5 Milestones That Can Affect Sleep
There are so many magical first moments to celebrate when you have a baby – the first smile, their first steps and the first time you hear their little voice call you ‘mama’. It’s enough to melt anyone’s heart.
As we reach each new developmental stage, changes have to happen. For example, when your baby starts to roll it’s essential that you ditch the swaddle, or when they start to crawl it’s time to get the stairgates out and baby-proof the house.
For your baby, any leaps in development cause their little brain to start buzzing with excitement. Their new skills can also leave them feeling very overwhelmed and this is why these ‘firsts’ (and the endless list of others) can have an impact on their sleep.
Essential this is what sleep ‘regressions’ are – any developmental phases that seem to have a negative affect on sleep. It may feel like your baby has gone backwards, but in actual fact they are progressing - they have learnt something new and exciting which is going to take a little time to get used to.
The good news is that most babies will become comfortable with their new skills and the novelty will wear off in around 1-3 weeks so you shouldn’t experience disturbed sleep for any longer than this if the ‘regression’ is the cause.
Here are five of the most common milestones that affect sleep and what you can do to help your baby through each phase:
Rolling (3-6 months)
We all look forward to the day our babies start to become a little more mobile but actually one of the best things about the newborn stage is that you can pop your baby in their sleep space and be safe in the knowledge that they’re not going anywhere. This stage doesn’t last long though and it all changes when your baby starts to roll!
It is essential at this point, that if you use a swaddle, you stop as it poses a safety risk. If your baby loves their swaddle then thought of this is likely to send fear running down your spine. It is an adjustment and you may have a few disturbed nights but babies often adapt much more quickly than we imagine. If you are worried about going ‘cold turkey’ with transition then you could leave one of your baby’s arms out of the swaddle for a few nights before removing the other. Replacing the swaddle with a sleepsack is also a good idea as you’ll know they’ll stay snug all night and won’t be able to roll out of it!
Safe sleep practice also states that you must always put your baby down on their back to sleep but when babies start to roll it’s very common for them to start practicing at night. If your baby can roll themselves this is fine but the issues arise when they become stuck! Often babies learn to roll one way but cannot roll the other way straight away, it takes practice… so they get stuck on their tummy and cry out for your help to flip them back. This can happen again, and again, and again. Your baby wants to practice but doesn’t necessarily like the consequence!
The best thing you can do to navigate this phase as quickly as possible is to give your baby lots of practice at rolling and tummy time during the day. Encourage them to roll back over by gently moving their body for them too.
Starting Solids (around 6 months)
There’s this huge misconception that starting solids will make your baby sleep better… I remember hearing the very outdated and dangerous ‘advice’ that putting baby rice or rusk in their bottle would make them sleep longer (please do not ever be tempted to do this as it poses a choking risk).
Of course, nutrition and sleep are interlinked – it’s a good idea at this stage to try and maximise daytime calories to start to minimize night feeds, but often the introduction of new food can cause discomfort to your little one’s tummy. That’s not to say it definitely will, but if you think about it, up until this point your baby has only ever digested milk. It’s going to take time for their body to adjust to other foods, which is why it’s recommended parents take a gradual approach to weaning.
You never know how your baby’s body is going to respond to different food so it’s a good idea to start with vegetables and introduce one new veg per day. The best time to do this is at breakfast or lunchtime, so that your baby’s body has time to digest it. If there is a reaction, or any discomfort you will also be able to monitor it and it should be cleared before bedtime. The last thing you’d want to do is give a new food for dinner and then your baby be in discomfort or have a bad reaction to it during the night.
I’d also advise steering clear of any sugary food (including fruit at first) after lunchtime as sugar is a stimulus and will make it much harder for your little one to fall asleep. If you’d like to know more about which food promote sleep and which to avoid then download my free eBook ‘5 Recipes to Promote Sleep’ by clicking here.
Teething (from 6 months)
Believe it or not, the most common age for a baby to start teething is from 6 months. Often parents will think their baby has started teething earlier than this because around 3-4 months, little ones often start putting their fists in their mouth, chewing everything and drooling – a lot! But more often than not this isn’t teething. Around this age babies motor control, starts to develop and they start to explore more with their hands and mouth. They learn to bring items up to their mouth and their natural instinct is to want to bite down or suck on them as a means of exploration. Their mouth then produces extra saliva as a defense mechanism to expel any germs that go into their mouth – it’s clever really!
