As an Infant Sleep Consultant, one of the most common questions I hear from exhausted
parents is: “Why is my baby waking up so much at night—and what can I do about it?”.
These night wakings can be incredibly difficult for a parent as we’re expected to function at
100% but without our bare minimum of sleep required to do so.

If you’re finding yourself up every hour, rocking, feeding, or bouncing your baby back to
sleep, know that you’re not alone. So many parents have been there, and I have too with my
own children. Frequent night wakings are incredibly common in infancy, but that doesn’t
mean you have to just “wait it out.”

Let’s break down some of the most common reasons little one’s wake multiple times at
night—and what you can do to support more restful sleep for everyone.

1. Sleep Associations
If your baby falls asleep with a dummy, feeding, rocking, or being held, they may wake
during lighter stages of sleep looking for those same conditions to fall back asleep. These
are called sleep associations. Without these conditions your little one will be unable to fall
back to sleep on their own.

What to try:
Begin to gently teach your baby how to fall asleep independently. This doesn’t mean leaving
them to cry alone - but rather creating a consistent, soothing bedtime or naptime routine and gradually encouraging more self-settling over time.

2. Hunger or Habitual Feeds
Young babies wake frequently to feed - it’s normal and necessary in the early months due to
their tiny tummies. But as they grow, some night wakings can become more about comfort or habit than true hunger. Once they are fully weaned you can be confident they are receiving enough nutrition to carry them through the night.

What to try:
If your little one is over 6 months and gaining weight well plus weaning, you might consider
whether night feeds are still needed. Begin by adding a feeding structure in place, this
means feeding on wakes at certain times and settling for all other wakes. The key thing here
is ensuring they are having enough nutrition through milk and weaning during the day.

3. Developmental Milestones
Rolling, crawling, pulling up and even waving – these are all important milestones for your
little one but the time they want to practice? 2AM!

What to try:
Ensure you have enough time allocated during the day to spend practicing these milestones. By having playtime after they have digested their milk or solids can really help them to get that practice in, so they don’t feel they need to cram it in at 2am. Milestone related wakes are usually short lived whilst they practice this new skill.

4. Overtiredness                                                                                                                                                                            It might seem counterintuitive, but an overtired baby can actually sleep worse. Skipping naps or having a bedtime that’s too late can lead to more frequent night wakings. Once a little one has exceeded their wake window Cortisol begins to take over to ensure they have enough energy to keep going. They can present as alert, hyperactive and as if they’ve found a second wind from somewhere and there is no way they are going to sleep soon – don’t be fooled!

What to try:
Aim for an age-appropriate wake window, if this doesn’t align with a 7pm bedtime, don’t be
afraid to bring bedtime forward, it’s a huge myth that they will wake earlier the next morning.

5. Environmental Disruptions
Is the room too warm, too cold, too noisy, or too stimulating? Even light from a hallway or
street can affect sensitive little sleepers.

What to try:
Keep the sleep space between 16-20°C, dark (without even a small light creeping in), and
quiet. The most effective way to achieve this is to use white noise to act as a sound barrier
and blackout blinds to stop that 5am light shining through.

A Gentle Reminder
Night waking is normal - especially in the first year as little ones navigate their way through
the sleep process. If your baby is waking excessively and it’s impacting their mood (or yours), know that support is available. Sometimes it’s just a matter of tweaking routines or
making a few small changes that lead to big results.

You’re not doing anything wrong. And you can help your baby learn to sleep more peacefully
- with time, patience, and the right tools.

Written by Sarah – Infant Sleep Consultant, Registered Mental Health Nurse and founder of @serenitysnoozeco