Common reasons why babies cry at night

GiftedMom/02 Apr, 18/2758/0

A baby crying in the night is sometimes disturbing especially if we do not know the real reasons why he cries. This article presents the common reasons why the baby is crying in the night. After reading just be attentive and act early to allow your baby to go back to sleep very quickly.

1) Circadian rhythm

Babies are born with an underdeveloped circadian rhythm. It is also called biological clock. It is a model of 24-hour biological activities that occur in our body.

The sleep-wake cycle is part of this circadian rhythm. As part of the sleep-wake cycle, our body releases certain hormones during the night to help us fall asleep.

It also releases hormones during the day to help us wake up.

2) Acoustic startle reflex

Also known as the Moro reflex, the acoustic startle reflex is a normal infantile reflex. When a stimulus makes your baby jump, his legs flex and his arms are stretched.

This stimulus can be a loud noise, an unexpected touch, or a bad dream. This reflex only lasts a few seconds, but can wake up a sleeping baby.

Some babies can go back to sleep, while others wake up completely. This reflex usually decreases at the age of 4 months.

Until then, the baby suit is great. These clever Velcro patches were meant to keep your baby’s arms inside, and prevent awakening with a start.

3) Temperature

At one point, Brianna started waking up more frequently for a few days in a row, just at the beginning of winter.
Babies are difficult about the right temperature. You naturally regulated their temperatures for them while they were in the womb. Now it’s a bit harder to get that temperature right.

4) Hunger

You think your baby is hungry, but maybe that’s not the case. Here are some hints that your baby wakes up at night because he is really hungry:

Many babies wake up several times a night, and even just once a night, just out of habit.

If they receive a special diet or attention at the same time each night, the internal clock of their body makes them fit to wake up at this time every night.

5) Growth spurt

Your baby is growing quickly and needs to eat more. The frequent growth spurts happen at 7 to 10 days, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and 9 months.

Brianna went through each of them. She was on a good sleep schedule, and suddenly she started to wake up frequently. I knew it was just a growth spurt, as it only lasted 3-4 days. After a while, I loved the growth spurts because at the end of each growth spurt, she resumed her sleep schedule and even slept a little longer.

6) New development skill

Your baby has learned to kick, roll, sit or stand and now he want to do it all night.

You can not stop a baby from exploring his new skills. For younger babies, the baby suit is ideal.

7) Teething

For some babies, teething may manifested itself as itchy and for others it can be very painful. But anyways, it’s boring and can keep a baby up all night.

6 months is the average age for a baby to have his or her first tooth, but it can happen sooner or later.

8) Light

Light can really disturb a sleeping baby, as they disrupt the sleep-wake cycle.

The light removes melatonin, the hormone that helps your baby sleep. If you suspect that the light is waking your baby, try darkening the room or blackening it.

9) Illness

It does not surprise anyone that a sick baby wakes up in the middle of the night. Whether it’s a cold or just a fever, your baby will have trouble sleeping because of his discomfort.