5 reasons why your newborn baby sleeps restlessly

Sooner or later every parent has to deal with it: your baby is not sleeping well. He sleeps restlessly, has difficulty falling asleep or does not sleep through the night. That is annoying, because a baby needs a lot of sleep. For the first few months, your baby's sleep needs are about 16 to 20 hours a day. How do babies sleep best What can be the reason for poor sleep Why do babies cry before going to sleep In this article you can read 5 reasons why your baby sleeps restlessly and how you can solve this.t. 

Let's get one thing straight: every baby is different. Sleep needs can vary greatly from child to child. A baby has no instructions for use and what works great for one child may not work at all for another. Therefore, as a parent, do not be distracted by products or other people who promise that they have THE solution, because there is none. What you can do is understand your baby better. This way you can better estimate what he needs!

1. Your baby doesn't have a sleep rhythm yet

When your baby is in the tummy, he will experience little difference between day and night. He doesn't have a set sleep schedule yet and just takes a nap every now and then. As soon as he is born, your baby still has to get used to your lifestyle. That causes unrest. Your baby is not at all used to external factors determining when it is time to go to sleep.

How many naps your baby takes during the day depends very much on the personal needs of your baby in the beginning. Only from about 3 months on, a rhythm slowly starts to emerge, with 3 to 5 naps being the norm.

Solution: first of all patience. Developing a sleep rhythm is partly a matter of getting used to and that just takes time. However, as a parent you can create the ideal conditions to make it easier for your baby to get used to it. How do babies sleep best With a regular bedtime routine! By always doing everything in the same order, your child will learn when it is time to go to sleep and it will be easier to relax. Tip: it NUNKI sheet helps to create calm and regularity. You put your baby to bed, fasten the Velcro and zip up the sheet. Anyone can do it and everyone does it exactly the same way.

2. Your baby needs security

When you are pregnant, your baby is snug in the belly. Wonderfully safe and secure in the womb. After birth, your baby misses that familiar tight feeling and constant closeness to mom. That is also the reason why your baby likes to cuddle and fall asleep with you. Also read the article about this:why cuddling with your baby is so important >

Solution: Lots of hugging and skin contact! Your baby loves to be carried, for example in a sling. Due to gravity, he then experiences the same pressure as in the womb. In addition, bring security to the bed. Nothing is nicer than a big hug from mom or dad, but you all need your own rest too. Give your baby the familiar womb feeling in bed so that he learns to sleep alone too. You create security, for example, by tucking in tightly. This way your baby feels where the boundaries are, just like in the womb. He then feels less alone and falls asleep more easily. Tip: with the NUNKI sheet tucked in tightly becomes super simple.

3. Your baby is not yet used to the outside world

The transition from the womb to the outside world is a big one. Earlier in this article you read that a baby is snug in the womb and does not yet experience a difference between day and night. Everything your baby needs is in the womb. There is constant oxygen and nutrition in the safe cocoon, where your baby rocks back and forth in slow motion. Everything is nice and comfortable.

The outside world is different. There are many stimuli: loud noises, bright lights, different smells and the temperature changes. Your baby suddenly has room to move and has to breathe and drink independently. That is all completely new. Your baby has to deal with so many new things and that causes anxiety, which makes falling asleep independently in this new world a challenge.

Solution:Ensure as few stimuli as possible in the environment of your baby and gGive your baby that nice and familiar womb feeling in bed too. You achieve this by tucking your baby in tightly. The stimuli will then be less intense and your child will become calmer. The biggest challenge is that your baby quickly kicks the sheet loose. The nice tight feeling then disappears, so that the restlessness is immediately back. ItNUNKI sheet therefore sits around the mattress. This prevents the sheet from coming loose!

4. Your baby is making uncontrolled movements

Your baby has no control over his body for the first few months. The arms and legs move uncontrollably and that causes restlessness. This is initially a problem when falling asleep. Does your baby finally sleep Then there is a good chance that he will kick the sheets loose or accidentally wake himself up with his hands..

Solution:Make sure your child can move less. A commonly used method is swaddling. Wrapping your baby tightly in swaddling clothes will prevent him from moving uncontrollably. Swaddling is quite intense and has all kinds of advantages and disadvantages. At Fedde&Kees we are a fan of a milder alternative. With ournewborn set your baby has a little more freedom of movement and it is also a lot easier than swaddling. The Fedde&Kees method has been specially developed to reduce the swaddling step by step - at the pace of your child.

5. Something else is going on

Why do babies cry before going to sleep That question remains difficult to answer. In this article you have read how your baby still has to get used to this new world and a sleeping rhythm. So it makes sense that your baby sometimes has a hard time. If your baby cries a lot or is really unable to sleep, then there may be more to it. For example, your baby may have an allergy or hidden reflux. This is not always visible and your baby is unfortunately not yet able to tell what is bothering him.. 

Solution: Trust your maternal instinct. You know your child best and if you have done everything to create the ideal circumstances and your baby is still restless (too often), then there may be something wrong. My youngest son Fedde was a crybaby and slept much more restlessly than my first three children. I felt powerless for so long and was relieved when we found out he had silent reflux. With the right medication it went much better after that! Therefore, always follow your gut feeling: if your child has unexplained restlessness, let a professional take a look.

Love,

Frederieke