The Baby Who Wakes Up At Night Has A Name: A Normal Child – Being Parents

Many parents often think that babies “need to learn to sleep”. We all clearly understand that our children need habits and routines where they feel safe, where they can predict what is going to happen every moment to understand the world around them.

When it comes to sleep, we are confronted with a biological instinct, a still immature dimension in infants and young children that only time, and good development, will allow them to integrate gradually until they reach uninterrupted sleep. between seven and nine hours at a stretch.

Here is more information in the following article.

When my child doesn’t sleep at night

If there is one dimension that remains a mystery today, it is sleep. Studies show that a 32 week old fetus can already “dream” while sleeping in its mother’s womb. But if there is something that science cannot yet explain, that is why there are children who sleep through the night and others who are unable to sleep for three consecutive hours.

We must take into account one detail: it doesn’t matter that a baby is only a few weeks old and his experience with the world around him is almost non-existent. In each child’s brain is established the basis of their own personality and that child’s unique needs that will set them apart from all others. Therefore, we must be intuitive and sensitive to these needs.

Anxiety and fear

When we have a baby who wakes up often at night, little by little an atmosphere of anxiety and worry reigns. We wonder if he has a problem, if he is not sick or “if there is something that we are doing wrong”.

• Don’t do it, never think that you are doing something wrong just because your baby wakes up at night. It is a completely normal process.
• We need to realize that real life does not always coincide with that of books. Not all formulas work, and not all children are the same.
• It is necessary to understand that a baby comes into the world being completely dependent on us. At night, turning off the lights and leaving them alone is a terrible source of anxiety and fear for many children. They fear for their survival, they don’t know if you will come back, if they are alone forever or if this darkness is going to be eternal.

Most of the baby’s behavior is instinctive. We cannot convince him that “nothing will happen to him when we leave him in the cradle”. The only thing a child understands is the safety of physical contact, the protection of the mother’s voice when she speaks affectionately to him, and those arms that give him so much security.

Over time, this fear, like many other purely instinctive roots, will gradually fade, while all we need is large doses of patience and a lot of understanding.

How to cope with the nocturnal awakenings of our children

As neurologists tell us, a child will be around 7 years old when their brain is fully mature. All of their neural networks are surrounded by myelin, so their electrical patterns will change to the point that their sleep cycles will be more regular, and even the night terrors so common at these ages will be reduced.

We also know that knowing that it takes until a child is around 7 years old for them to start getting regular sleep can be “traumatic” for parents. However, we can add that the first change occurs around the age of 3 and there are usually many differences from child to child.

What is the best technique for a child to sleep at night?

Until very recently, the classic “Estivill method” was very fashionable. According to this method, it was advisable to let the child cry at night in the cradle until he calmed down. Now the author himself points out the opposite.

• It is not recommended to ignore the crying of a child . This causes an unnecessary source of stress in the baby’s brain which could be relieved with just a hug, a word, a simple hug to show the child “that everything is fine”.

• We also need to understand that there is no “magic bullet” for all children. Each mother must discover the most effective method for her child, something that time, chance or simple routines will make us discover gradually.
• However, it never hurts to remember that children shouldn’t be too tired to go to crib or bed. Naps during the day help to sleep soundly and the toys or light suspensions we place on the cribs are stimulating and activate a child’s attention. At night, they are not recommended.

Be patient, respect your child’s rhythms and understand that it is not always easy to adapt to this world where suddenly the light is off and the baby is unable to understand what has happened to you and if you will be. again with him. Months, years and love will give you all the answers to your fears …