If getting up during the night to take care of your little one who woke up crying is something habitual, you must identify the causes and apply corrective measures in time before the bad rest brings ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟɪᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴs.
Many new mothers must get up during the night to attend to a restless little one. So the question ‘why does my baby always wake up crying?’ it is more than normal, and has several answers.
Babies have a deep sleep state that is short. For this reason, most of the hours are spent in superficial phases, a primitive survival mechanism against any ᴅᴀɴɢᴇʀᴏᴜs change.
The baby’s temperament and habits can also influence how he sleeps. Although over time some become more predictable in their rest schedule, others do not have the same luck.
Generally, after 3 months, babies will be ready to last several hours of sleep without crying from hunger. If that doesn’t happen, there may be some discomfort, either related to the environment or your physical condition.
The reasons why they wake up at night can be very varied. Parents will learn over time to recognize the needs that are hidden behind their baby’s cries. However, we can educate ourselves about the most common.
Crying is a way for babies to get their parents’ attention. Faced with any desire or need, that is their natural reaction to seek contact with mom or dad and feel safe. If you are one of those for whom the phrase “my baby always wakes up crying” sounds like an everyday thing, pay attention to the most common reasons for it so that you can find a practical and quick solution.
Baby sleep phases
As we have mentioned, the sleep of babies is different from that of adults. At first they only have two phases of sleep (deep sleep and REM sleep) and spend more time in light sleep ; For this reason, it is easy for them to wake up to any noise or disturbance in the environment or in their body.
On the other hand, when one sleep cycle ends and before another begins, microarousals occur. At these times, the baby may perceive discomfort that makes him wake up and cry to ask for attention or help.
The separation
The little ones do not know that they are in a safe place. Waking up away from the maternal warmth makes them alert and desperately seek mom’s protection. That is why, when for some reason they realize that they are away from their parents, they immediately wake up and cry.
Daily routines with prolonged sleep periods
If children spend a lot of time asleep during the day, they will feel less tired at night. This will keep them active when they should be so you are more relaxed to fall asleep. At the end of the day, they will want their parents’ attention and, not getting it the way they want, then they will cry about it.
The baby eats every time he cries
During the day, your stomach has become accustomed to receiving food constantly and in small portions without a fixed schedule. Therefore, at night it will cry for food as it waits to continue its feeding routine.
Make sure that the food portions at the end of the day are enough so that you can fully rest without feeling hungry and gradually modify the time between one meal and another.
Diaper change at night
If the baby is used to changing it at the slightest sign of wetness in the diaper, at night it will not be the exception. Feeling a bit uncomfortable about it, without even letting the absorbent material do its job, the child will wake up and cry to be restored to his sense of comfort.
Discomfort or illness
In general, any discomfort felt by the baby can lead him to cry to seek attention from his parents. And it is that he still does not know how to regulate himself. Thus, if he has colic and gas, if he is teething, you have a few tenths of a fever or an ear ɪɴꜰᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ, it is likely that he will wake up crying at night.