Being a parent is hard work. Especially if it is your first time, and you are trying to figure out breast feeding.
Your primary goal as a new parent is to nourish your child, and succeed in your child gaining weight. When the time comes to focus on sleep, here are 6 signs that your baby is not getting enough sleep.
1. It takes forever to get your child to sleep
Once kids are in the overtired zone, they are exhausted and they take forever to settle. They may appear “wired” or inconsolable. Repetitive strain wrist injuries from swinging the car seat to help baby settle can be common…. at least in our house anyways. It can pay to invest in “plug in” swing for those first 0-4 months, and save your body.
2. Your child doesn’t stay asleep
I remember rocking my son for 40 minutes, only to have him wake up 20 minutes later. There are no words to describe how frustrating that is. My issue was that he was chronically overtired. My timing was too late for naps and bedtime. I know now that I was not alone, this is the most common error I see with my clients.
3. Your child is cranky during the day
As a new parent, so often a cranky and fussy baby is misunderstood as being hungry and we appease the baby at the breast. We are teaching our baby that the nipple is a pacifier, but really babe is super duper tired. It is very easy to underestimate how much sleep a baby needs. Of note, a newborn needs to be back asleep 45 minutes after waking up, which is why it seems they only eat, sleep and poop. A 3 month old, needs to be back asleep 1.5 hours or less after waking up.
4. Your child immediately falls asleep in the car regardless of the timing
Babies and toddlers who are well rested will not immediately fall asleep in the car unless it is past nap time.
5. Your child wakes up frequently at night
A nighttime sleep cycle is 3 hours. A child who needs help falling asleep will wake up every 3 hours and look for the same mechanism that helped him fall asleep. Often that’s nursing, being held, or rocked. Kids who are overtired may wake up even more frequently than that.
6. Early morning wake ups
Anything past 6 am is fair game for your child to wake up. Kids who wake up at 5 and 5:30 are usually overtired. Often their bedtime is too late, or they aren’t getting enough nap hours in during the day. In older babies closer to a year, teething, and motor development may also be at play in these EWUs.
One of the most common parenting mistakes I see is keeping baby up too long between naps, and having a bedtime that is too late. Often bedtime is based on when Dad comes home from work. You can read more sleep tips on my blog at www.helpingbabiessleep.com/blog/.
