Q&A With Expert Series: 5 Common Baby-Sleep Doubts With Solutions For Sleepless Parents!

Babies’ first year of life is filled with so many milestones, and one of them would be a miracle if it happens instantly. Wonder what? A baby falling asleep instantly without being have to calm or hushed to sleep! However, that might be not the case for most parents out there. We’ve heard and seen tales of sleepless parents about their babies’ sleeping troubles and try hard to help them. Here comes the solution! Thanks to baby sleep consultants, now our sleepless parents can have a good night's sleep. 

(Q&A Expert Series with Ms. Wing Yan Ho)

Dear parents, we heard your call for help and that’s why we have compiled a list of 5 common baby-sleep doubts that every parent has about their babies’ sleeping troubles. Tagging along the questions are solutions given by Ms. Wing Yan Ho from Precious Sleep, Infant & Child Sleep Solutions. Her answers don't only come from a consultant's point of view, but she also advises parents from a parent’s perspective since she herself is a mother of two. Before jumping to the questions and solutions, we would like to say a heartfelt thank you to Ms. Wing Yan Ho to spare her time for answering parents’ concerns. 

Now, let’s go to the 5 common baby-sleep doubts with solutions for sleepless parents!

Q1. My baby seems to be overtired, thus having a harder time sleeping & staying asleep. What are the symptoms, remedies, and prevention of over-tiredness in babies?

Over-tiredness occurs when your babies have been forced to stay awake longer than their bodies can tolerate. This causes their stress response system to be activated, releasing cortisol and adrenaline which makes it harder for them to settle down and stay asleep. Hence, it’s always important to observe their signs of tiredness. Symptoms of an overtired child differ from newborns, infants, and toddlers.

(Image credit to Sleep & Happiness)

Symptoms of over-tiredness in newborns and infants:

• Squirming or arching their back
• Clenching fists
• Rubbing their eyes or ears
• Pulling their knees to chest

Symptoms of over-tiredness in toddlers:

• Clumsiness
• Lack of coordination
• Short temper
• Tugging of hair and/or ears
• Fussiness and irritability

Here’s how over-tiredness in babies can be prevented:

• Keeping a close eye on the baby’s recommended wake windows and tired cues
• Understand and recognize your baby’s sleepy cues 
• Knowing how long they’re meant to stay awake for 
• Track their sleeping patterns and time closely

The better you understand their natural sleep patterns, the more predictable their sleep will be, and you can start establishing a regular sleep schedule.

Q2. When is a good time to introduce a bedtime routine for my baby?

You can introduce a bedtime routine right from the start! You can begin your sleeping schedule with a short and simple bedtime routine. This can be done when your baby is at his or her newborn age. From then on, you can slowly add a few more steps and extend it to about 20 minutes to 30 minutes as they grow older. 

(Image credit to Review Geek)

Having a consistent routine is important to help your baby wind down before sleep. It sends signals to your baby’s body and brain that it’s time for bed, and gets them ready for sleep.

Q3. My baby is an early riser, waking up either at 5:00 a.m. or worse, 3:00 a.m. How can I help my baby sleep through the night and fix early risings?

Early rising when your baby is supposed to sleep through the night could be due to several reasons that you might have missed. Culprits like over-tiredness, a messed-up sleep schedule, or lingering sleep prop are the reasons your little ones are unable to put themselves back to sleep. To avoid these factors, here are some ways that can help:

(Image credit to Everymum)

Ways to keep baby sleep through the night:

• You should check the wake window before bedtime
• Be sure to not overtire your baby. 
• Check your baby’s sleep schedule if they’re sleeping with appropriate hours of naps versus night sleep
• Ensure timed sleeping patterns as having too much or too few naps could result in shortened night sleep.
• Work on sleep independence which allows babies to self-soothe and put themselves back to sleep when they wake up in the middle of the night.

Q4. What should I do about my child’s constant fears and worries during bedtime?

To begin with, it would be good to address those fears. Understand what your child is afraid of, and reassure them that they’ll be fine. Be mindful that during the reassurance, you should not support their belief in imaginative creatures, instead build their confidence that there is no such thing. 

(Image credit to Healthline)

Your support can be in the form of material too such as, offering a dim night light and asleep lovey as a security object. By doing so, your munchkin’s fears can be alleviated!

Q5. How do I deal when my baby wakes up crying inconsolably?

The most significant thing to do before rushing to your crying baby is to understand why your baby is waking up crying. Is it due to the fact they are hungry? Could they have been frightened? Are they frustrated as they are unable to put themselves back to sleep? 

(Image credit to Healthline)

If they’re hungry, and still require a night feed, please go ahead and feed. If they’re afraid, then you may go over and assure them that everything is alright. If they can’t put themselves back to sleep and are looking for your constant help, then perhaps it’s time to consider sleep training. Sleep training will work on your baby’s confidence at bedtime and give the little one a chance to pick up the important skill of self-soothing to sleep.

These are the solutions to sleepless parents’ 5 common baby-sleep doubts! We hope, Ms. Wing Yan Ho’s answers have eased your concerns over your munchkin’s sleep and yours as well. Hope, from today onwards both your baby and you have a good night's sleep. Do you have more doubts about different or same baby problems? Drop your question to us, and you will see your questions featured with the answers from our baby experts in our Q & A series blog. 

(Image credit to The Today Show)

In the meantime, here are some articles for practical and knowledgeable parenting that could help you with your tiny tots. If you want to know the importance of reading bedtime stories to your babies, or the benefits of cuddling your babies, head to HappyPreggie’s guides and tips. This and more only on HappyPreggie!