The child wakes up every hour at night: what to do?

Healthy sleep becomes the key to the normal development of the child. But, having brought home the long-awaited baby, after a certain period of time, mothers begin to notice with alarm that the child wakes up more than once a night, is capricious and cries for no apparent reason. Tedious vigils occur repeatedly, their frequency increases. Doctors divide sleep disorders into physiological and psychological. Parents need to figure out why the child wakes up every hour at night.

The baby is not sleeping. Why?

In children under the age of one year, sleep phases change with hourly frequency. If there are no prerequisites: illness, hunger, thirst, nervous disorders - the child, even after waking up, will immediately plunge back into sweet dreams.

It is noted that sleep disorders can be initiated by the parents themselves who have not established the correct daily routine. The child wakes up every hour at night if music sounds in the house before going to bed, loud conversations are conducted, he plays outdoor games. It is recommended to introduce into everyday use such rituals as evening bathing, lullabies, twilight.

The main reasons

All the reasons that allow you to get an answer to the question "why does a child wake up every hour at night" can be attributed to physiological or psychological factors.

Physiology

• In the room where the baby sleeps, the temperature is extremely uncomfortable. The ideal range is 18-23 degrees, so even in winter it is not recommended to arrange a "greenhouse" in the bedroom.
• Perhaps the baby has soiled the diaper or wet the diapers. For all children, without exception, this is a strong discomfort that makes them wake up.
• The child is hungry or wants to quench his thirst. Even in a dream, small households are unable to give up their needs. By this behavior, they try to convey to the parents the true reason for the awakening.
• High fever, nasal congestion, teething, tummy pain, colic, etc. P.
• The child wakes up every hour at night or even more often if he sleeps in uncomfortable clothes that restrict his movements. It is quite possible that he is uncomfortable with the synthetic material of bed linen (if suddenly it is used), tightly pulled diapers. All these factors can cause itching and even pain.
• There is excessive noise in the baby's bedroom, too much light, etc. P.

Such factors are easily eliminated, the main thing is to reliably determine the cause.

Psychology

• The baby's psyche is unstable, susceptible and excitable. The child wakes up at night every hour when the excitement of the day has its negative impact on him. Any little thing, even the sad ending of a fairy tale, can initiate an untimely awakening, especially if there was a quarrel with mom.
• The negative mood of family members is immediately transmitted to the child. This factor often makes children nervous and, as a result, disrupts a full night's rest. A healthy environment in the family is the key to the baby's peace of mind and his serene sleep.
• Late viewing of cartoons, TV, tablets and smartphones. The child wakes up at night every hour because of the violent emotions received after that.
• Lack of daily positive emotions, tactile sensations, communication.
• Fears of various nature, including those based on the loss of mom.
• Bad dreams.

A mother should show maximum care and patience to identify and eliminate the psychological prerequisites for sleep disorders in a child.

Serious reasons

• Nocturnal enuresis. If this is the norm for infants, then at an older age children should get up and go to the potty. If a child wakes up at night every hour due to frequent toilet urges, it is necessary to consult a doctor.
• Apnea. This is a disease that is characterized by short-term stops of breathing during sleep. Immediate medical intervention is recommended.
• "Swinging movements". The baby can rush around the crib, scatter nearby things, rise and fall again, diligently bang his head on the pillow. Such symptoms, especially on a regular basis, may be signs of increased intracranial pressure, epilepsy, mental abnormalities. A specialist consultation is required. If a child wakes up every hour at night for 8 months, a year in a row is not the norm, but a sign of a dangerous disease.

If babies are not sleeping

If the child is still very young, the cause of the sleep disorder may lie in anything. Most often, the baby experiences colic, his teeth begin to be cut, in some cases, worms that are active at night break the quiet rest.

If such conditions recur often enough, it is recommended to visit a pediatric neurologist and pediatrician. Doctors will prescribe a full examination, during which the actual state of health of the baby will be determined.

