As your baby grows older, the sleep habits of your child can change. Even though you’ve laid down some great sleep foundations by implementing a sleep routine that helps your baby to relax and learn sleep cues. But those annoying sleeping habits will still sneak in.
Here are 10 things that your baby will experience but eventually grow out of. We promise!
1. Land of the Long Goodnight
Your child may want comfort even if your routine includes a warm shower, a soothing story, and a feeding. You may see them pointing to their books or crying when you leave the room. You may need to return multiple times and place a reassuring touch on their back.
You can limit how many times you say goodnight to your child so they can learn to settle themselves before going to sleep. It can be a difficult stage, but it will not last forever.
2. Night Owl
Some babies like to foreshadow their some-day-in-the-future party days, and wake in the middle of the night, ready for dancing, singing and playing in their cots. You may even hear them singing in the early hours. It’s better to let your child go if they aren’t upset. They will eventually return to nod.
3. Operation Dummy Replacement
Many babies sleep with a comforter, such as a blankie or a teddy. Woe to the whole household if that comforter manages to escape your grasp. Your baby will eventually learn to replace his or her own dummy and find the lost blanket in their cot.
4. Sleepy Feeds
Experts agree that you can start phasing night feedings out around six months if your child is developing normally. If you and your baby are both happy to have a quiet night feed, there is no reason to stop. If you decide to stop night feedings, it is best to gradually reduce the number and length of feeds.
5. Rock My World
It’s not possible to imagine a safer, more comfortable, or warmer place for a child than in their parents’ arms. This is why many babies get into the habit of being rocked as they sleep. As your baby grows older, you will want to break the habit of rocking them to sleep. It’s important to wean your baby from this sleep routine.
6. Early Bird Discounts
You should be grateful if your child doesn’t wake up early. Many babies think that the first hour of the morning is the best time to start the day. They refuse to believe that it’s too dark for them. Daylight saving changes can be a bit much. It may take until your child’s teen years to break this habit. Try to make the most of those early morning hours. Enjoy some time with your loved ones, warm drinks and quality time before the rest of he world awakens.
7. Come Back!
Separation Anxiety may start at six months and can occur both during the daytime and at night, every time you leave your child. Your baby will learn to self-settle as she grows older.
8. Look at Me, Mum!
In the first year of your baby’s life, they will reach many developmental milestones. The excitement of crawling, standing up and rolling can affect sleep. When your baby begins to roll, they’ll find it incredibly exciting, even though they should be sleeping. Sitting up is also a great achievement. These achievements are just as important to them as they are to you, and they will practice these skills wherever and whenever. Ignore this behaviour – eventually they’ll get tired and sleep.
9. Ch-ch-changes!
Even overnight, some babies can time their bowel movements with precision. It may be due to relaxed bowels. But you’ll still have to change nappy night after night until your child is a toddler. You can’t do anything about it, so make sure to use a good nappy. Nothing disrupts sleep like having to change the sheets of your cot!
10. Just One More Hug
Most sleep habits we want to get rid of, but this one you will want to keep for as long as you can. As your child grows, they will start to use stalling tactics in an attempt to prolong bedtime. Even before they are able to talk, they will learn that one more hug is the best way to get them to go back into bed. It only takes those outstretched, chubby arms to melt a tired mother’s heart. This beautiful sleeping habit will not last forever. It’s hoped that this habit will last well into childhood, but eventually they won’t need to be hugged one final time before they close their eyes. Hold them tight and breathe in. It’s a wonderful feeling to hold your world in your hands.
Fact Or Fiction
It’s important to understand how sleep works to clear up some confusion. Check out this post
When will my baby sleep through the night?
By six months, most babies sleep through the night. Some with only one last feeding. Some babies wake up their parents at night because they don’t get enough sleep. Sleep is also a behavioural issue.
What is the Sleep Behaviour?
At 4 months, there is a change in social behaviour. Babies become more aware of the world.
You may have noticed, as a parent of a baby of 4 months old, that your child suddenly seems more alert. He is interested in everything.
