Why does a 7 month old baby often wake up at night and cry: reasons for poor sleep

Tiny babies often confuse day and night, which is why they have trouble sleeping. As children get older, they get used to the daily routine, and the process normalizes on its own. However, in some cases, it is not always possible to achieve healthy and restful sleep. If a child at the age of 7 months sleeps poorly at night, the problem must be solved, because poor quality rest harms, first of all, the baby himself. In addition, such violations do not allow the baby’s parents to get enough sleep.

For normal growth and development of a baby, his sleep must be complete.

Most of the time, babies are woken up in the middle of the night by the need for milk. The stomach of a newborn is very small, so previously received food is digested quite quickly. This reason for frequent awakenings is completely natural and does not require elimination. But it also happens that the baby wakes up due to other factors, which will be discussed later.

Main causes of poor sleep

Common causes of night waking in a 7 month old baby include:

Excessive daytime sleep. By the evening the baby feels rested and does not want to sleep at all.
Excited state. Outdoor games with your child at night will lead to the fact that the baby will not be able to relax and calm down.
Deviations from the schedule. Putting your baby to bed too late can also cause your baby to become overstimulated and overtired, causing difficulty falling asleep and restless sleep.
Uncomfortable conditions - bright light, noisy environment, uncomfortable clothing or bed, air temperature too high or too low, stuffiness.
Inability of a newborn to fall asleep independently. If the baby is accustomed to the ritual of motion sickness or breastfeeding before going to bed, then he is unlikely to be able to do without these actions.
Lack of correct mode. If a child falls asleep at a different time every day, then you should not be surprised why his night rest is disrupted.
Painful or other unpleasant sensations that may be caused by teething or thirst.

On a note. Colic at this age usually no longer bothers babies and stops by about 3-4 months.

Bright light is a serious interference for a baby's normal sleep

Nervous tension. If a child often wakes up in the middle of the night, worries and cries, then the baby may have experienced emotional turmoil during the day. An event that excites a baby may be insignificant for an adult, but quite bright and significant for a 7-month-old toddler. In addition, it is much easier to agitate a baby than to calm him down. Even a new toy can overload a newborn’s nervous system. If the baby plays with it before bed, he will most likely become overexcited and will not be able to sleep properly.
No fatigue. The newborn’s body is full of energy, and if the baby has not exhausted it during the day, he will sleep restlessly at night.
Confuses day with night. The child has not developed the correct biorhythms. This process occurs throughout the first year of life. This is why the biological clock of seven-month-old infants can be disrupted.
If a child wakes up frequently, growth processes may be the cause. During development, the newborn's body undergoes physiological and psychological changes. By the seventh month, the baby begins to actively crawl, arch, toss and turn, stand up, twist his legs and arms, including during sleep, and often wakes up from his own movements.
I didn’t have time to fall asleep soundly. Deep sleep does not occur immediately in a child - after about 20 minutes. During this time, sleep is superficial, active, restless. If the baby falls asleep while being rocked to sleep, you need to wait about 20 minutes before transferring him to the crib. Otherwise, the child may easily wake up.
Lack of attention. If a baby lacks maternal love and warmth, it can be difficult for him to fall asleep.
The infant is undernourished during the day.

Causes of sleep disturbances

If a 7-month-old child wakes up 2-3 times at night, this is considered quite normal. Despite clear daily schedules, the baby is just learning to follow the regime. He gets used to sleeping until the morning without waking up for months. At first it is waking up about hunger every 2-3 hours. But at 7 months new reasons are added here.

This behavior can be explained by the developmental characteristics of children of this age. A seven-month-old baby can do a lot. With physical development, an increasing curiosity about the world around us appears. At this age, many people already crawl and sit up well. Some even try to stand while holding onto the crib rail or wall. When a child learns new things, he wakes up easily and can start playing at night. But, in any case, such a phenomenon as night awakenings requires a special approach and analysis.

Let's try to figure out what might disturb the child.