If the examination shows that the child wakes up every hour at night, as teeth are being cut, the pediatrician may prescribe special medications. As a rule, these are gels that facilitate the condition of crumbs. The preparation treats the baby's gums, and he does not experience pain.

OR maybe he's hungry?

When identifying the causes associated with digestion, the child's diet is subject to adjustment. If he is breastfed, the mother should be more sensitive to her diet and exclude all inappropriate foods that cause the baby's disorder. In the event that parents support artificial feeding, the mixture is probably not suitable for the child, it is changed to another one. The baby is being monitored, it is necessary to look at his reaction to the new food.

If the reason is hunger, it is recommended to increase the amount of food that comes to the child with the last feeding. In addition, you should make sure that the child eats during the day. Some children are as active as possible and consume a huge amount of calories that are not replenished with food. It is at night that such babies get the missing nutrients. Many parents are excited that the child wakes up every hour at night. What should I do first? Pediatricians recommend reviewing his diet. It is quite possible that some aspects are subject to adjustment.

If a child wakes up every hour at night, you should check if he is wet, especially if he sleeps on diapers, and not in a diaper. Some children show strong concern about this. However, you should be careful, and if the baby is sleeping peacefully in a full diaper, you do not need to wake him up.

Once again about sleep conditions

If a child wakes up every hour at night and cries, parents should create comfortable conditions for him to rest: let the room have a normal level of humidity and temperature, ventilate the room before going to bed. Very often, young children react sensitively to stuffiness or cold, excessively dry or humid air.

Parents should be attentive and observant. Some babies start to get nervous in their sleep because of too tight clothes, then they should be sent to bed in light pajamas or naked. Freedom-loving crumbs will certainly try to unravel, free themselves at night. Do not insist on the usual way of dressing. And vice versa - too impressionable children, falling asleep in free things, may accidentally wake up from the movement of their own hand and cry, frightened.

What is the norm?

1. Infancy. The baby is in a dream for about ten hours. It is quite normal when a child wakes up every hour at night. 3 months or less is the age at which he reacts sensitively to everything that happens around. Parents should be patient and try to eliminate the possible causes of anxiety described above.
2. One-year-old babies. According to statistics, one child out of five wakes up every hour of the night a year. During this period, much depends on the nature of the crumbs, for example, restless and active children sleep very sensitively. They can jump up from any rustle and get up early. To smooth out the situation, doctors recommend individually preparing them for bed. It can be reading a favorite fairy tale or a lullaby song.

In addition, it is at the age of one year, up to two years, it is desirable to teach the baby to fall asleep on his own. Then, if he wakes up at night, he will not need parental help to plunge back into his dreams. Closer to the age of two, children may experience fears. To eliminate them, you can install a cheerful night light, put your favorite soft toy in the crib. If a child wakes up every hour of the night a year for no apparent reason, it is recommended to consult a doctor.

The relationship between sleep and breastfeeding

Specially conducted studies have allowed us to establish that children sleeping with their mother eat her milk the longest. The dependence consists in the frequency of applying crumbs to the breast. Moreover, babies sleeping in a free-standing crib are forced to wake up, cry and groan in order to draw attention to their hunger. As a result, both the "culprit" and the mother need more time to fall asleep again.

This pattern is especially evident when the child wakes up every hour at night (8 months or a year - it does not matter). However, despite the undeniable benefits of breast milk, such an organization of sleep has negative consequences. The baby gets used to receiving breasts on demand and is simply unable to fall asleep and sleep peacefully all night without her.

That is why children from the age of six months should learn to rest separately. If a child wakes up every hour at night, 7 months is quite a sufficient period to normalize the situation. The baby is able to completely wean itself from the mother's breast as the main factor of protection and reassurance. Babies stop applying for the sake of feeling the closeness of their mother. They learn to be calm without her.

In conclusion

The health and tranquility of beloved toddlers is the concern of diligent parents, especially if the child wakes up every hour at night. 7 months or a year - it doesn't matter, patience should always be strong. If you treat your child with a fair share of attention, care and love, you can eliminate any negative manifestations, including frequent night getting up.