Why does a child wake up at night and cry a lot. A child often cries in a dream, but does not wake up - causes of sleep disturbance and advice to parents

Many people ask: why does a newborn cry in a dream? This is a pressing issue for many young families who are so happy about the appearance of a miracle. Why does a baby cry in a dream? The reasons may be different: hunger, cold, heat, colic, the absence of a mother nearby and so on. Creating favorable conditions, proper diet, choosing the right clothes and monitoring the health of the child will ensure a calm and quiet sleep for the child.

How to find the cause?

Although it is believed that a tired person sleeps like a baby, you rarely see the child himself sleeping peacefully. Young mothers know that babies cry often. At this stage of development in an infant, crying is the only way to express negative emotions, and the goal of parents is to correctly interpret the cause of this signal.

Disturbed sleep in infants is quite normal. In the first weeks, babies sleep for 90 minutes, that is, periods of wakefulness and sleep alternate every hour and a half, because babies do not have a regulated daily rhythm. This period is very difficult for parents, as they have to spend sleepless nights due to the fact that the child often screams or just sobs. A few weeks later, the baby begins to sleep for 4 hours, and this daily rhythm is maintained for 3-4 months. After this period, babies sleep without waking up all night.

Then, when the child is 2 years old, the daily regimen becomes more stable, which causes the whims of children: they need more time to sleep, respectively, they require more attention before going to bed. Sometimes parents do not pay enough attention to this, then the children begin to be capricious and constantly cry.

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Health related causes

One of the reasons that often disturb the baby in a dream is colic. Infants, as a rule, do not immediately get used to the environment and especially nutrition. Their bodies take time to rearrange themselves in the necessary fashion, but at the same time the whole process of "restructuring" brings inconvenience to the child, forcing him to express this by crying. Colic is most often disturbed by the baby during sleep. The infant often falls asleep during feeding or immediately after it, therefore, if the baby strains the legs or tugs at them, this means that the reason is in colic. To solve this problem, it is enough to put a warm diaper on the tummy or to stroke it, moving the hand clockwise. Caressing mothers always soothe the baby and give him a sweet dream. Useful tools are special drops, tea with fennel or dill water. All mothers used these tools, and it was in this situation that they always helped out.

Sometimes a baby’s crying can be caused by a toothache. The first 2-3 months they may be disturbed by colic, but after 6 months the teeth begin to cut in the infant. To relieve pain, you need to consult with your doctor or pharmacist, who will help you choose the means to soothe the aching pain.

The cause of restless sleep may be that the baby sees dreams. Children are very active, and their brains, as well as in adults, process information received during the day. Therefore, crying can be the result of a supersaturated day. In order not to listen to crying all night, it is enough to avoid active games or noisy surroundings before going to bed. Evening time in a child should be associated with silence, then sleep becomes calm.

As a rule, if physicians cannot indicate the cause of restless sleep, infants themselves determine it. Infants may simply get used to the new environment and feel anxious about the lack of a mother. By 4 months, babies will express their emotions intentionally, so parents will be able to determine whether this is a whim or a real cause for concern.

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The absence of mothers near

For 9 months, the child was in the same environment, then it changes dramatically, and besides, he has to sleep separately from his mother. This fact is very disturbing. The baby can fall asleep next to the mother, feel her affection and protection, and then wake up in the middle of the night completely alone in an unfamiliar environment. As a result, the child cries a lot and it becomes hard to calm him down.

Infants are very attached to their mother, so sleeping together can solve this problem. Thus, the mother falls asleep next to the child and eliminates the crying that lasts all night long, the need to stand up for feeding and rocking. A joint dream is not always the way out, and sometimes becomes a cause of further problems. Yes, it helps to restore and preserve the lactation process in a nursing mother, but at the same time the baby develops a habit, in the future it will not be able to sleep without a mother. As a result, the process of teaching to sleep away from mom can be difficult.

Mom will have to react less and less to crying, thus allowing the infant to cope with her anxiety and get used to sleep alone, or calm her down, but at the same time leave immediately. As soon as the mother starts to do it less often, the child will get used to such a dream and stop crying altogether. Although this method is hard to achieve, it ensures a peaceful sleep for parents and high-quality performance of not only home but also work duties.

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When does a child experience discomfort?

As a rule, instinctive crying stops as soon as mom takes the baby in her arms.

