Great question!
When we sleep we all have cycles or waves of deeper and lighter sleep. Each cycle of your baby’s sleep lasts about 45 minutes (yours is more like 90 minutes). In light sleep, some babies are awakened by outside stimuli (a room that is too hot or cold; the sound of the TV or passing cars) and others by internal stimuli (a little gas, hunger, teething pain, etc.)
During the first month or two, babies who wake up hungry, cry for food and will only calm by feeding. If your baby is constantly waking to feed, try some of our tips here! But some babies wake not because they are hungry, but as a natural part of the sleep cycle. Those babies can typically be lulled back to sleep quickly by SNOO.
By 2-4 months of age, your baby may become much more social. If they wake during the light sleep part of the cycle at 3 AM, they may call for you to keep them company.
For those alert, playful babies, SNOO’s blue baseline level may be too gentle or too boring! They prefer a bit louder shushing and more jiggly rocking to keep them asleep. These are the babies who love to sleep in cars or bounce in Mom or Dad's arms—just the way some of us adults fall asleep in trains, buses and planes.)
To help your baby stay asleep during light sleep, check the following:
- Make sure their arms are staying snuggly swaddled
- Growth spurts may wake a baby due to hunger, so try boosting feedings to prevent frequent wake-ups
- Try increasing the baseline motion/sound of the bed a level or two…for overnight sleep
- Make sure your little one isn't sleeping too much during the day! (limit naps to 2 hours or less)
If locking your SNOO on a specific level helps…keep SNOO at a higher level for all naps and nights for 2-3 weeks. Then, see how your child does again when returning to the blue baseline level.
Happiest Baby does not provide medical advice. Please seek the advice of your
healthcare provider if you have questions regarding a medical issue.
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