Patient's question:
My son is one and two months old. He plays well during the day, but he loves to cry at night. What's going on? First follow-up question: How can I improve his sleep?Doctor's answer:
Hello:Difficulty for babies to fall asleep and crying at night – what can be done? This is a common issue faced by parents. Parents with this problem report that their babies need to be held, rocked, swayed, walked, or suck on a pacifier to fall asleep. As soon as they are placed in bed after falling asleep, they wake up again, requiring prolonged holding, rocking, or pacifier use until they fall into a deep sleep before being put down. Such children often cry at night when they wake up, as they have developed poor sleep habits, making holding, rocking, swaying, or pacifier use "sleep association conditions." At night, a baby with good sleep habits will automatically transition to the next sleep cycle when they wake between sleep cycles, without the parents even noticing. Babies who have developed "sleep association conditions" will demand that parents hold, rock, or sway them to fall back asleep at night. Even if they are not hungry, they must suck on a pacifier for a few moments before falling asleep, or they will cry incessantly.
How can parents cultivate the habit of putting their babies to sleep independently? The method is as follows: Starting from the daytime, place the baby in their crib when they are about to fall asleep. If they cry, comfort them with words and expressions at the bedside. If this doesn’t work, let the baby cry for a while before picking them up to comfort them. If they cry again after being put down, let them cry for a longer period before picking them up the second time. Gradually increase the time they are left to cry before picking them up. Persist with this for 2–3 days until the baby realizes that even if they cry, their parents won’t pick them up, and they will learn to fall asleep on their own. Use the same method to break the pacifier habit. Once the habit of falling asleep independently is formed, the baby will sleep well at night.
There are other reasons for nighttime crying, such as being too hot or too cold, overeating, or hunger. Some infants are naturally prone to early parenting challenges.