From the moment you bring your little one home, you might start wondering,
“Why won’t my newborn sleep in the crib?”
You imagine a peaceful scene with your baby cozy among soft blankets and cute toys in their crib.
Yet, reality can be quite different…
My daughter was no exception. Despite our best efforts, she spent the first few months sleeping on my chest or cradled in my arms.
This common dilemma resonates with many new parents, leading us to explore why a newborn might struggle with sleeping in their crib.
Exploring Why Newborns Resist the Crib
When your newborn won’t sleep in the crib, it often relates to their need for comfort, which they find in more familiar environments like a parent’s arms, on a partner’s chest, or even during a car ride.
Many infants also fall asleep in carriers or swings. Despite careful transfers into the crib, their sleep is frequently disturbed.
Newborns spend much of their sleep in the REM phase, characterized by active sleep where they may twitch, sigh, or briefly wake. Once they realize they are not in their initial sleep spot, fussiness usually follows.
Here are several potential reasons why your baby might not prefer sleeping on their back in the crib:
1. Seeking Comfort
It’s natural for newborns to crave closeness and the comfort of skin-to-skin contact, which is crucial for their development. While it’s great to enjoy these moments when you’re awake and alert during the day, it’s important to remember that at night, when there’s a risk of falling asleep, your baby should be in a safe sleeping space like a crib.
For introducing independent naps safely, try putting your baby in the crib while they’re still awake. Stay close by but resist the urge to intervene right away. This helps them get used to the crib and learn to fall asleep on their own. It’s about practice and patience — ensure they’re happy and full, and as they see you’re close, they’ll start to feel secure enough to drift off. Regularly doing this can make crib sleeping a more comfortable experience for your baby.
2. Uncomfortable Postures
If your baby seems uncomfortable on a flat surface, it could be due to their posture, potentially influenced by their birth. For instance, interventions during delivery, like forceps or a C-section, can affect a baby’s posture. Consulting with a cranial osteopath might help in adjusting their comfort.
3. Reflux Issues
Reflux is a common issue that can make lying on the back particularly uncomfortable for babies. When a baby has reflux, the contents of their stomach can come back up into the esophagus, causing discomfort and often making it difficult for them to remain settled when lying flat.
To help manage mild cases of reflux during sleep, one helpful technique is to place your hand gently on your baby’s tummy as you lay them down. This gentle pressure can help soothe and settle your baby, providing some temporary relief from the discomfort.
However, for babies who experience persistent or severe reflux, it’s important to seek further guidance from healthcare professionals.
4. Hunger
If a baby is not fully satisfied after feeding, they’ll certainly make it known.
Ensuring they are adequately fed before sleep can significantly improve their comfort and extend their sleep duration.
In addition to checking that the feeding equipment like bottles and teats are suitable, implementing a “split feed” strategy can be a game-changer.
This involves feeding your baby before starting the bedtime routine, such as a bath and massage, and then topping up with another feed right after.
This method helps to fully satisfy your baby’s hunger, ensuring they get a good initial stretch of sleep at the beginning of the night. This approach has proven to be incredibly effective, providing the necessary nourishment and comfort to help your baby settle down more easily for the night.
Don’t forget to give your little one a good burp after feeding—it’s key to keeping them comfy and happy!
5. Feeding Challenges
Issues like “tongue tie” can affect feeding and, by extension, sleeping. A tongue tie can affect how effectively a baby can latch and feed, leading to increased air intake and subsequent discomfort from gas and reflux.
Correcting a tongue tie can improve feeding efficiency and potentially reduce reflux symptoms. So, if feeding is a struggle, seeking advice from a tongue tie specialist can be beneficial.
6. Gas and Discomfort
Don’t forget to burp your baby after feeding—it’s a simple step, but so crucial and easy to underestimate.
Because babies receive all their nutrition through liquids, whether breastfed or bottle-fed, they inevitably swallow some air along with their milk, and although breastfeeding typically introduces less air, it’s still important to burp them to release any trapped air for their comfort.
Ensuring your little one is adequately burped and has a ‘soft’ tummy free of excess air before laying them down can drastically improve their comfort and extend their sleep. This helps prevent discomfort from gas, which is a common disruptor of peaceful sleep for babies, making it a key routine to remember for smoother nights.
Conclusion
Getting your newborn to sleep in their crib can be a challenging journey, but remember, you’re not alone in this. Many parents face similar struggles, from finding the right comfort levels to addressing physical discomforts and feeding issues.
By understanding and tackling these challenges, you can help create a soothing sleep environment for your baby, ensuring better rest for both of you.
I’m Olena, a neuroscientist, and a Pediatric Sleep Consultant and Adult Sleep Coach, and most importantly, a mother who has experienced severe sleep deprivation. For more tips and insights on improving sleep for both you and your little one, follow me on Instagram.
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