Common Causes of Sleep Problems in Infants

While you may feel overwhelmed with the fact that your precious newborn does not sleep, one of the first things that will help is doing some research on what you are dealing with. In other words, in order to better understand the how-to’s of getting you and your baby to enjoy going to sleep and staying asleep, here are some important principles of sleep that every new parent needs to understand.

•How babies enter sleep. You may notice that as you are rocking, walking, or nursing your baby that her eyelids droop as she begins to nod off in your arms. Her eyes then close completely, but her eyelids continue to flutter and her breathing is still irregular. Her hands and limbs may be flexed, and she may startle, twitch, and show fleeting smiles which are called “sleep grins.” She may even continue a light sucking. Just as you bend over to deposit your “sleeping” baby in her crib so you can tiptoe quietly away, she then awakens and cries. This is because she wasn’t fully asleep. She was still in a state of light sleep when you put her down. Now is the time to try your proven bedtime ritual again, but continue this ritual longer (about twenty more minutes). After this long you will notice that baby’s grimaces and twitches stop; her breathing becomes more regular and shallow, her muscles completely relax. Her fisted hands will unfold and her arms and limbs dangle weightlessly. Baby is now in a deeper sleep, which will allow you to put her down and sneak away, breathing a satisfying sigh of relief that baby is finally resting comfortably. The problem that is causing your baby not to sleep well is that she is not in a deep stage of sleep. What parents need to understand is that babies need to be parented to sleep not just put to sleep. Some babies can be put down while they are drowsy yet still awake and drift while others need parental help by being rocked or nursed to sleep.

•Night waking has survival benefits. Consider this fact that in the first few months, babies’ needs are the highest, but their ability to communicate their needs is the lowest. If a baby slept deeply most of the night some basic needs would go unfulfilled. Small babies have small tummies, and mother’s milk is digested very rapidly. If a baby’s need for feeding could not easily arouse her, this would not be good for baby’s survival. There are factors influencing this as well for example: If a baby’s nose was stuffed and she could not breathe, or was cold and needed warmth, and her sleep state was so deep that she could not communicate her needs, her survival would be jeopardized. The problem here is that babies are doing what they are designed to do to survive. Parents must learn to deal with the needs of their particular baby until the baby’s ability to communicate can catch up with their needs.

•Babies are developmentally unfinished. It is important for parents to understand that as perfect as their new bundle of joy appears that all babies come into life developmentally unfinished. This means that their brain is not developed enough to sense day and night, their hunger needs (as discussed above) are high, and their intestinal development is unfinished(leading to babies who have chronic gas or colic). All of these factors must be taken into account when trying to help a baby get to sleep. The problem here is that obviously the parents need for sleep is possibly greater than the babies. Focus on helping your baby through this time with your chosen nighttime ritual and eventually your baby will finish developing physically and be able to sleep longer.