But if the crying does not stop, or becomes even louder, the reason may lie in discomfort. It is about changing the diaper, feeding, and also signals that the child is stuffy, cold or uncomfortable.

If the first two options did not help, then most likely the reason lies in the air temperature. The fact is that babies are very sensitive to stuffiness or cold. Air temperature control will ensure a peaceful night. The recommended temperature of the room where the child is located is 19-20 ° C.

At this age, the child is still very poorly developed system of sweating, and therefore the only way to establish heat transfer is breathing. But under these conditions, the mucous membrane of the baby’s nose dries out, which causes clogging. It brings the strongest discomfort and, as a result, crying. Rocking baby in this case will not help, as it will get even hotter from the body of the mother or father. The way out of this situation is airing the nursery, dressing up the baby and cleaning the nose.

Sheets, diapers and baby clothes should always be dry. To check whether the baby is hot, it is enough to touch the back: it should be warm, but not damp. Clothing should be loose and soft, without any internal seams, as they can damage the delicate skin of the child.

A baby still does not know how to talk, so the only way to attract the attention of adults is crying. It is with his help that he informs his parents about his needs: perhaps he is cold, he has a stomach ache, he described himself or was hungry.

It should be noted that the crying of an infant does not always indicate any problems. Small children can whimper simply when they miss their mom, feel her warmth and presence.

Most common cause A crying baby is a feeling of hunger. At this age, his stomach is small enough, therefore, is able to take only a small amount of milk. Very often at night, he needs extra nutrition. That is why it can cry. In this case, you should attach the child to his chest, so he ate. If the baby is on bottle feeding, prepare him a bottle of fresh mixture. Remember: not all children can calm down instantly. If hunger was the cause of crying, then as the stomach is sobbed, the sobs will stop.

With regular crying baby, you should pay special attention to the amount of milk from the mother and the dynamics of weight gain. Perhaps the child does not eat enough and it is necessary to introduce additional feeding. On this issue should seek help from a pediatrician.

If, after feeding the infant, the crying did not stop, it is necessary to look for another reason for discontent.

Be sure to check if the child went to the toilet if he cried at night during sleep. If the cause of concern was found, correct it. An infant, even at such a young age, loves a feeling of dryness and comfort.

Very prickly, uncomfortable and tight clothing can also cause infant baby  act up at night. Try to choose the most convenient styles of sliders and vests. Ensure that the seams are located outside.

Remember: rough seams on clothes can damage the delicate and sensitive skin of your child.

If the child is often naughty in a dream, pay attention to the air temperature in the room. For infants, a temperature of 18 degrees is considered comfortable and optimal.

Some babies can not imagine their life without mommy. That is why, lying alone in a crib, they start to get scared and cry. In this case, the child must be reassured by hugging him.

Do not forget that the crying of an infant can symbolize any disease. On this issue, you should consult a pediatrician.

When children sleep, they grow. And it is so pleasant to look at a calm childish face, on which a smile can suddenly appear or, on the contrary, mimics serene calmness for a long time. But sometimes it happens that a baby cries in a dream. Starts to cry suddenly, but very loudly, and often wakes up from this in the end.

The task of the mother is to calm the baby at once, so that the baby continues to sleep. After all, such an interruption of sleep is not natural, and upon waking the child will not sleep, capricious. To calm him down, you need to understand why the baby is crying. He himself will not tell yet - he is too small to share his troubles, so my mother has to guess what could upset the baby.

It is known that baby  may cry of pain, fear, despair, and even boredom. In the first months of his life, it is difficult for him to express his emotions otherwise than by crying and - sometimes - by a smile. But why is it that the baby cries so much during sleep?

The reasons for crying may be different. The main thing is to remember: a child who is not disturbed by anything, will not cry. Newborns do not have the skill of manipulation, because they will not begin to sob just to attract mom's attention.

What can cause children's anxiety?

Living for 9 months in my mother's tummy, the baby gets used to cramping and feeling of warmth. And having been born, he may experience discomfort from excessive freedom. Many mothers notice that if the baby is tightly swaddled at bedtime, he sleeps better - precisely because he finds himself in the usual, comfortable conditions for him.

If a pussy sleeps in a free posture, it can jerk sharply with a pen (babies often shudder in their sleep) - and thus scare themselves. Or just suddenly feel lonely - and it also scares him. Even in adults, the natural reaction to fear is crying. What can we say about the kids!

