Mom not waking up when baby cries can lead to problems that negatively affect the baby.
Yet, before getting deep insight into the further impacts on the child, you need to determine if this problem is normal.
Besides, identifying the root cause of this situation helps find the best solution.
Keep reading this article for useful information!
Mom Not Waking Up When Baby Cries: Is It Normal?
Yes, don’t worry. This can be because you are too tired during the day.
But you will be a light sleeper and wake up right when the baby moves, let alone cries. That’s a mother’s instinct.
You can try sleeping next to the baby to feel his movements.
Mom Not Waking Up When Baby Cries: What Will Happen To The Child?
What will happen when you don’t wake up when the baby cries? Let’s learn more about the negative effects of this problem:
Hormonal and Chemical Imbalances in the Brain
Infants who cry for a long time at night can face hormonal and chemical imbalances in the brain, which might lead to SIDS deaths.
This is because of the excess amount of cortisol – the stress hormone – and the lower level of growth hormone when the baby is stressfully separated from the mom.
These imbalances will restrain the growth of nerve tissues in the brain, suppressing growth and weakening the immune system.
In addition, according to researchers at Harvard Medical School and Yale University, intense stress at an early age may affect the brain’s neurotransmitter systems.
This causes functional and structural changes in some regions of the brain similar to the adults who get depression.
Besides, another study has shown that a baby crying out in sleep can get more than 10 times poorer antisocial behavior and performance at school.
Decreased Emotional, Intellectual and Social Development
Researchers have said that ignored babies crying in their deep sleep can not develop healthy intellectual and social skills.
Also, according to Dr. Rao from the National Institutes of Health, babies with persistent fussiness during the first 3 months have an average IQ of 9 points lower by age 5.
Plus, this intense crying makes fine motor skill development poorer.
In one more study of researchers from Arizona State and Pennsylvania Universities, babies who constantly cry during the first few months of life have a harder time managing their emotions.
They can become even more agitated once parents try to calm them down at 10 months of age.
Another study said that a baby randomly crying while sleeping might be more irritable, cling more during the whole day, and take more time to be independent at an early age.
Harmful Physiologic Change
Dr. Brazy of Ludington-Hoe and Duke showed that prolonged crying in babies might increase stress hormones due to increased blood pressure in the babies’ brains.
The stress hormone will prevent blood from flowing out of the brain and reduce oxidation.
Why Your Baby Cries Out In Sleep?
Nightmares
If you have a crying baby at night, they probably have nightmares while sleeping. These can scare your infants and make them constantly cry while sleeping.
Bad dreams may happen as soon as the child is about one year old because that’s when they start to appear more worried about the world around them with more tears.
Stomach Problems
Another reason babies cry while sleeping at night is they face stomach problems.
With an underdeveloped digestive system, it takes a long time for your little ones to adapt to the mother’s milk and formula milk, and they also cry when sleeping.
Cycles and Sleep Patterns
The sleep cycles and patterns are one of the main causes of your baby cries while sleeping.
Babies can continuously change these habits with their weird activities, such as kicking out, screaming, wriggling, or waking up shaking and crying during their sleeping stages.
Immature Nervous System
If babies cry during sleeping, the reason can be their immature nervous system.
The infant’s nervous system is developing, so it will become more difficult to control movements and reflexes. This leads to punching, twitching, and kicking while sleeping.
Also, this is the reason for a baby randomly crying while sleeping 4 months.
Overtiredness
If your angels get too little sleep or stay up longer, they may quickly get exhausted.
Excessive fatigue can trigger overtired hormones, making babies harder to fall asleep. Tiredness or exhaustion may also be a symptom of witch time.
If they lack sleeping time during the day, you might see the baby fall asleep while breastfeeding as well.
Discomfort Due To Infection or Illness
The discomfort from infection or illness also explains why babies cry while sleeping.
They may undergo tough times, from potential infections to getting new teeth.
Unfortunately, they may not come out exactly to tell you what’s making them uncomfortable. Thus, keep an eye on the symptoms of these problems.
Prevalent ailments in babies at this age include infections and teething. Both are easy to ignore and may bother even the most resting babies.
Besides, your infant also catches a cough or a cold, hindering their breathing through the nose.
Hunger
Your babies might have already settled into an eating pattern and passed the newborn stage, but it doesn’t mean they can not wake up due to hunger.
As they grow, they need to change. One day, they may refuse the breast milk, and the next day they don’t seem to get sufficient.
If your toddlers need more milk but aren’t getting enough in the whole day, they may wake up and cry because they are hungry at night or in the middle of their sleep.
What To Do If Your Baby Randomly Cries In Sleep?
Follow these simple tips to coax your crying baby easily and quickly:
1. Don’t rush in. Remember that your baby is restless, so constant crying and brief awakenings may occur during REM sleep.
Cooling the babies’ heels before entering their room will help them soothe themselves.
2. Straighten them out. If they get stuck in the corner of the portable crib or have their legs hanging between the slats, release them and put them on their back in the center of the mattress.
3. Make sure the blanket covering the baby’s face is not loose at the ends, the baby is not too hot, the waist is not wrapped too tightly, and the baby is not in the stage of rolling over.
4. Put your baby in a sleeping bag. This way is useful if swaddling doesn’t work or for older babies to get better sleep.
5. If your babies are hungry when sleeping at night, make a proper feeding schedule, extra feed, or allow them to take a few minutes with mom to feed.
Conclusion
With the article about mom not waking up when baby cries, you know what will happen if you ignore your crying baby while sleeping.
Identifying the root causes of this problem is significant to find the best solution for the infant crying randomly in hours of sleep.