Anyway, back to teething!
Teething can 100% affect sleep BUT it shouldn’t be something that lasts for weeks. The pain happens as the gum starts to sink and part to make way for the tooth and this should only last 3-4 days at most. Once you can feel the little tooth poking through, the pain should be gone. Teeth do however, often come in pairs, so if your baby is still showing signs of discomfort – the other tooth may be about to pop through too!
If your baby is clearly in pain and is showing other signs of teething too then they will need some extra cuddles and comfort from you. It’s not a good idea at this point to introduce something new you don’t want to continue doing in future though, such as cosleeping or rocking to sleep, because babies can form habits very quickly! Sticking to your usual routine and way of settling is the best idea, even when a little one is teething.
It’s also a good idea to give them regular, appropriate pain relief overnight and during the day if necessary. Parents are often tempted to give extra feeds for comfort when their baby is in pain but when it comes to teething this can actually make things worse! When your little one is teething blood rushes to the surface of their gums which causes a throbbing sensation. When your baby sucks this increases the amount of blood that rushes to the gums and it intensifies the pain so it’s a good idea to comfort using cuddles and your voice, but not by giving extra milk!
Crawling/Walking (from 7 months)
This is such an exciting milestone!! But in my experience, it’s one of the biggest to affect sleep!
Around this age everything is changing so fast, it’s also around this time that separation anxiety can form and communication and understanding goes through the roof! If your baby is around 8-10 months make sure you check out my other blog post for more on this.
Essentially, a surge in movement skills means more physical and mental stimulation. Your baby’s brain will be going into overdrive and even if they are spending hours practicing their skills in at bedtime or during the night, they might still wake for periods and be thinking about all the new possibilities that have opened up to them.
Many babies will start to seem like they suddenly hate their cot at this stage, but it’s not the cot itself they dislike – it’s the fact that they are contained in a space when they’d rather be running about exploring.
As with rolling, the best way to navigate this phase as quickly as possible is to allow lots of daytime practice. Make sure your baby’s sleep space is big enough so they can explore and be as consistent as possible with your approach to bedtimes and naptimes. Your baby may feel overwhelmed by the physical changes that have happened so will need a steady hand from you to feel secure – it’s not the time to be changing things.
Transitioning Sleep Spaces
Anytime you change your child’s sleep space, whether it be from a bassinette to a cot or from a cot to a bed, there is potential for a few disturbed nights. Babies love familiarity and predictability so when their sleep environment suddenly changes it can throw them a bit.
This is why it’s a good idea to allow your baby to spend time in their new environment during the day before you move them at night – by this I don’t mean by napping in there but simply by spending some awake time in their new space or new room so they get used to the surroundings.
If you’re transitioning your baby to their own room then spend time there singing lullabies, reading stories and playing peek-a-boo through the cot bars – nothing too hectic though as you want them to associate this with relaxing, not stimulating play. If you want to make the transition gradual then you could even put their current sleep space into their new room for a few nights before making the leap to the cot. Younger babies are really sensitive to smell so sleeping with their new cot sheets for a few nights can make the new space feel more familiar.
When it comes to moving to a toddler bed, I recommend waiting until as close to 3 yrs old as possible and I have good reason for this! Until 2.5 yrs old children cannot developmentally control their impulses. They just cannot do it. So if they have the urge to do something they’re going to! This includes getting out of bed… even if you tell them they need to stay in bed a hundred times, they just don’t have the cognitive ability to stop themselves if they get the urge.
If your little one is ready for a toddler bed then make a big deal out of it! Toddlers love control so letting them pick their bedding and introducing simple rewards for sleeping all night in their big bed can really help make the transition a smooth and pleasant one.
During the first two years it can feel like one sleep disruption after another but there should be periods of calm inbetween. If your baby’s sleep is always disrupted or you’ve had frequent night wakes for months on end then there will be a different root cause.
For help solving this, book in for a free 1-1 call with me, and together we can finally get you and your baby a great night’s sleep.
Download my FREE guide now, apply the simple strategies and watch your child’s sleep improve instantly!