As soon as the mother takes the pens, the baby will smell her, hear the voice, feel herself "in a cocoon" - and fall asleep again sound sleep. And sometimes it is enough just to lie down next to the crumbs - and mother's smell, my mother's presence will give him peace of mind.

Hunger

How else to tell the world that you want to eat or thirst torment you? If you still do not know how to speak and explain with gestures, it remains to rely only on crying - he will force you to come quickly to you. Actually, it is this consideration that the child unconsciously guides when it wants to eat.


This is especially true for babies that parents feed on demand: in the first months it is difficult to calculate when the crumb wants to eat the next time. But after 3 months, he will begin to develop his own regime.

By the way, if a baby cries while feeding - this is not from hunger, but from the fact that something is disturbing him. For example, cutting teeth.

This will be the next reason that we will consider.

Teeth

It is known that the teeth may begin to disturb the crumbs long before they become visible: moving in the gums, they sometimes cause very unpleasant sensations.

Sometimes you will notice that the baby is fast asleep during the day, but constantly crying at night. The point is in human physiology: at night, all the painful sensations are much sharper, which is why toothache is also felt more acutely just when the tired mother wants to rest.


To help your baby, you can:

  • take it on handles;
  • give a special means of local action, which removes the painful sensations (“Dentol-baby”, “Dentokind”, etc.);
  • give a general anesthetic syrup ("Nurofen for children").

If the infant constantly interrupts the night's sleep with crying, it has washed away - but only after consulting with the pediatrician - to give him an anesthetic with a course before laying down for the night. Due to this, the rest will be calm and longer.

Diaper

“Toiletries” can also be a reason for crying. Moreover, there are several specific reasons:

  1. A full diaper - it is completely inconvenient for the baby to lie in it, and thus it notifies that it is time to change the diaper to a new, empty one.
  2. Fear of urination - often this process scares babies. Something is flowing through the legs, but they do not understand what is happening and are afraid of the unknown. As soon as the baby pees (this can be understood by the fact that the diaper will become warm below), he will continue to sleep in peace.
  3. Constipation - if the baby is worried about the fecal masses, he will hurt, groan, but he cannot achieve the desired result, he will cry. However, in this case, the defecation will be accompanied by a crying baby only during sleep, but also during wakefulness.

Colic

This, unfortunately, is a necessary stage in the development of each child. After the baby is born, microorganisms are colonized in his digestive tract, and their rationale in the intestine is accompanied by colic. This is a painful process, but it is important for the formation of a certain microflora.


Gazika start to disturb the baby suddenly, why crying happens sharp, loud, with tears. The crumb will cry until the attack passes - and this can be up to several tens of minutes.

To facilitate well-being, anti-colic drugs can be given to the baby (Bebinos, Espumizan L, etc.), but only if the pediatrician has approved the choice of therapeutic medicines.

Overexcitation

Sometimes the fact that the crumb constantly cries through sleep can also have a psychological cause. If the baby is physically tired, but his nervous system remains in a state of arousal, he will sleep restlessly: the brain simply cannot rest. That is why it is recommended two hours before bedtime to take care of a peaceful pastime - without active games, noisy cartoons, new faces in the house.


And just before going to bed, your baby should bathe, make him a relaxing massage, put him in a crib in a pre-ventilated room and sing a calm lullaby (or include classical music, nature sounds, or another “white noise”). This will calm the nervous system, and you will not have to watch the baby crying through sleep.

Heat or cold

Some children do not like being wrapped tightly or, for example, when they are covered with a blanket. Others do not like to freeze. In this case, it is also important that the process of heat exchange in a newborn differs from the same process in an adult organism. And if the mother may feel that the baby is quite comfortable, this does not mean that it is. Perhaps the baby is cold or, conversely, he is too warm.

You can determine what a crumb feels by simply touching his wrist: it is an excellent indicator. If the wrist is cold, then the child is cool, and it is better to wrap it warmer. But if it is hot or even wet (most likely from sweat), the baby can be safely revealed - and then he can continue to sleep in peace.

Discomfort in the crib

If the baby laid down on a hard toy, if hard folds formed under it, if he lay down across the crib and he, accordingly, had little space - of course, he would not keep everything in himself, and he would voice his problem - weep. In this case, it is enough just to straighten the sheet under it, remove all the objects from the bed and put the crumbs correctly.