Character traits. If the baby is hyperactive, he sleeps very lightly. The slightest rustle, sound, even your own movements in a dream is a reason for awakening.
Room climate. Hot or cold weather can greatly affect your baby's sleep.
Hunger. At 7 months, many still wake up at night to eat. For all children this happens at different intervals. Some require milk 3 times a night, while others only wake up once. It’s good if the baby eats at 11 pm and sleeps peacefully until the morning. But there are very few of them. The little one will still need a lot of time to get used to the normal regime. And this will only come with age.
A child also sleeps poorly due to some illness. Very often, 7 months is marked by the appearance of the first tooth. And this may be accompanied by vomiting, fever, and diarrhea. A child’s general malaise can easily be confused with a cold or poisoning. But do not rush to give antiviral drugs. Check your baby's mouth. Perhaps you will see the long-awaited tooth. If this is not the reason, then it is better to immediately seek the help of a specialist. The illness can be due to anything. There is probably a viral or bacterial infection or something else.

But, whatever the reason, the period of waking up at night is very difficult for any family. After all, dad needs to get up for work in the morning, and mom needs to take care of the baby and do household chores.

How long should a child sleep

Cauliflower puree for babies - recipe

The duration of sleep in children at 7 months is approximately 12-14 hours.

Interesting. A baby's sleep is very different from an adult's sleep. The baby remains in the active phase for more than half of the entire duration of sleep. It is very easy to wake up the baby at this time. As they grow older, the proportion of shallow sleep decreases, giving way to the deep phase, during which the newborn sleeps so soundly that he does not wake up even from loud sounds. This is why the famous saying “sleep like a baby” or “sleep like a baby” appeared. The deep phase does not last long for infants, which is why frequent problems with falling asleep occur.

Daytime nap

A 7-month-old baby rests during the day 2 times for 1.5-2 hours. The best time for it is from 8 to 10 am and from 12 noon to lunch.

Daytime rest should be short but continuous

Night sleep

Of the 12-14 hours of total sleep, the baby's nighttime rest is about 10 hours continuously.

Teaching a child to fall asleep on his own

A very important event in the life of parents is weaning the baby from already established habits. But why do many mothers put off this moment? This is explained by elementary fear. For example, to wean someone off a pacifier, you need to endure several nights of hysterics. And this process is easier to bear at an early age. The same goes for learning to fall asleep on your own. There are several ways to ease the plight of the baby.

Teach him to sleep with a soft toy. You can even offer several options to choose from. Let the baby choose who he likes to sleep with. This is the most common method that many kids like.
If your child doesn't sleep well, try organizing his sleeping place according to his taste. At 7 months, babies are very responsive to colorful pictures. Hang pictures symbolizing night on the wall near the crib. It could be a starry sky, a month. You can look in the store for special lamps that, when turned on, give the effect of glowing stars on the ceiling. There are plenty of options. Which one will your fidget like?
Do not use your own bed to lull your baby to sleep. Many people do this, and then transfer the baby to his crib. But there are several risks here. The first of them is that the child will wake up at the moment of transfer. The second is that if he wakes up at night not in his parents’ bed, he will start crying.

The approach to each child is individual. But the main goal of any method is the interest of the baby. If this can be achieved, consider the problem solved. And it’s worth remembering that learning to fall asleep on your own significantly reduces the risk of waking up at night. Because they happen because the baby needs attention.

What to do if you have trouble sleeping

Loose stools in a breastfed baby

To prevent sleep disturbances in your baby, you can take the following steps:

Do not allow the child to sleep during the day for more than 2 hours without a break;
Prepare for bed in advance. The ritual may include listening to quiet music without words, massage with light strokes.
Put your baby to bed no later than 9 pm;
Teach your child to fall asleep independently in his own bed;
Accustom your baby to a constant routine so that the baby falls asleep at the same time;
Provide comfort. The room should be dark (dimmed light is allowed), sufficiently warm and comfortable. It is important that the clothes are as comfortable as possible (without thick seams) and loose, and there are no folds on the bed. The recommended air temperature in the room is 21-23 degrees. The air should be fresh, humidity should be within acceptable values.

