When Should Baby Grow Out of His Sleep Problems?

Perhaps the number one question asked by exhausted new parents is when will their baby grow out of their sleep problems? While it is impossible to predict this exactly there are some indications as to when infants should be able to sleep longer stretches of time. It is important that for chronic non-sleepers that the parents have their baby evaluated by a physician to rule out a medical cause for the poor sleeping. If it is deemed that the baby is not suffering from anything medically to prevent longer periods of sleep then it is up to the parents of the baby to design an atmosphere that is conducive for sleep for their baby. After that is done there remains only the waiting for when baby figures out that nighttime is for sleep. There are a few indications that your baby should be able to sleep longer. Here are some of them:

•Your baby’s age. It is commonly known that the most severe sleep problems typically occur in the youngest babies. There are many reasons for this. Babies must reach about nine months of age before they have a cognitive understanding that nighttime is for sleep. Before this stage they are simply unaware as to the circadian rhythms of the clock nor do they care. Before this age your baby will have to have a nightly routine gently repeated to understand that they must sleep during the night. Before this age they will simply sleep when they want and stay awake when they want regardless of what is convenient and easy for you.

•Your baby’s weight. While exhausted adults may not care why baby is waking so often during the night consider this fact: tiny babies have tiny stomachs. If hunger did not wake the baby during the night the very survival of the baby could be threatened. Your baby actually comes with a hunger wake up call to help insure it’s survival. The good news is that as the babies weight increases most babies are able to consume more milk or food helping them sleep a little longer before waking to hunger. Their stomachs simply take longer to digest the calories thus allowing them to sleep longer. Many parents report that once their baby moves on to baby food they are able to sleep longer as well. So as babies gain weight most babies (not all) are able to sleep longer and go longer stretches without having to be fed.

•Your baby’s health. Most babies who suffer from chronic colic tend to have an ease of symptoms at about the six months mark. Since there is not known cause or cure for chronic colic this is only a benchmark and may not apply to every baby. Many parents report that despite six months of terrible sleep due to a screaming infant many begin to find relief both from the colic and sleeplessness when the baby is about six months of age. In addition many newborns that are susceptible to food allergies tend to have these resolved around six to nine months old so you may find your stuffy nosed non-sleeper becomes a better sleeper at this age as well.
Your baby’s temperament. Many babies are simply more “high maintenance” from birth than other infants. The reasons for this are often unexplainable. Many parents find that their baby startles easy, cries more and requires being held more than other babies the same age. These same babies tend to be the worst sleepers. Where there is not a diagnosis of a medical problem this often requires extra care by the parents. But the good news is this: by nine months old many of these harder to handle infants begin to settle down and sleep better. So take heart sleep deprived parent’s: time is your friend and with a little luck you and your new bundle of joy will soon be sleeping peacefully all night long!