For any new parent getting used to being awake several times a night can be extremely hard, especially when a parent also has to go to work, being incredibly tired just isn’t ideal.
Once your little baby arrives they will be waking through the night for feeds as they have only just arrived and our building their bodies up. As time goes on parents will start getting a feeding routine in place and learn how often their baby wakes for feeds. In my case my little girl would wake every two hours, then it became three and as time went on the gaps got bigger. It is not expected that a newborn would sleep through the night because they need lots of feeds at the start. As the next few months pass by your baby will gradually go longer between feeds and the number of ounces per bottle will increase. With a baby only a few months old I’d consider them to be sleeping well if they only woke for a feed or two and then went straight back to sleep afterwards.
As your baby gets nearer to the 6months mark they might start sleeping through the night as they are filling up more on milk throughout the day. Still, it is not expected that your baby will and it is perfectly okay for a baby to wake up through the night for a feed.
If your baby is waking up many times through the night and it’s not always for a feed then it might be time to look at why that’s happening. There are many reasons why a baby might wake during the night and finding the reason can get problems nice and quickly so everyone can get some sleep. Some of the following may be reasons your baby wakes: wet nappy, soiled nappy, hungry, in pain, wants comforting, too hot, too cold, uncomfortable, or has wind. Wet and soiled nappies are never nice especially if you’re trying to get a nice cosy sleep, so always check your babies nappy and maybe schedule in times for nappy changes during the night feeding period. Is your baby hungry? Try feeding them, over time your baby will keep to some rough schedule so you’re likely to know if they are wanting milk. Are they teething? If your baby is teething they could be in pain during the night which is stopping them from sleeping or waking them up frequently. Sometimes your baby might just want a little bit or comfort or readjusting if they have got themselves turned around or at a funny position in bed. With all the temperature changes we get it’s always best to check how warm your baby feels, put your hand on their chest and back to make sure that it doesn’t feel too cold or too hot. Last of all wind, does your baby suffer from colic? Did they have a nice bug burp before going to sleep? If your baby seems unsettled try seeing if they need winding before putting them back to sleep.
Just remember every baby is different, there is no right or wrong for how long a baby should sleep and how many feeds they should have. Your baby will have their own routine but if that starts not working or your baby starts waking up randomly then that’s when something else might be wrong.
