How Serious is My Baby’s Sleep Problem?

Any parent, new or experienced will tell you one of the most frustrating problems that confront you early on is trying to get your new baby to go to sleep and stay asleep through the night. Exhausted parents take on this challenge sometimes for months at a time with little success in having an unbroken night of sleep. If you are in this sleep-deprived group you may begin to wonder if there is something seriously wrong with your child. Take heart though; most sleep problems are nothing out of ordinary and tend to resolve themselves as baby grows older. But if you continue to be concerned or see one of the warning signs listed below, a consultation with your pediatrician can be helpful and set your mind to rest. (And the rest of you too!) So here are some basic questions on how to know if your baby’s sleep problem is a real problem and whether you see your doctor.

How old is your baby? This is an important question to ask since generally if, as your baby grows older, the sleep problems that he or she is having tend to resolve themselves to some degree. Babies grow more attuned to day and night as they age and should be able to have some sense of that fact that night time is for sleeping. If you see no change in your babies sleep patterns by the time your infant is nine months old than most pediatricians would recommend a check up to specifically address this issue. Remember though that every baby develops at a different rate and even a slight improvement in your babies sleep pattern means he or she is developing, just at a slower rate than most babies. You may just have to accept the fact that you still have sleepless nights ahead of you.

Does your baby exhibit unusual physical symptoms? While it is very common to for babies to suffer from gas or colic the few first few months of life there should be some easing of the symptoms as the baby grows older. If your baby seems to be in constant pain from gas, colic or reflux you need to see your pediatrician immediately. Obviously the symptoms of these problems need to be treated for baby’s comfort and future health but studies show that babies who constantly have their sleep interrupted by these types of problems continue to wake long after the symptoms are resolved purely out of habit. In addition if your baby shows any unusual physical symptoms or seems to be in pain where they previously were not be sure and contact your doctor immediately.

Is your baby unusually hard to get to sleep or wake up? While most babies do not drift off to sleep easily some babies are unusually difficult to get to sleep. If your baby seems to have unusual wakefulness or inability to settle down to sleep this could indicate a medical problem that should be addressed. This is also the same if your baby seems to struggle to wake up. Babies have a built in survival mechanism that wakes them so that they can let their care takers know of their needs. Babies who have failure to thrive seem to not have this early alert system and should be under the care of a doctor. While these sleep problems are rare in babies it is important that parents seek medical treatment if they notice either condition in their baby.

While parents worry and anxiety over their baby can only increase due to their own sleep deprivation keep in mind that most babies have harmless sleep patterns and problems. With time most sleep issues are resolved and parents and babies finally find themselves sleeping peacefully through the night.

This article is not meant to replace the advice of your healthcare provider.