If you find yourself walking down the hallways of your home broken in the middle of the night, trying to get your baby back to sleep, know that you are not alone. But we have good news: there are ways to deal with it! Here we share 5 reasons why your baby isn't sleeping well at night - and what you can do about it.
Hunger
When your baby is newborn, he simply needs feeding: his stomach is still too small to process larger portions. So in the first few months, it is quite common for your baby to need night feeds. What can help you sleep longer yourself is to give your baby a "dream feed" just before you go to bed yourself.
Sleep associations
Babies may become accustomed to certain sleep associations that depend on you, such as rocking or feeding them to sleep. If they wake up in between naps at night, they need these sleep associations to fall back asleep. Therefore, try to gradually reduce these dependent sleep associations so that your child learns to fall asleep on their own. This is best worked on during the day, when you have a little more space yourself. And if things go well during the day, this will also translate into the night - because the night is a mirror of the day.
Too much stimulation before bedtime
A busy or stimulating environment right before bedtime can cause your baby to have trouble falling asleep. Try to create a calm and relaxed bedtime routine that is familiar to your little one to prepare your baby for a good night's sleep. If your baby wakes at night for a feed, keep it as quiet as possible (no bright lights, no noises, changing only when necessary).
Restless sleep environment
A sleeping spot that is too hot or too cold, that doesn't feel familiar or bright lights at night. These can all be factors that disrupt your little one's sleep.
Therefore, provide a stimulus-free sleep environment and use a fixed sleeping place for your child - both during the day and at night.
Growth spurts and sleep regressions
During periods of growth spurts and when your baby reaches new developmental milestones, he may wake more often at night. This is perfectly normal and is part of your little one's growth. Providing rest, rhythm and regularity is extra important during these periods.
The PIKO helps
To get your child to sleep well at night, it is important to offer your child rest and routine around bedtime during the day as well - because night is a mirror of day. The PIKO helps you with this, because with the PIKO you create a fixed, secure sleeping place that you use both during the day and at night. In this way, bedtime becomes predictable, and your little one needs that to sleep well.
If you want more information about the PIKO, check out our PIKOsleeper- specially developed by sleep coaches.
Still have questions? Then send us a message, you will always get an answer.
Sleep well, Francien (sleep coach and founder PIKO)