Being parents is not easy. It is necessary to understand the signals that the newborn gives, to understand why he cries in a dream or cries during feeding. When the crumb learns to explain - it will be easier. Well, for now it remains only to guess, to come to the answers by experience. But this time will pass - and pass quickly. And only pleasant memories of how sweet the baby smiled in his sleep, and sometimes even laughed, sucking the thumb of his little hand, will remain in his memory.

Night crying of an infant in a dream is a well-known problem of most parents. It is relevant for both newborns and older children. Experts call this phenomenon "physiological night crying" and urge not to worry about it. Indeed, in the dream, the main work of the brain occurs, which takes place much more intensively than during the waking period. Resetting the voltage through crying in this case is a completely natural process.

However, anxious parents try to understand why their child is crying in a dream? There may be a lot of answers. Proved, for example, that 4 x-month baby  cries in a dream sometimes because he dreams of an unpleasant dream. And if the baby began to cut teeth at an older age, then crying in a dream can mean calcium deficiency and, therefore, increased nervous excitability. Possible crying in a dream and because of the upcoming weather changes.

In general, oddly enough, the baby cries in a dream, because he is a baby. The sensitive sleep of a newborn is conceived by nature for its survival and, crying in a dream, the baby signals the problem that has arisen.

The baby is crying in his sleep, all for two reasons: he does not feel the presence of the mother next to him or is disturbed loud sounds. The first reason can be removed even through a dream - the mother comes to the baby, he feels her presence and, without waking up, calms down. By the way, this “check” can be used to bring up an autonomous sleep mode in a child, because the mother didn’t really need the baby at the moment. So you shouldn't run up to it every time. But loud sounds while sleeping baby  should definitely eliminate for their own benefit.

Most often, the child begins to cry in a dream because:

  • the baby is uncomfortable (he sweated, froze, his leg became numb, the diaper leaked, he was hot, he was pressing something out of his clothes);
  • it hurts the baby or it gets sick (colic, teeth, ears, neck, stuffy nose, cough);
  • the kid is hungry;
  • the baby is afraid, anxious (peculiar to overly excitable children).
  • the baby's brain does not have time to process information due to the abundance of events and impressions during the day;
  • the baby was overexcited before going to bed.

With most of the above options, parents can figure out on their own, after watching the crumbs for some time. Some of the problems like clothes and a wet diaper are removed preventively, some - you just have to go through, and with the rest - only to the doctor. A doctor can diagnose a child's pathological cry-sobbing, which indicates the occurrence of any serious illness.

What else can be done when a newborn cries in a dream? Experts advise the following:

  1. remember the approximate time of crying and, sitting down beside him, gently pat the baby on the back, whispering hissing sounds (hchchch, shshsh);
  2. reduce the activity of the child before bedtime with calm games or actions (in other words, instead of constantly amusing the child, give him a massage, or simply hold him quietly in his arms);
  3. in her mother's arsenal should be a special soothing phrase, which she uses when a child cries at night in a dream. For example: “Quiet, quiet, mother is near, mother is with you, everything is fine, baby ...”, etc.
  4. if the crumb still can not calm down, you need to take him sleepy in his arms and shake a little. The baby will warm you and fall asleep again.

Small children are often capricious and filled with tears for any reason. For a baby that is not 1 year old, crying is the only way to tell mom that something is bothering him. If the baby starts to whimper in the afternoon, you can understand the reason for his whim. But why a child crying in a dream sometimes remains a mystery even to competent doctors, not to mention parents who have a priori less experience in dealing with young children.

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The first 6 months of life the baby sleeps more than it is awake. Often in a dream he begins to whimper without a specific reason. Or is she still there? We will understand this issue in more detail.

Children's sleep: features and causes of anxiety

The sleep of a newborn baby is not like an adult. Researches have found out: the first month of life the baby during the rest most of the time is fast phase  sleep - it is at this time there is a strengthening and development of the brain. You can see how quickly the child's eyes move under the half-closed eyelids, he can grimace, smack and pull his arms and legs. Such a dream is not strong, the crumb can wake up from any sound, including from its own crying.


Most often, after a little whimpering, the child falls asleep again. But there are cases when he abruptly starts screaming in a dream and cries a lot. The factors causing this phenomenon are divided into several groups.

