Why Is My Baby Waking Every Hour at Night?

If your baby is waking every hour at night, you are probably wondering two things: Why is this happening? And how do I get it to stop?

Frequent night wakings can be incredibly exhausting, especially when it feels like you have tried everything to help your baby sleep longer stretches.

The good news? Waking during the night isn't necessarily the problem. We all naturally wake as we transition between sleep cycles. The difference is that an independent sleeper can typically move through those transitions and get back to sleep without help from a parent.

So if your baby is suddenly waking every hour, there may be several pieces of the puzzle to look at.

Why Does My Baby Wake Up Every Hour?

When we work with families at MyBaby Sleepology, we don't look at night wakings in isolation. We look at the entire 24-hour picture: Your baby's daytime schedule, nap quality, bedtime timing, sleep environment, developmental stage and how they fall asleep can all influence what happens overnight.

Here are some of the most common reasons we see:

1. Your Baby Relies on Help to Fall Asleep

Think about what happens at bedtime. Does your baby fall asleep while feeding, rocking, bouncing or being held? If so, they may look for that same assistance when they naturally wake between sleep cycles overnight.

Imagine falling asleep comfortably in your own bed and waking up an hour later on the living room floor. You'd probably wonder what happened, too! For babies, falling asleep one way and waking under different circumstances can create a similar disconnect.

This is why independent sleep skills can be such an important part of helping babies consolidate their nights. The goal isn't to prevent your baby from ever waking. We all wake! The goal is for your baby to become confident in getting back to sleep when those natural wakings happen.

2. Your Baby's Daytime Sleep Schedule May Need Adjusting

When a baby wakes frequently overnight, parents naturally focus on the night.

But sometimes the answer is hiding in the day. Timing is a huge piece of the sleep puzzle.

A baby who isn't getting restorative daytime sleep, is going into bedtime overtired, or doesn't have enough sleep pressure at bedtime may have a harder time maintaining consolidated nighttime sleep.

This is why we pay close attention to things like:

• Morning wake time

• Nap timing

• Nap quality and duration

• The amount of daytime sleep

• Bedtime

• The timing between the final nap and bedtime

Small changes can sometimes make a big difference. Rather than immediately changing everything, we like to look at the data and make thoughtful micro-adjustments based on what a baby is showing us.

3. Your Baby May Be Overtired

This one surprises a lot of parents. If your baby isn't sleeping well, keeping them awake longer doesn't necessarily mean they'll sleep better at night. In fact, the opposite can happen.

When babies become overtired, falling asleep and staying asleep can become more difficult. This is one reason we may recommend an earlier bedtime after a day of poor or skipped naps rather than stretching a baby later in hopes that they'll be more tired.

Night sleep is incredibly restorative, so when daytime sleep doesn't go according to plan, we often want to protect the night rather than creating an even larger sleep debt.

4. Your Baby Is Going Through a Developmental Change

Rolling. Sitting. Crawling. Standing. Your baby's brain and body are constantly learning something new, and developmental milestones can temporarily shake up sleep.

A baby learning to roll, for example, may wake after getting onto their belly and become frustrated because they haven't figured out what to do next.

This doesn't necessarily mean that everything you've been doing has stopped working.

Give your baby plenty of opportunities to practice new physical skills during awake time. As the skill becomes less novel and your baby becomes more comfortable with it, sleep may begin settling again (as long as they were sleeping well prior to!).

5. Your Baby's Sleep Environment Is Working Against You

If your baby is waking every hour, it's worth taking a look at the sleep environment.

Consider whether the room is consistently dark, comfortable (68-72 degrees) and conducive to sleep throughout the night. Even a stream of early-morning light can signal that it's time to wake, which is especially unhelpful during the lightest portion of nighttime sleep (4am +). A consistent environment also gives your baby familiar cues that it is time to sleep.

6. Something Else May Be Going On

Not every night waking is behavioral or schedule-related. Hunger, illness, discomfort and other health or developmental needs can affect sleep, too. Age matters here as well (you can start sleep training at 16 weeks +).

If you're concerned about feeding needs, illness, pain, breathing, growth or anything else medical, talk with your pediatrician. Sleep strategies should always work alongside your baby's health and nutritional needs.

Why Does My Baby Wake Every Hour but Fall Back Asleep When I Hold or Feed Them?

This pattern can provide an important clue. If your baby wakes frequently but quickly falls asleep once you recreate the conditions they had at bedtime, feeding, rocking, bouncing or holding, they may have developed a strong association between that assistance and falling asleep.

Again, waking isn't inherently abnormal.

The question becomes: What does your baby expect to happen after they wake?

Whatever assistance a child receives when falling asleep can become something they look for when they wake later.

Helping your baby develop independent sleep skills can change that pattern!

Should I Keep My Baby Awake Longer During the Day?

Not automatically! This is one of the biggest mistakes parents can make when troubleshooting night sleep. More awake time does not always equal better night sleep.

Even adding 15 minutes to a baby's schedule can sometimes create enough additional sleep pressure to help, or push a baby toward overtiredness and make things harder.

That's why we don't recommend blindly stretching wake windows every time a baby wakes overnight. Look at the whole picture before making a change.

Why Did My Baby Suddenly Start Waking Every Hour?

If your baby previously slept well and suddenly begins waking frequently, ask yourself what changed:

• Did naps change?

• Did bedtime shift?

• Are they learning a new developmental skill?

• Are they sick or uncomfortable?

• Did they recently drop a nap?

• Are they falling asleep differently than they used to?

• Did travel, daycare or another routine change affect their schedule?

Sometimes there isn't one dramatic cause. Several small changes can combine to disrupt sleep.

How Can I Help My Baby Stop Waking Every Hour?

Instead of changing five things at once, start by gathering information.

For a few days, track:

• Morning wake time

• Nap start and end times

• Bedtime

• How your baby falls asleep

• When nighttime wakings occur

• How you respond to each waking

• How long it takes your baby to return to sleep

Patterns often become much easier to see when they're written down.

Then you can begin asking a more useful question than simply, "Why won't my baby

sleep?"

Is this a timing issue? A daytime sleep issue? A developmental disruption? An independent sleep skill issue? Or a combination?

That's the type of detective work we do with families every day!! We track your baby's sleep and progress every day, helping to take the guesswork out of everything for you, while providing a ton of tips and information each day!

You Don't Have to Accept Hourly Wakings as Your New Normal!!

If you're waking every hour with your baby, we know how draining that can feel.

But frequent wakings don't automatically mean your baby is a "bad sleeper."

Sleep is a skill, and there are many factors that influence how easily babies move from one sleep cycle into the next.

At MyBaby Sleepology, we look at your child's individual sleep patterns, timing, daytime sleep, bedtime and sleep habits to help determine what may be contributing to those wakings. From there, we can create a plan that works toward more consolidated, restorative sleep for the entire family.

Because sometimes the solution isn't a massive schedule overhaul. It's figuring out which small pieces of the puzzle need to change, and then giving your baby the consistency and opportunity to practice. You can schedule a 15 minute intro call with our team here: https://mybabyscheduler.as.me/schedule/e5009453/?appointmentTypeIds[]=12658729

You've got this!