5 reasons why your baby could be waking up at night

One of the biggest challenges of being a new parent is the serious lack of sleep so if this is you, here are 5 reasons why your baby could be waking up at night.

According to a 2019 study, new parents don’t get a good night's sleep for up to six years after baby is born.

This lack of sleep can have serious affects on your mental and physical health, so it's important that you try to manage that from as early as possible.

And one of the most important first steps is figuring out why exactly your baby is waking.

Here are 5 reasons why your baby could be waking up at night, and what you can do about it.

5 reasons why your baby could be waking up at night

1. Temperature: Babies are very sensitive to their environment, so you have to make sure they are at a comfortable temperature for sleep. That’s 68°F to 70°F.
2. Uncomfortable: If their night clothes are too tight, their diaper is soiled or leaking, or their mattress is too hard, these can all disrupt a baby's sleep. If you do need to change a diaper in the middle of the night, keep it “business-like". Don’t turn on too many lights, don't talk too much, or make too much eye contact.
3. Too much light: Invest in blackout curtains as reducing light exposure helps the brain release melatonin and keeps baby’s internal clock in rhythm. Babies are too young to be scared of the dark, so they really don’t need a nightlight.
4. Hunger: Newborns need to feed around the clock initially, and then gradually start to eat the bulk of their meals during the daytime. But as many parents will tell you, some babies find it difficult to drop their night feed habit. What's important is to ensure you feed your baby as soon as they wake up from their daytime naps to ensure they get sufficient nutrition before bedtime.
5. A comfort thing: For the first few months of life, babies don't know how to self-soothe so they rely on you to comfort them and coax them back to sleep whenever they wake. Self-soothing is a learned behaviour so the best approach is to set up a positive sleep routine from early on.