External causes

What does a baby cry when sleeping? Often he does not like some of the conditions of his holiday. The external factors affecting the calmness of the child include:

  1. Temperature. In a room where the crumb spends most of the time, the optimum temperature should be maintained - 20-22 degrees. It is quite easy to determine if the baby is comfortable: if the baby starts to sweat a lot, it is necessary to ventilate the room, the skin of the legs and arms becomes cool - warm up.
  2. Humidity. If the air in the room is too dry, the mucous membranes of the nose and mouth quickly dry out and the crumb feels not comfortable.
  3. Folds on bedding, diaper or clothing. Some children cannot fall asleep if they feel such irregularities.
  4. Wet diaper. Wet clothes and a bed are unlikely to appeal to anyone.

Some of the factors seem implausible, but children who are not 6 months old are very sensitive, and any little thing can disturb them, especially during sleep. They are not capable of correcting their own state of affairs; therefore, they cry loudly that they are not comfortable.


Before you rock the baby, you need to check whether the linen is even, not hot in the room. If you create a cozy atmosphere, the crumb will sleep soundly, nothing will disturb him.

Internal causes

In addition to the external situation, anxiety may arise for other reasons. Internal discomfort can provoke night tears. If a child cries often at night, he may be worried about pain:

  1. Teeth. At 4 months, babies start cutting their first tooth. From this point on, babies are quite often anxious. This continues until the milk teeth grow - the crumbs about 1.5 years old. Buy a special anesthetic gel or a drug that can reduce discomfort.
  2. Colic. In the first months of life, the baby adapts to the unusual food, he often has a stomachache. This fact is caused by the underdevelopment of the gastrointestinal tract. Recognize intestinal colic can be on several grounds: the baby presses the legs, squeezes the cams, gases escape. This phenomenon is observed until about 5 months. To remove pain sensations, the baby must be given medicine. Use folk methods - Stroke the tummy in the hour hand, apply a warm diaper.
  3. Disease. If the baby is naughty at night, he may be sick. Diseases that infants are prone to, such as otitis, can cause severe pain. It is necessary to show it to the pediatrician, the doctor will determine what hurts the crumbs.
  4. Hunger. Children of the first year of life eat quite often. Kids start tossing and turning and whimpering at night, often wakes up? Perhaps he was just hungry. Feed the crumb, but do not overdo it: if you give too much food, the baby can suffer from a crowded stomach.

In addition to the unpleasant sensations, there are purely psychological factors that cause anxiety of the child. These include overwork. Often parents, playing with the crumbs, do not follow the time and miss the moment when you need to put him to bed. If you think that a tired baby will sleep soundly - this is not at all the case. Overwork will not let him fall asleep, he will toss and turn and whimper. A child both at 8 months and at 3 years old must fit in until the moment when she starts crying from fatigue.

Active games in the evening do not contribute to a good night’s sleep. The transported baby may simply refuse to go to bed, and when he falls asleep, he will behave restlessly. Protect the child from strong emotions before bedtime. You can play quiet games or read a book, it is best to come up with a special ritual prior to falling asleep. He will help the baby to tune in for a long and peaceful sleep.


Try to crumble less time spent at the computer and TV. The frequent flickering of pictures has a negative effect on the state nervous system  child and can cause night vagaries.

The reason for loud crying can be nightmares. Their child begins to see at about 2 years. The question arises: what to do in this situation? The first is to find out what causes terrible dreams. Can distinguish the following reasons for their appearance:

  1. Stressful situations in the afternoon. If a child is experiencing cardinal changes in life, for example, he recently went to kindergarten, he experiences a kind of nervous shock caused by adaptation to new conditions. This can provoke terrible night visions.
  2. Uncomfortable atmosphere at home. A child who often sees his parents cussing becomes restless, including during sleep. Protect the baby from the showdown, create a cozy atmosphere in the house, and he will stop crying every night.
  3. The state of the mother. Children have a strong emotional connection with their mothers - this fact has long been proven by scientific research. The famous doctor Komarovsky claims that the parent’s fatigue and irritation also affects the child - he begins to sleep poorly, often naughty during the day.

If nightly vagaries are repeated too often, it is worthwhile to show the child to a specialist. May be taking place nervous breakdown  or other diseases that provoke an unstable condition of the baby. Only a qualified doctor can determine the cause of constant anxiety. After that, you can fix the problem.

But most often crying baby  just requires attention. No doctors and drugs will not replace parental love. Talk to your baby more often, show him your tenderness, and he will no longer feel lonely and uncomfortable, and the nightly vagaries will stop bothering both the baby and the mom and dad.