At 4 Months, There is a Change in the Way Your Baby Sleeps
Now your baby will wake up periodically at each end of a sleep cycle. This is different from how he or she slept as a baby. Your baby’s waking up was mainly due to hunger before 4 months. You may have noticed that your baby’s sleep stretches became longer. These wakings no longer come from hunger but are caused by distinct sleep cycles.
At 4 months, not all babies will awaken their parents. Some babies awaken in the night, but return to sleep quietly. Some babies will wake you up to let you know that they are awake. Read more here: Is Sleep Training a Control Issue To summarize, a child who enters the crib at bedtime awake is more likely to fall asleep independently or, as it is more commonly described, sleep through the night.
Object permanence develops around 8 months. You may have been able to get through the 4 month changes without much difficulty. Now that your baby has reached around 8 months, sleep is a major issue.
You can cover a toy your baby is using at this age with a blanket. Your baby will be able to recognize that there are things hidden if he or she tries lifting the blanket.
You will most likely notice a difference between 8 and 9 months when the concept of object permanence is developed. As your baby grows, he will become more aware and dependent on the cues that you give him for sleeping.
Select your Sleep Adventure
You can decide what to do if your baby is between 4-6 months old and wakes up frequently at night.
- Sleep train.
- Bedsharing (co-sleeping)
- Wait.
Babies Rely on Patterns to Understand the World
They use predictable sequences of events. If they hit a toy in their reach, it will move. They anticipate a feed when they see the bottle or breast. Baby can recognize these patterns.
Your baby will learn to understand sleep through the patterns that you set up. If bedtime is always bouncing around on a ball of yoga until baby falls asleep, the baby will expect this pattern until you change it.
This will help your baby to fall asleep and relax by creating a predictable routine. The most disruptive sleep is when bedtime and the way you deal with night wakings are not predictable.
Sleep Training does Not Mean that You Should Let Your Child Cry
Instead, it means changing the sleep patterns your baby has been taught. You can do it quickly or gradually. Sleep training is the only way to change the patterns that your baby associates with sleeping.
When Will Baby Sleep Through the Night Without Training?
When they reach an appropriate age, can babies figure it out themselves? You can wait through the growth spurts and teething episodes, as well as all the regressions.
The study that is most often cited on this topic involved 60 children aged between 15 and 48 months. At the beginning of the study, 25 children were experiencing a sleep issue (night waking or bedtime struggles, or both). Three years after the study began, 84 % of these children still had a problem with sleep.
What about infants who are still waking up at night when they are younger? Of children with a sleep issue at 8 months, 40% still experienced difficulty at age 3.
Still younger? Researchers found that children who were sleeping 6 hours in a row at 5 months continued to sleep this way. When it came to children who did not sleep for 6 hours straight at 5 months or, still had 32.9% of them not get enough sleep at 29 months.
These studies are the reason why experts believe that the first 4-6 months of life are the most important time to develop healthy sleeping habits.
The topic of bedsharing is vast, but there are also persistent trends in this area. A group of nearly 500 Swiss children who were part of an impressive 27-year study found that bedsharing rose from 6 months up to 4 years. At 4 years, 38% of the kids shared their parents’ beds at least once per week. The kids didn’t seem to be in a hurry to get back to their beds. At 8 years old, 21.2% still crawled into the bed of a parent.
Is It Parents’ Fault If Baby Doesn’t Sleep Through the Night?
Not necessarily. Parenting is difficult enough without adding guilt.
Professionals are aware that sleep issues can affect both parents and children. A child with more trouble sleeping will have a parent more involved in his sleep. A parent who is more involved will have a child who has more sleep interruptions.
Sleep problems caused by behavioural issues are very common. [6] Children with no physical reasons for not sleeping well are also affected. There are other causes of night wakings in children. These include sleep apnea and sleep-related movement disorders.
Could it be that Your Child is Just Not a Good Sleeper?
Nope. It’s never a coincidence. It is possible to change your child’s sleep habits for most children with sleep problems.
Sleep problems of any kind should be addressed. Sleep is essential to virtually all aspects of good health. Not to mention that it’s enjoyable! The cost of sleep loss is far greater than most people realise. Sleep is important for children’s learning, memory[8], language[9], and higher-level thinking.
