It's a fact: babies wake in the night.

This has a reason... plenty of reasons: hunger, thirst, wetness, fear of being eaten because they're not in your arms... So, how can you help them?

I suggest to families that we look at the 24hr day - how much time they are (actively) feeding, how many sleeping hours, how many cuddles they're getting? 

Think of these things as cups. Like you, your baby has an amount of sleep, food and physical comfort they need to keep them happy and fuelled! Everyone will be different!

After the initial sleepy new born phase, if your little one is left in their Moses basket for hours on end, comforted with a shhh and stroke when they start to squeak, their sleep cup may reach capacity by 11pm...party time! Or they may cry at every attempt to lie them down, desperate for cuddles.

Or perhaps, as visitors come and go and you're still adjusting to this breastfeeding malarkey, baby is having larger gaps between feeds than he actually needs, or taking less than he needs when distracted or rocked to sleep by a friendly aunt...so then, 11pm rocks around and suddenly your tiny snoozy, snacky newborn is desperate for a midnight feast! Oh, and while he's there, it's so very cosy and comforting, so don't you dare put him down...!

So, think of the cups...

If you're struggling with frequent wake ups, a wide awake, content baby between the hours of 1 and 4am or a frenzy of snacking from 11pm-2am, start to note where you might redress the balance... Feed more and encourage more active, awake time between daytime sleeps and give all the cuddles to fill that cup before you want more sleep! They'll probably still wake - because babies do - but you might find it helps! 

Give it a go and let me know how you do! If you need an expert's perspective, let's assess the situation together!