Why does your baby wake up crying
There’s nothing worse than putting your baby down to sleep for a nap during the day only to hear them crying after 30 or 45 minutes later. It’s clear they are tired and have not had enough sleep. This can be caused by several reasons.
If you were out running errands, and got home a little later than expected, that extra time on your baby’s wake window can lead them to being overtired.
When your baby becomes overtired, their stress response kicks in, triggering cortisol and adrenaline to flood into their bodies. Cortisol helps to regulate the body’s sleep-wake cycle (also known as circadian rhythm or body clock) ; adrenaline is the fight-or-flight agent. Expecting your baby to relax and go to sleep after these hormones are released may not be realistic. In fact, if your baby is overtired, they usually find it hard to stay asleep, waking up after one or two sleep cycles.
With an overtired baby, you may find yourself caught in a cycle of less sleep that leads to more tiredness that leads to less sleep..
Another common reason is a change in environment. Picture falling asleep in your bed at night only to wake up on the couch! This is exactly what happens when you manage to do a successful transfer. Eventually when your baby does wake up they are shocked, maybe even a little scared. The already asleep transfer works perfectly fine for the newborn stage. But after that it can cause issues. I encourage you to start placing your newborn baby in the crib awake for the first nap of the day, so they can start to get accumsed to the environment they fall asleep in. Just remember it’s a practice and if it’s not successful within 15 mins go back to what you normally do to help your baby fall asleep.
Your baby is constantly growing and developing at an astonishing rate. Depending on your baby’s age it could be a development of separation anxiety for babies 9 months and older. Younger babies tend to have more physical needs like hunger or teething pain.
Lets not forget the temperament factor, just like you or me they may not be the happiest little camper because they are simply grumpy when they wake. They may need a few mins to slowly wake up before being picked up. Or you may get a growl. You know your baby best to determine if this your baby’s personality,
If your baby is waking up happy – YAY! Your baby has had a great nap and is well-rested! You have nailed that nap timing. Your baby also feels safe and secure in their sleep environment and doesn’t need you right away.
If your little one is waking up consistently unhappy take a look at how they are sleeping at night and how long their naps are. Maybe there are a few tweaks you can make to improve their sleep overall.
If you have tried everything and need some help, let me help you. Sometimes it is as simple as making a few small tweaks to greatly improve sleep. Other times more (but gentle) support may be required and we will be here to guide you every step of the way. I have a range of programs to suit every family and can help you get sleep on track quickly. Email me at liz@littlesleepcoach.com