Why Do Babies Cry In Sleep

How Should Babies Sleep

The American of Academy of Pediatrics recommends room-sharing without bed-sharing until the first birthday or for at least 6 months, when the risk of SIDS is highest.

Room-sharing is when you place your baby’s crib, portable crib, play yard, or bassinet in your own bedroom instead of in a separate nursery. This keeps your baby nearby and helps with feeding, comforting, and monitoring your baby at night.

While room-sharing is safe, putting your baby to sleep in bed with you is not.Bed-sharing increases the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related deaths.

Follow these recommendations for a safe sleep environment for your little one:

The Night Terrors In Children

A night terror can occur when the child changes from deep sleep to dream sleep though night terrors were long believed to be identical to common nightmares, we now know that this is not the case. Night terrors occur during the first half of sleep, generally between one and four hours after falling asleep. It is characterized by the child waking up in the night and screaming, sometimes even kicking and punching. About 4% of children are affected by night terrors. However, it does not leave any damage and has no negative effect on the childs psyche. However, night terrors are rare in children under the age of two.

Our Tips For A Good Night’s Sleep

In addition to the bedtime routine, here are some tips to help your baby sleep tight:

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Sleep Patterns And Stages

Believe it or not, babies set their sleep patterns in the womb. Yup, its true and by the time theyre born, you might already have a pretty good idea of when theyre going to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed from when you felt them being the most active inside your belly.

Once your precious baby enters the world, it can take a few months for them to establish their sleep patterns. During this transitional period, babies will regularly change from darling angels to Tasmanian devils while they snooze. They will scream, cry, wriggle, and kick out their itty-bitty legs as they pass through the different stages of sleep.

But dont be alarmed. Infants havent mastered the challenges of a regular sleep cycle just yet, so its perfectly normal for them to cry or make strange sounds in their sleep. Often, they will simply settle back down again and drift back to snoozeville.

Attachment Milestone : Attention And Regulation

Attention and regulation go hand-in-hand, because a baby who cant calm down wont be able to pay attention and interact with you.

Your baby has periods when they are calm , attentive , and shows interest in faces, but doesnt necessarily engage with you at this point.

You follow your babys lead. When your baby pays attention to you, you respond with gentle touch, soothing tone of voice, and playful facial expressions. When your baby looks away, you do the same.

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Myths About Causes Of Crying

• Not Due to Gas. Gas passing through normal intestines does not cause pain or crying. All crying babies pass lots of gas. Their stomachs also make lots of gassy noises. The gas comes from swallowed air. The gas is normal. It does not become trapped nor cause any pains. That’s why burping a baby doesn’t help the crying. Blaming gas is a myth.
• Not Due to Spitting Up. Spitting up occurs in half of babies and is normal. It does not cause crying or colic. Heartburn meds do not help crying babies. They also have side effects.

Causes Of Unexplained Crying

• Hungry Baby. The most common reason babies cry is because they are hungry. They stop crying at the onset of feeding. By the end of the feeding, they are happy.
• Sleepy Baby. The second reason babies cry is they need sleep. They need their parent to put them in a comfortable position. It may be swaddled and on their back. Then they fuss a little and fall asleep.
• Fed Too Much. Some babies cry because of a bloated stomach from overfeeding. Unlike gas, too much milk can cause discomfort that lasts a short time.
• Caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant that can cause increased crying and trouble falling asleep. Breastfeeding mothers need to limit their caffeine intake.
• Clothing. Being too hot or too cold can make a baby cry. So can clothing that is too tight.
• Dirty Diaper. Stool is very irritating to the skin. If not cleaned off, it can cause pain and burning.
• Colic. Colic is the main cause of recurrent crying during the early months. All babies have some normal fussy crying every day. When this occurs over 3 hours per day, it’s called colic. When they are not crying, they are happy.
• Pain . Painful causes include an earache, mouth ulcers, or a raw diaper rash. An ulcer on tip of penis may also cause pain and crying. These babies cry a lot and are not happy when they are not crying. They need to see a doctor to make a diagnosis. Fever in this age group is serious until proven otherwise. Shaken baby syndrome is a concern.

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What Are The Best Ways To Settle A Crying Baby

Most babies like to be picked up and held when theyre crying. Rocking, shooshing, swaying and patting can help them to settle.