If the cause of poor sleep is nervous tension, then in the evening it is recommended to bathe the baby in a warm bath with the addition of essential oils or lavender. Before bedtime, you can talk to your baby in a gentle, soothing voice. Listening to loud music and watching cartoons are completely excluded. If the baby does not want to fall asleep at night because he is not tired during the day, then you need to walk and play with him more.

Important! The goal is to tire the child, but not overstimulate him.

If the baby confuses day with night, then the problem is solved this way: in the morning, be sure to open the curtains, and in the evening, turn off the bright lights, turn down the volume of the TV and do not turn on loud music. During night feedings, it is also necessary to avoid noise and bright light.

If the cause of poor sleep is the natural processes of growth and development of the baby, then it will not be possible to completely eliminate the problem. However, it is quite possible to mitigate their negative manifestations. For example, when a baby begins to teethe, it is recommended to purchase a special item - a teether. The massager is designed to relieve pain in the gums. Also, do not forget about ointments and painkillers consisting of natural ingredients. Physical activity during sleep must be completely replaced by daytime “training.” Then the baby will not feel the need to crawl and roll over at night.

Main characteristics of healthy sleep of a 7-month-old baby

If they decide to wean a child from sleeping with his parents, then at first he may experience an acute lack of affection and warmth, and demonstrate whims and hysterics. Cradling in your arms should be gradually stopped, and the baby should be placed in the crib until he falls asleep, then wait until the baby falls asleep on his own.

When the problem is caused by an uncomfortable microclimate, you can adjust the temperature using a fan, radiator or air conditioner.

Important! This technique should be used with great caution so as not to catch the baby’s cold. It is better not to turn it on in the presence of a child.

To ensure optimal humidity levels and relieve the room from stuffiness, it is recommended to use a breather. This device is completely safe (the air becomes warm, drafts are eliminated), so it can be used in a nursery.

Pillows, uncomfortable clothes, synthetic bedding, and toys can cause physical discomfort to the baby. You should not put unnecessary objects in the cradle, despite their harmlessness and cute appearance.

On a note. The mattress in a crib should be moderately firm; pillows are not needed at all.

How to put your baby to sleep

Baby sucks breast

To put your baby to sleep and ensure proper rest, you must adhere to the following rules:

Go to bed on time. The optimal time is from 18:30 to 19:30. By evening, the baby begins to produce the sleep hormone melatonin. It is he who promotes falling asleep and increasing the deep sleep phase, which occurs in the first half of rest (from seven o'clock in the evening to one in the morning).
The schedule must be clear and constant.
You need to monitor your child's nutrition throughout the day. At the age of 6-7 months, the baby becomes bored with eating - the baby notices more interesting things in the environment, strives more actively to explore the world, to learn new things. As a result, the need for food fades into the background, the child is undernourished during the day, and during the night he can get up several times to eat.
It is important to have adequate sleep during the day. Insufficient rest leads to overtired baby, and by the evening he becomes too excited. The fact is that with a lack of daytime sleep, the level of cortisol in the child’s blood increases, which does not allow the baby to sleep normally at night. It is for this reason that children often wake up, some every 10-15 minutes.
The child should not receive vivid impressions before bedtime. Otherwise, he will become overexcited and it will be impossible to put him down.
The baby needs to be given enough attention. If a newborn lacks the latter, then at night he may wake up, scream and demand mom or dad. This is how he makes up for his parents being away from home during the day.
Teach your baby to fall asleep on his own. At 7 months of age, the baby no longer needs rocking, breastfeeding for sleep, he does not need to be put to bed with a bottle, pacifier, etc. It is necessary to rid the child of these associations.
Follow the ritual of falling asleep, prepare for going to bed in advance.

The most important condition for quality sleep is adherence to rituals

On a note. To improve children's sleep, Dr. Komarovsky advises optimizing their diet. In his opinion, by the age of 7 months, night feedings can be completely abandoned.

So, if a 7-month-old child sleeps poorly at night, often wakes up and cries, then establishing the cause of such violations and following all the necessary rules and recommendations will help correct the situation. Also, do not forget about regular and timely visits to the pediatrician and other doctors to rule out diseases as the cause of the baby’s poor sleep.