Why is My Baby Still Waking Up Frequently at Night?

This is really the ultimate point of why my job exists as a sleep consultant, right? When your baby is 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 months or older, is gaining weight well, eating well, perfectly healthy, and yet still waking up multiple times a night. Or in the worst cases, waking up every 20 to 40 minutes!

You've asked for advice on social media and probably tried all different brands of sleep sacks, pacifiers, sound machines...you probably tried introducing cereals or purees in hopes that this will be the right thing that finally helps your baby sleep through the night.

While things like sleep sacks and blackout curtains are certainly helpful to your child's overall sleep strategy, they're not going to be the magical cure to frequent night wakings.

Your baby is frequently waking at night (and/or having too-short naps) because they have completed a physical cycle of sleep, and they have never learned how to connect it to the next one without a caregiver's physical assistance.

Rather than running around in circles trying to figure out what sleep sack to buy or how long to let them sleep in the car, you need to resolve the root of the issue: teach your baby to connect their sleep cycles without outside assistance.

This takes time, patience, and consistency. Which is harder and requires more brain power than clicking “buy now” on a gadget that promises results.

“I've tried sleep training and it didn't work” “I've tried cry it out and it didn't work” or “I've tried sitting with my child at bedtime and it didn't work” I hear these things every day. But the fact is, you are the parent, you are in charge of what your child does and what habits they are allowed to keep. It's a hard truth, but as parents when our child is having an undesirable behavior, it's freakin HARD to have the consistency and the boundaries and the self-discipline OURSELVES. All sleep training methods “work” when applied with total consistency and discipline.

This is why the support of a sleep consultant is so invaluable! I'm totally well-rested, so I can help you stay accountable. It can be torturous for parents to consider allowing their child to cry at night, when you don't know how much to allow or when it will stop. It's no wonder after a day or two you give up! Then the next time you get totally exhausted and decide to try again, you have taught your child stamina. This time, they will cry for an hour, and you will throw up your hands and declare that sleep training doesn't work for your child.

Most of my clients come to me with a cautious hope that things will really change this time, after already trying all the gadgets, all the methods, and maybe even a previous different sleep consultant with inconsistent results.

If this sounds like you, I advise against wasting any more money on gadgets that promise sleep results. I also advise against using the “extinction method” without professional support. My clients' babies actually end up crying very little during sleep training, compared to their daily over-tired fuss periods.

Sleep consulting with an objective professional gets you the best, fastest, longest lasting results with LESS crying and less time/money wasted.

Book a free 15-minute discovery call with me to see if my sleep consulting services will be a perfect fit for you and your child.

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