If your baby wakes up frequently at night without any distress or need, and has trouble sleeping again, he may be having trouble sleeping. Yataş Sleep Board Specialist, 0-4 Years Sleep Consultant Pınar Sibirsky shares tips to overcome this problem in babies with parents.
Contrary to what is expected, babies who have survived the newborn period can actually sleep for long hours at night without interruption. Unfortunately, this sounds like an impossible dream for many parents. Yataş Sleep Board Specialist, Age 0-4 Sleep Consultant Pınar Sibirsky underlines that a baby who has survived the newborn period wakes up many times during the night and cannot go back to sleep on his own, even though he has no need or distress, may be a sign that the baby has a sleep problem. Sibirsky summarizes the main reasons why babies' sleep is interrupted as follows: “Incorrect sleep associations are the most important cause of sleep problems in babies. If you are rocking your baby to sleep, it means that your baby has associated rocking with sleep. So it needs to be rocked to sleep. For this reason, he still needs to be shaken to continue sleeping every time he wakes up at night. The same goes for babies who sleep by sucking, cuddling, or even snuggling in their crib.”
Tired baby has difficulty falling asleep
Sibirsky said that overly tired and late going to bed is the second most important reason for sleeping problems in babies. underlines. Sibirsky explains that the body of the baby, who stays awake for longer hours than he can bear, secretes the stress hormone, and says that with the effect of this hormone in the baby's body, it is very difficult to fall asleep and wake up very often during the night. Sibirsky says, “One of the reasons why babies cry when they are put to sleep is that they don't have enough time for their pre-sleep routines and the baby is not prepared enough for sleep,” says Sibirsky.
Baby who learns to sleep without support can go back to sleep on his own
Yataş Sleep Board Specialist Pınar Sibirsky reminds that the factors that negatively affect the sleep of babies can be reversed with a little care and patience, and babies can be provided with much longer hours of uninterrupted sleep throughout the night. Sibirsky explains that for this, first of all, it is necessary to teach the baby to sleep unsupported in his bed, and continues his words as follows: “Even if your baby wakes up at night when he learns to sleep without support, if he does not have a problem or need, he can manage to go back to sleep without support. The foundation of this skill is based on the baby's learning to calm himself in bed. Babies, who are accustomed to being put to sleep with different supports, protest this change by crying when they lie awake for the first time. At this point, it is very important for parents to be with the baby and give him confidence. It is the most sensitive point to be careful not to cause any loss of confidence in the baby while sleep training.”
Practice routines appropriate for your baby's age before each bedtime.
Sibirsky stated that parents should put their babies to bed at the right time, knowing the time they can stay awake for their age. It will be convenient for them to sleep. Contrary to popular belief, babies who are overtired or put to bed late do not sleep better at night, fall asleep crying and wake up more often at night. In addition, our baby's routines during the day and before bedtime allow him to see ahead and prepare himself for sleep, since there is no concept of time. If we comfort our baby by applying routines suitable for his age before each sleep, his transition to sleep will be much easier. Turning on music before sleep, looking out the window to wish good sleep to the animals and the sun/moon outside, closing the curtain, reading a book and a light dance before going to bed can be a good routine for bedtime. At the end of the routine, it is important for your baby to lie awake, even if he is sleepy.