Why Won’t My Baby Sleep? The alarm goes off and the last thing you want to do is climb out of bed. But this is no ordinary alarm. It is your baby crying in the night — again. How can you help your new bundle of joy, as well as yourself, get rest so you can enjoy every moment of parenthood? Let her cry it out, nurse her, give her a pacifier or rock and sing her back to sleep? “During the first three or four months, the nightly awakenings are natural and will become less frequent over time,” says Carol Rosen, MD, Medical Director of Pediatric Sleep Services at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital. “Your baby will begin to sleep for longer periods of time, and you can help your infant learn to sleep through the night. As your infant approaches four to six months, teach her that nighttime is for sleeping by laying her in her crib before she is asleep.” But getting your baby to fall asleep is only half the battle. When your baby is very young, she will need to eat in the middle of the night to grow. As your baby gets older and doubles her birth weight, these night feedings become less important for growth. In the meantime, nightly awakenings might have you out of bed four or five times a night. Although you may want to run to your baby at the first sounds of distress, some of her cries may just be during transition times in sleep. We all wake up briefly four to five times a night, usually as we cycle between dream and nondream sleep. Trying to comfort her might wake her up entirely. However, if the cries continue after a few minutes, it is OK to check on your baby. “If your baby wakes up during the night, leaving her to cry herself back to sleep for prolonged periods of time is not a solution because she may feel deserted and lonely,” says pediatrician Gregory Golunka, MD, a Rainbow pediatrician practicing at Kids in the Sun in Strongsville and Brecksville. “Instead, if light crying continues after a few minutes, keeping the lights low, quietly check to make sure she is not wet, sick, or too hot or cold, and remedy these situations quickly and quietly. Rather than picking her up, gently rub her back or give her a pacifier so that she knows she is safe, and allow her to fall back to sleep on her own.” For toddlers and young grade-schoolers, creating a positive bedtime routine, with your child’s input, can help him learn to prepare for sleep. Turn off the TV and other stimulating devices, give him a bath, read a bedtime story and make sure the sleeping environment is dark and quiet. A small nightlight is fine for the child who is more fearful of complete darkness. “One mistake parents often make is trying to wear their child out in order to make him tired,” Rosen says. “By skipping naps or stimulating him close to bedtime, he can actually become overtired, which makes falling asleep more difficult.” GREAT OFFER! Rainbow is offering free copies of the CD Symphony of Dreams to the first 250 callers at 216-844-RAINBOW. CAROL ROSEN, MD Medical Director of Pediatric Sleep Services, Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital GREGORY GOLUNKA, MD Pediatrician, University Hospitals