Babies aged less than 3 months often respond well to being swaddled. This helps them to feel secure and supports longer sleep periods. Young babies often prefer settling in arms or hands on settling strategies until they learn more independent skills.

Pay Attention To Your Babys Signals

The whole world comes to your baby through their senses, and every baby has different sensory needs, which is why one baby might love to be held and another doesnt or one baby will cry because of a wet diaper and another will ignore it and continue to play happily.

Get to know your babys preferences by engaging all of your senses as you try to figure out what your baby needs. Try being especially attentive to:

Changes in mood. Do your babys mood changes seem to coincide with environment changes, the time of day, or in relation to food or naps? For example, if your baby is cranky in the late morning, watch to see if they are sending signals that youre missinglike an isolated yawn or eye rubbing.

Reactions to different situations and environments. Babies often send signals that we as adults just dont notice. Your baby might get overstimulated if too many people are around or become especially upset about schedule changes.

Differences in your babys cries. At first all cries will sound the same, but, gradually, you will hear how the Im hungry cry is very different from the Im tired cry. Notice noise level, pitch and intensity of the cry, as well as your babys body language and facial expressions. An arched back, a scrunched-up face, eyes tightly closed to shut out the light, fists curled up, rubbing eyes, hyperactive or frenetic movementall of these signs communicate something specific about your babys emotional and physical state.

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Your Baby Cries In His Sleep: What To Do

Published : 09-08-2018 14:31:34 Categories :baby-sleep

Why do babies cry in their sleep? Seeing your child sleep peacefully is a scene that many parents cherish. First, because we all have the impression to observe a little angel, and then because we can finally enjoy a time for ourselves. So what to do, when this situation seems unattainable and instead, your nights are filled by cries and tears? Keep reading! We go through the reasons preventing your baby from sleeping peacefully!

Crying Between Sleep Cycles

It could be as simple as your baby crying between sleep cycles. As adults do, babies sleep in cycles. As they transition from one cycle to another, they pass through a lighter kind of sleep and it may be in these moments that they momentarily wake up and cry out before going back to sleep.

During REM sleep , it can be common for them to stir, stretch, jerk, twitch, and even cry out. A sleep cycle for a baby is around 40 minutes and during their brief awakening at the end of each cycle, you may notice them do something strange that will cause you to check on them.

If theyre able to get themselves back to sleep, however, this is a great thing. Self-soothing is an important component in sleep skills development, so wed caution you to wait and see if your child looks calm and restful after their outburst before you wake them up.

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Tips For Settling Your Baby

• Once youve checked the basics theyre clean, dry, comfortable and fed consider if they just need to be close to you. Often, babies dont need anything ‘done’ for them, they just want to be held by the people they feel emotionally connected with.
• Hold your baby close to you and gently pat, rock or sway. Use a soothing, reassuring voice to let them know youre there. Sometimes the only way youll be able to settle your baby is to hold them until they fall asleep. See your child health nurse if your baby always needs to be cuddled to sleep.
• Take a walk outside and have a change of scenery this can help because its distracting.
• Try holding them in different positions in your arms. Offer skin-to-skin contact if theyre still very young.
• Offer a dummy if your baby has one.
• Give your baby a warm bath and a massage afterwards. Be sensitive to your babys cues some babies love baths and others dislike being undressed.
• Offer your baby a comforting breastfeed. If your baby is bottle feeding, they may need some extra milk.
• If your baby is younger than 3 months, swaddle them with a light cotton or muslin wrap.
• Put some music on, try humming, singing a song or reading to your baby. The sound of your voice may be enough to soothe them.
• Hand them to another trusted adult. Have a break from the intensity of your babys crying.

Sleep Disorders In Babies

Babies go through several sleep phases that are part of their developmental process. Waking up during the night is part of the process.

Sometimes these episodes are minor. For example, babies may simply let out a small whimper or groan.

However, some episodes can be more persistent and distressing. These episodes are considered night terrors, and have a stronger effect on children.

In either case, the situation is the same When the mother goes to check on her baby, she finds that, though crying, he or she is asleep. This sleep disorder occurs while babies are in slow-wave sleep also called non-REM.

