you succeed in nurturing a good sleep timing with a consistent schedule, chances are high that your baby will not wake up unexpectedly every hour. But what exactly is a sleep schedule? It is a routine practice to give the body clock of your little one a sense of bedtime. Your baby would most likely enter into a deep sleep in their bedtime hours if it is naturally indicated by the body itself. Any changes to the baby sleep schedule may however tire your baby and interfere with their peace at night. It is completely normal for newborns and very young babies to wake up at random times needing feeding or soothing though.

3. Teething

This could be one of the leading reasons why your baby is unable to sleep soundly at night and waking often. The newly growing teeth break out of the jaw causing considerable irritation and pain in the gums of the baby. The good news is that most babies can deal with it after the first few nights, however, that does not apply to every baby. This phenomenon could be noticeable as your little one gets to around 3 months old which is the average time to start teething. The pain might bother the baby to wake up from hour to hour right when they enter into the lightest phase of sleep.

What to do when the baby wakes every hour?

1. Schedule Feeding

Ensure that your baby gets to eat their final meal of the day before beginning the bedtime routine. If their daily food needs are not met duly, babies tend to wake up in the night feeling hungry, tired, and agitated. Just as you set the baby’s body clock to sleep, determine a schedule for feeding too so that they’re full when they go to sleep.

For some babies, especially younger ones, having a dream feed scheduled right sleep may turn out to be a smart and ideal move to ensure no midnight waking ups. Feed the baby properly and rock him/ her gently to slowly drift off. Over time, your baby will learn to get to sleep without you right after the final meal.

2. Introduce a Security Object

As your baby adjusts to the external conditions, s/he may feel highly insecure and terrified with its unlikeliness from the womb. Babies have a sensitive perception of even the slightest change of environment in the real world. They also tend to dream a lot as they sleep.

Therefore, bonding your baby with a security object such as a stuffed toy or soft baby blanket can comfort the baby in any circumstances. You may also experiment with brushing some breast milk onto a muslin cloth and placing it right beside your baby. Their receptive sense of smell will help to calm them with the aroma of familiarity with their best food.

3. Increase Daytime Feedings

The best thing for you might be your baby’s sleep but for your baby, there could be nothing better than food. Nourishing the tiny tummy and re-fueling it consistently in the daytime can perish their unnecessary hunger by the late evening. After the play for the day is over and nutrition needs are met in time, your baby would naturally slow down to sleep in the night. It is a smart move that prevents setting your baby on a habit of depending on you every time to be put to sleep. A baby will expect regular feeding, which is a good thing, but failing to maintain regularity may disrupt their sleep more.

4. Don’t Skip Naps During the Day

If you believed that skipping naps during the day can put your baby on a deeper sleep in the night, think again as this practice can unexpectedly backfire a lot of the time. Daytime naps can help your baby recover the deficit in sleep at night which is an essential key to better health. Moreover, if you keep up a routine with the baby’s required sleeping hours distributed in a 1:3 ratio between day and night, it can help develop better sleep habits, allowing your little one to recover any lost sleep at nighttime.

More importantly, if your baby has been quite active in the night, suddenly keeping them from daytime naps in order to catch up with sleep immediately in the following night may do more harm than good. Therefore, channeling a smooth shift by utilizing daytime nap hours can benefit your baby and you.

We hope the article was insightful!

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