How do I stop my baby from waking himself up?

Just when you thought you were through the newborn stage and heading for years of blissful, uninterrupted sleep, ping! Your lively baby suddenly starts waking every hour again. But worry not – with a few changes you’ll soon get things back to normal.

If your baby suddenly starts waking every hour again, don’t worry – here are top tips for getting things back to normal.

What's causing your baby to wake every hour?

Your baby's sleep pattern could be affected by all sorts of things – a lousy cold, a tooth coming through or a change in routine. So take a deep breath and turn detective. Has a change in weather made their room colder at night? Is the nursery flooding with sunlight at dawn? Is a neighbour’s new dog barking through the night? Or could their broken sleep be caused by a surge in development? Maybe your baby is chuffed to bits they can crawl, and now wants to practise – at 3am. How babies sleep depends largely on their age, but there is still a lot you can do to turn things around and get some precious sleep again.

Top tips to help your baby sleep

When you’ve ruled out any obvious causes, like teething or a chilly bedroom, the best thing you can do is keep things normal and consistent, keeping things normal and using the same method for getting them off to sleep is the best way to go. You may never find out what disrupted their sleep, but these tips will help get things back to normal:

• Help them bond with a security object – choose a baby blanket or stuffed animal and keep it near you for a while, so it takes on your comforting smell. If you’re breastfeeding, you could even try expressing some breastmilk onto a small piece of muslin, then popping it in their cot. Babies have a strong sense of smell, so if they wake suddenly, your familiar smell may help them settle again.

• Re-set their body clock – help your baby learn the difference between night and day by making daytime feeds friendly and lively, and night-time feeds relaxing and quiet. 

• Teach them to drop off – when your baby gets to about six weeks, you can encourage them to drop off without relying on you to feed or rock them to sleep. Try putting them on their back when they’re looking sleepy, and let them slowly drift off. Learning this skill will help them get back to sleep without you.

• Bath, pjs & story – Calming activities that your baby will start to associate with bedtime can help create the right atmosphere at bedtime. Why not try a bath and nappy change, before putting on PJs and finishing with a little song or a story? You may even want to include a little baby massage. Whatever you do, finish in your baby's cosy bedroom and make sure it's fairly short and sweet – 45 minutes max. 

Are they fully awake or crying in sleep? 

If you hear crying, don’t rush in straight away – your little one might be crying in their sleep, or they might be awake, but able to settle themselves. 

Want to try co-sleeping?

Some parents help their babies sleep by snuggling up in bed with them, and they may even bed-share all night. If your baby is six months or younger, it's safest for them to sleep in a cot next to your bed, but if you want to try having your baby in bed with you, check out our advice on safe co-sleeping.

Share the burden

Missing sleep can soon turn you into a drooling, dribbling mess, so try and share the burden with your partner. When your baby is old enough to sleep right through without a feed, your partner can really make up for lost time! You might even find your baby stops waking when they realise it doesn’t actually get them anything to drink!

Be prepared to change routines as your baby grows and enters different stages. If you need more advice about getting into a new routine, why not chat to your health visitor?

Why Do Babies Roll At Night?

They gotta move! It’s as simple as that. As babies learn new
skills, their bodies instinctively want to practice the moves. And when babies
have a firm, flat surface and no distractions (think mattress in the night),
they can’t help but move their bodies in the way they were meant to.

Crib Safety and Transition Swaddling

The first thing I recommend is to stop the swaddle or Magic
Merlin if you’re still using one. Instead, I highly recommend the Zippadee Zip
as a transition swaddle. It actually isn’t a swaddle at all, because it allows
for freedom of movement. Your baby can go from rolling over to sitting up to
crawling to standing and continue to wear a Zippadee Zip. Best of all, the
Zippadee Zip is designed to calm a baby’s startle or Moro reflex. What better
way to transition out of a swaddle than with a product designed with this in
mind?

The AAP warns against use of positioners. These products (like
the Dock a Tot and wedges with velcro attachments) are marketed to keep babies
in one place in the crib, but they are especially dangerous to a baby who is
learning to flip over.

When Rolling Causes a Night Waking

Your baby may be able to roll over from tummy to back as early
as 4 months. But it might not be until 5 or 6 months until he can roll from
back to tummy. This milestone might take you by surprise at bedtime or the
middle of the night. Even though many 5-6-month-olds can flip from tummy to
back (they’ve done it during the day, right?), they might wake up on their
tummy and cry to be flipped back over.

If your baby is flipping over in the middle of the night and
mid-nap too, you’re probably both more exhausted than ever. Almost as soon as
they are flipped over, they cry out because they’ve rolled again. Before giving
up on sleep for good, there are some things you can do to get your child’s
sleep back on track in no time.

If your child has rolled over and seems stuck, unable to get
comfortable, I suggest going in and flipping back over. If you’ve done sleep
training and your baby was sleeping through the night before starting to roll,
I recommend waiting a few minutes before going in. When you do go in, limit
interaction, flip your baby over and leave the room again. You’ll have to do it
somewhat methodically and leave the room as soon as you flip him over. Do this
at night for a week. If your baby is extremely upset when he wakes on his
tummy, you can of course comfort by touching, patting or shushing if that calms
your child.

If you’ve done this for a week with no improvement, then
continue to the next week. At the end of the second week, I recommend not going
in to flip him over anymore unless he is unable to roll both directions during
the day.

Throughout all of this, pay attention to how your baby moves
during the day. When she can easily roll both directions during the day, with
little frustration, you’ll no longer need to go in at night.

Freedom of Movement and Rolling During Day

During the day, be sure to give him plenty of time to move
around and practice on the floor. The more he can practice on his own during
the day, the faster he will get there. While I don’t like rushing babies
through milestone, I understand how hard it is when sleep is fragmented. Babies
are naturally inclined to practice moving as much as they can, and I feel it is
best to give them opportunities. When given plenty of space and surface to
move, babies get used to their bodies and move as nature intended. This is a
big reason why I am not a fan of bouncy seats, jumpers, swings and strollers
for daytime sitting. These items are confining, and in the end, may inhibit a child’s
ability to get comfortable in his body.

When Will It Stop?

Once you notice that he can roll both directions during the day,
let him flip back over on his own at night. If he has already learned
independent sleep skills and can put himself to sleep at bedtime, he should
easily go back to sleeping a solid 11-12-hour night after a week or two of
needing assistance at night.

If anytime during those two weeks, he masters rolling both
directions, and ends up sleeping peacefully on his tummy, don’t move him.
Silently congratulate him and let him be. That’s one milestone accomplished.
According to the AAP, babies are safe to sleep on their tummies if they have
good head and neck control and can roll both directions.

What Helped Your Baby?

How did you get through this milestone? I’m always interested in
hearing what works for families. If I can help in
any way, I’d love to. I’m here for questions, or if you’re struggling with a
baby who’s not sleeping through the night, email me or reach out for a call to
talk about it.

How do you get a baby to stop waking themselves up?

Why does my baby keep waking himself up?

What age do babies stop startling themselves awake?

How do I stop my baby waking up at night?