During the non-REM phase of sleep, babies experience the deepest level of sleep. Therefore, they arent able to wake themselves completely. Nor are they completely aware of whats happening to them.

When babies cry in their sleep, they may feel agitated, confused and frightened. At the same time, theyre unable to react to external stimuli.

Night terrors last for short periods of time. Theyre over in a few minutes, at which point children go back to sleeping peacefully.

At the same time, some children wake up in a confused state and may even sit up and open their eyes. This phenomenon called confusional arousal can last between 5 and 15 minutes. If you attempt to calm a child in this state, it will only make the situation worse and last longer.

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Crying Associated With An Allergy

When your babys crying is persistent and not related to hunger, sleep, or general discomfort, cows milk protein allergy may be the cause. Colic due to cows milk protein allergy tends to follow a pattern of threes: crying for more than three hours per day , for more than three days per week, and for more than three weeks.

What Helps: You should consult your pediatrician to determine if your baby’s crying is the result of a cow’s milk protein allergy. If your baby has diagnosed cow’s milk allergy, talk to your doctor about Nutramigen with Enflora LGG®, which is clinically proven to manage colic due to cow’s milk allergy with 90% of infants improving within 48 hours.

Babies Cry In Their Sleep Because Of Short Sleep Cycles

Newborn babies spend about half their sleeping hours in rapid eye movement sleep. REM sleep is also dubbed active sleepand for good reason! During REM, babies twitch and jerk, their tiny mouths move, their closed eyes flutterand they can whimper and cry, too. And because newborns cycle back to active sleep about every 45 to 50 minutes, crying in their sleep can occur throughout their ZZZs. All of this is 100% normal and nothing to worry about!

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How To Stop The Baby From Crying When Waking Up

You may try the following tips to stop your baby from crying when they wake up.

• Encourage the baby to self-soothe this may help them to put them self back to sleep if they wake up in the night.

• Playing games like peek-a-boo or trying a short duration of separation each day could reduce your babys clinginess and separation anxiety.

• Use a night light or pull the curtains a bit so that babies can stare at something when they wake up and sleep again.

• If you discover your baby standing or sitting in the crib and crying, put them back in their sleeping position. Eventually, they will learn to do it them self.

• If the baby cries due to teething, consult a pediatrician who can prescribe pain medications.

• If your baby has a common cold, performing nasal suction before bedtime could open the nasal passages and help the baby sleep well.

• Breastfeed or bottle-feed the baby adequately through the day to prevent hunger pangs at night. If you are weaning your baby, ensure they are consuming enough solid food.

Feeding to fall asleep is a common practice. However, babies who have this habit may eventually find it difficult to sleep on their own. Thus, you may encourage them to feed when they are active and self-soothe to sleep.

An Immature Nervous System

Your little ones nervous system is still developing, which can make it tough to control reflexes and movements. The stresses of everyday life become difficult to handle, and as a result of all the stimuli, your baby may respond by kicking, twitching, and crying in their sleep.

While much more research is needed, experts believe an immature nervous system could be the culprit behind colic aka, excessive crying or fussiness for no clear rhyme or reason. You see, an infants nervous system becomes a bit more mature at about three months of age, which happens to be right around when colic usually stops. Coincidence? Maybe

That being said, if you think your munchkin is crying excessively, make an appointment with the pediatrician to rule out any other causes. If youre simply dealing with a colicky baby, rest easy knowing that your little buddys nervous system is developing, and this phase will pass.

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Evaluate Your Own Emotional State

When your baby cries for hours on end, it is natural to feel responsible. Often, though, blaming yourself can get in the way of your ability to be calm, present, and responsive to your baby. The relationship with your baby is a partnership, so your emotions will make a difference to how your baby reacts. If you are feeling overwhelmed, depressed, angry, anxious, or detached, your baby may have trouble calming down.

Finding An Approach That Works

If your baby is still upset when you put them down for the night, have a look at some of the other strategies you can try . These range from controlled crying to no tears approaches.

If you feel you need help or support, make sure you talk to a friend or family member, your health visitor or GP. Or for feeding support call the NCT support line .

Bedtime can be a lovely, peaceful occasion for you and your baby. You will soon get to a stage where crying after being put down becomes a thing of the past. Even if it takes a little while to find out what works best for you both.

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