It's a question that many parents will ask their friends, midwives or even turn to Google. Just why does my baby wake in the night? Many people have their own theories and of course, there could be many reasons why your baby wakes. But something you should be very sure of, it's normal for your baby to wake during the night. In fact, it's a healthy sign that they're waking in the night.
I have recently been doing a little research into why babies wake multiple times in one night. I get a lot of tired mum's ask me my thoughts and so thought it was time to educate myself.
Sleep cycles
Babies, just like us, go through sleep cycles of different types of sleep. From drowsiness to light sleep, followed by dream sleep (rapid eye movement sleep or REM). They come back again through deep sleep and light sleep, before then drifting off again. A newborn baby will move through the different sleep cycles about five times a night. There is a lot of information out there about sleep cycles and I found some useful information here.
Hungry/Thirsty
Babies who are under six months require feeds through the night. This is completely normal. As with everything, all babies are different, some babies will stop having night feeds earlier than this, other's will continue to have the comfort of a night feed for months to come. My own son who is almost 8 months still have one quick night feed. When wanting to cut out a night feed, maybe offer a sip of water instead. At the tender age of 27, I still wake in the night for a drink - so why shouldn't your baby?
Comfort Through Breastfeeding
Sometimes instead of having a full night feed, breastfeed babies will feed for comfort. Breastfeeding calms a baby, sucking releases the hormone cholecystokinin in both mother and baby, which induces a sleepy feeling. Breastmilk also contains sleep-inducing hormones, amino acids and nucleotides, which help babies to establish sleep cycles. Boobie milk always seems to mesmerise me with its magic abilities. Plus, at the end of the day if a comfort feeds works for you and your family, why not do it?!
Other Forms of Comfort
Babies need physical reassurances. They just don't have the ability to understand "come on Tommy its bedtime now.". Babies (young babies) shouldn't be forced to fall asleep without comfort. They need to feel relaxed and safe when falling to sleep. Remember, even as an adult if something is bothering or worrying you, falling asleep can become near on impossible. Cuddling offers comfort to babies, as it's the closeness that is associated with positive development outcomes. Babies will soon learn that it's ok to go to sleep and won't need that same amount of comfort as they grow.
The last piece of advice I can give is to remember, this doesn't last forever. I promise! Even when they've woken up for the sixth time in one night, just remember, that it doesn't last forever. I also found once I had started to understand why babies wake during the night, the easier I found it to cope and rationalise this perfectly normal baby behavior.
Mummy B xoxox