HeyFiniBaby waking up a lot at night: what is normal and what helps
Short answer: night waking is normal in the first year. Newborns wake every two to four hours because they are hungry, and at one year more than one in four babies still does not sleep six hours in a row (Pennestri, Pediatrics 2018). Sleeping through is not a goal you have to reach, it is a development that comes.
How often babies wake at night
In the first three months your baby wakes two to four times a night because its stomach is small and it needs milk. Between three and six months the stretches get longer, many manage four to six hours in a row. From six months most could get through the night without a feed, many still want one, and that is fine.
"Sleeping through" in studies usually means six hours in a row, not twelve. And even that, more than one in four babies still do not manage at one year (Pennestri, Pediatrics 2018). So if your ten-month-old is up twice, they are in good company.
Why babies wake at night
Hunger. The most common reason in the first months, and at night you should meet it.
Sleep cycles. From the fourth month your baby sleeps in cycles and wakes briefly in between. Whether they call out depends on whether they find the situation they fell asleep in. More under The 4-month sleep regression.
Development. Rolling, crawling, standing, stranger anxiety, talking. What the brain learns by day, it practices at night.
Overtiredness. A baby that slept too little during the day sleeps more restlessly at night, not more deeply. The wake window table helps.
Physical things. Teeth, a cold, a room too warm or too cold, a wet onesie.
What helps for calmer nights
The day makes the night. Enough daytime sleep, suitable wake windows, lots of light and movement by day, calm dim light from the evening on. That is how the inner clock learns when night is.
Same bedtime routine. Bath, pajamas, milk, song, bed, every evening in the same order and at a similar time.
Be boring at night. No light, no play, few words. Tend to them, put them down, done.
Check the sleep environment. 16 to 20 °C (61 to 68 °F), sleeping bag instead of blanket, on the back, nothing loose in the bed. The TOG calculator tells you which sleeping bag fits the room temperature.
Wait a moment. Not every sound is a call. If the baby is only grumbling, give them a minute, they often sleep on.
When to ask your pediatrician
If your baby snores in their sleep, breathes through the mouth or has pauses in breathing. If they scream at night as if in pain and cannot be settled. If they are constantly tired during the day or not gaining well. And if you are at the end of your rope: parents' sleep is a topic for the practice and the midwife too, no need to be ashamed.
How HeyFini helps at night
At night you tap three big buttons in the night layout, no more light needed. In the morning HeyFini tells you in one sentence how the night was, compared with your own nights, not with a table. In What has changed you see whether nights are getting longer over the weeks, even if it does not feel that way at 3 am. And after three weeks the patterns show whether teething, a walk or a late nap play a role for your baby.
This article does not replace medical advice. For anything unusual about breathing, pain or weight, ask your midwife, health visitor or pediatrician.
Related
- The 4-month sleep regression: what happens and what helps
- The 8-month sleep regression: crawling, stranger anxiety, wakeful nights
- Teething and sleep: does my baby sleep worse when teeth come in?
Frequently asked questions
When do babies sleep through the night?
Six hours in a row is something many babies manage between three and six months, others only after the first birthday. Both are normal. There is no age at which a baby has to sleep through.
Should I keep feeding my baby at night?
In the first months yes, they need the feeds. From about six months you decide together with your midwife or pediatrician whether and how to reduce night feeds. A baby that feeds at night and gains well during the day is doing nothing wrong.
Does an evening cereal help with sleeping through?
Research finds no meaningful effect. More in the article on solids and sleep. Solids start with the readiness signs, not because of the night.
Sources: Night waking in the first year: Pennestri et al., Pediatrics 2018; Henderson et al., Pediatrics 2010; safe sleep environment: American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), safe sleep recommendations 2022; room temperature 16 to 20 °C: German Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA).