Three Reasons Your Baby Won't Sleep

As a parent, there’s nothing quite as exhausting as trying to figure out why your baby isn’t sleeping. You’ve tried all the usual tricks—feeding, rocking, shushing—but nothing seems to be working. It can leave you feeling defeated, wondering where you’ve gone wrong.

It’s not your fault. Babies are complex little people, and their sleep habits can be affected by a variety of factors. I’m going to share three sneaky reasons why your little one might be struggling to sleep—and more importantly, how to address them in a supportive way.

Developmental Leaps

Just when you think you've cracked the sleep code, your baby will hit a developmental leap, which can lead to disrupted sleep. These milestones, though exciting, can also bring extra fussiness, more tiredness and increased night wakings.

How to fix it: Understand that this is temporary—these phases often pass within a few weeks. If your baby is insistent on practicing their new skill, be that standing, rolling or chatting, give them lots of extra practice during the day and try not to jump in too quickly at night.  Allow them a little time to exercise their new skills in their cot before you go to settle them.  Giving you baby 10 minutes to pull to standing after you put them into their bed will ultimately be more successful than repeatedly trying to lie them down while they’re desperate to test out those new skills.  During these times, it’s also helpful to try to maintain as much consistency as possible with naps and bedtime routines.

Forgetting to Change

You’ve worked out the perfect nap time schedule and bedtime.  Sleep has been working great for a couple of months.  Then all of a sudden, it’s not.  You look around for the causes – teething, development, illness?  But two or three weeks go by and things are only getting worse.

How to fix it: If you’ve been on the same schedule for months, there’s a good chance that your baby has grown out of it without you realising.  What was once working needs to be updated to match their current sleep needs, now that they’re that little bit older. Don’t worry, start by trimming their daytime naps by 15 minutes at a time, giving it three or four days to see if it makes a difference, before adjusting again. 

A Change in the Environment

Your baby’s sleep environment can make or break their ability to sleep well. A room that’s too hot, too cold, or too bright can disrupt their sleep without you even realising it. During the spring and early summer, we can experience quite significant shifts in temperature, which make it tricky to get the temperature right.  Those earlier mornings don’t help either!

How to fix it: The ideal room temperature for a baby is between 16°C and 20°C (60°F-68°F). Make sure the room isn’t too stuffy or too cold, and consider using blackout blinds and curtains to block out any light that might be disrupting their sleep in the early morning. Use cotton or bamboo sleepwear which can wick moisture better and feel free to add layers during the night if you’re doing a feed or a nappy change and notice that the temperature has dropped.  A white noise machine can also help drown out outside sounds, which may wake your baby during the night.

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If you're struggling to work out the reason why your baby isn't sleeping well at the moment, then book a free call with me and we can work out the best way to get the answers that you need, whether that's a 30 minute Guidance Call or a full Sleep Support Programme.