Infant Sleep Problems

Sleep problems in infants can very occasionally be due to serious medical conditions (such as Infant Sleep Apnea), but fortunately this is very rare.  It is more likely that they have just developed an inability to either go to sleep at night, or to then stay asleep when they have first dropped off.  Infant sleep problems are just about the most common problem that parents have with their children and so if you are suffering from these now, you're certainly not alone!

Infant sleep problems affect the whole family.  The baby itself, the parents and any other children or relatives in the home are all likely to suffer from exhaustion and tiredness. This inability to sleep can very often result in crying, the infant wanting to be fed or taken to the toilet, nightmares or bad dreams, clinginess, a fear of the dark or a dislike of sleeping alone.

When looking to cure your baby's sleep problems you should remember that there is no one single best method that will work for all parents. Although you may be lucky and find your answer straight away, it is more likely that you will probably need to try a number of techniques before you hit on the one that gets your infant sleeping through the night. Be wary of any book or baby sleep guide that tells you that just one technique is the one that will work for your baby ....... you may be wasting you time and money.  Please be assured though that it is possible to cure infant sleep problems. 
This is not just a stage you need to go through and there will be techniques you can use that will work for your baby.

It may be possible that there are simple reasons for your infant not going to sleep or constantly waking in the night.

Sometimes, infant sleep problems can develop because of changes in his or her daytime or nighttime routine.  For example changing bedtimes can cause sleep problems as it knocks baby from his or her sleep routine.

Alternatively, sleep problems can sometimes arise because of the associations that your baby has made to sleeping. For example, if your infant always goes to sleep in a pushchair or buggy in your living room then he or she will automatically associate the things they can see, touch, smell and hear with going to sleep. So, the sleep association could conceivably be: a. Being in the living room in a pushchair. b. Being able to see you. c. Being able to hear or see the television. etc etc.   In this instance, what do you think happens when the baby later wakes in his or her own bedroom?
Generally, two things: 1. They could be scared because they have suddenly woken somewhere different to where they went to sleep. 2. To get back to sleep again they will want all of there sleep associations again and will be unable to easily get back to sleep without them!

For a simple, easy to follow method that is proven to help infants sleep through the night, every night, take a look at The Baby Sleep Solution.