What to Do When Your Baby Wakes Up Every Hour

Tired because your baby wakes up every hour? Get your little one sleeping through the night in no time with these simple and effective tips.

Baby Wakes Up Every Hour

Since his newborn days, my baby was never the best sleeper. He’d flip onto his tummy and cry because he didn’t know how to flip onto his back once again. I dreaded looking at the clock, realizing that it had only been an hour since he last cried, and I of course hadn’t slept.

He would only fall asleep if I was feeding or bouncing with him on a yoga ball. Using a pacifier didn’t help at night since he’d cry when it fell out of his mouth. Feeding him solids, however fun during the day, didn’t seem to help him sleep longer.

It’s hard dealing with frequent wake-ups, no doubt. You may have heard that babies should be sleeping better as the months go by, but the reverse seems to be happening.

You’re not destined to wake up every hour, and neither should your baby. Desperate to break out of this pattern, I researched all I could and found strategies that helped my little guy finally sleep longer. In fact, he was even able to put himself to sleep each time he stirred and slept through the night.

Hopefully, you can learn from my experience, especially when you try these tips:

How to Get Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night

1. Make sure your baby is full before bed

Many babies have a habit of feeding to fall asleep, even when they’re not hungry. But sometimes, your baby really can be hungry. And the younger the baby, the more likely she might wake up because of hunger.

So, how can you make sure she’s full before bed?

First, keep her awake during night feeds. This is especially difficult for that last bedtime feed when it’s time to fall asleep after feeding. But make sure she’s not simply sucking to soothe, but taking in her calories. (Listen for that “swallowing” sound—that tells you she’s actually drinking.)

Then, increase daytime feeds, especially if you suspect she’s going through a growth spurt. Ideally, she’s taking in all her calories during the day (just like you and I do), and reserving the night for sleep.

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2. Have an early bedtime

With your baby’s sleep pattern so erratic, it’s tempting to start the bedtime routine much later, as late as 11pm for some parents. After all, babies nap throughout the day and have no particular need to wake up or fall asleep at a certain time.

But if your baby wakes up every hour, her bedtime might be the culprit. Aim for a bedtime no later than 7:30pm to avoid her feeling overtired in the late evening.

Expert tip

Go to sleep at a decent hour yourself. Many of the headaches of dealing with kids can be avoided when we’re as well-rested as we can be.

3. Give your baby a chance to fall asleep on her own

Assuming she’s past the newborn stage and can sleep through the night, your baby is likely more than ready and able to fall asleep on her own. The problem? She isn’t given a chance to, especially when she’s grown used to feeding, rocking, or co-sleeping to fall asleep.

As I say in my book, How to Teach Your Baby to Self Soothe:

“Your baby has grown used to rocking and nursing or having you nearby. He doesn’t know how to fall asleep in different circumstances by himself. Up to this point, he hasn’t been able to experience falling asleep on his own when you’re the one who’s been putting him to sleep. He simply has never been given the chance to. That’s why he fusses when he wakes up throughout a nap or at night and can’t go back to sleep—he doesn’t know how.”

Instead, put her down awake so that she can learn how to fall asleep without your help. Check in frequently to reassure her you’re still here (and to make sure everything is okay), but don’t assume she can’t sleep on her own if you let her.

Yes, she can be “vocal” about this change (in other words, she might cry), but this is understandable since she’s only known one way of falling asleep. But the more chances she gets to learn to self soothe, the less she needs to rely on you to fall asleep.

The result? Every time she wakes up in the middle of the night (as we all do), she can now transition back to sleep, instead of crying for you to help her do so.

Baby Feeding Every Hour and Not Sleeping

4. Create a conducive sleep environment

Does your baby’s room make it harder for her to sleep?

You might assume that a quiet room is what she needs, but absolute silence can startle her awake, especially when she’s sleeping lightly. Instead, turn on white noise, either from a white noise machine, a fan, a heater, or even an app. The constant hum can muffle sudden sounds that can wake her up.

Similarly, how bright is her room? I’ve found that darkening curtains can work miracles, even when it’s nighttime outside. Curtains block neighborhood lights and keep sunlight (either in the early evening or early morning) from waking her up.

5. Be mindful of developmental milestones

I used to blame teething for just about any sleep issue my baby gave me, never mind that he never popped a tooth until well after his first birthday. Still, many babies struggle with teething as well as other milestones that could be contributing to fragmented sleep.

Your baby might be learning to crawl, which makes her sleep more restless as she tries to process this new development. She might have learned how to roll over or pull herself up in the crib, then cry because she has no idea how to “undo” what she just did. Or she could be developing separation anxiety, afraid that you won’t return when the lights are off.

Depending on the milestone, you might give her more opportunities to practice crawling during the day (instead of, say, keeping her in the infant seat too long). Perhaps you can give her teething rings or play peek-a-boo to ease separation anxiety.

Sometimes, waiting a week or two is often enough, especially if she pulls herself up in the crib but hasn’t learned how to get back down. Eventually, she’ll learn how to do both and likely won’t cry for you as often to help her.

Conclusion

Hopefully, you’ve learned a few tips to try when your baby wakes up every hour. Start by making sure she’s full before bed to rule out hunger as the reason she wakes up so often. Put her to sleep earlier than usual, and no later than 7:30pm, to prevent being overtired in the evenings.

Give her a chance to fall asleep on her own—learning to self soothe is a game-changer and can help her sleep longer stretches. Create the right environment that promotes good sleep, like having white noise and a dark room.

And finally, be mindful of milestones, many of which you can take proactive measures to help, while others you simply wait out for a few days.

My baby eventually slept through the night, especially once he learned to self soothe. So much so that flipping onto his tummy, even multiple times a night, didn’t mean multiple wake-ups.

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2 Comments

  1. My baby is 7 months old and he wakes up during the night multiple times. We do have his crib in our room, so I don’t know if that makes a difference or not. We have a heat fan on and we have some lights on. He falls asleep when we pick him up, but once we put him in his crib, he sleeps for a little then wakes up. We givehim a bottle but he still wakes up.

    1. Nina Garcia says:

      It’s pretty common for kids to wake up throughout the night because they’ve gotten used to a certain way to fall and stay asleep. For instance, he might be used to being held to sleep, so whenever he wakes up throughout the night (like we all do), he doesn’t know how to put himself back to sleep. Hopefully the tips you learn in these emails can help you get him to sleep through the night! Hang in there, mama <3