Why is My Baby Not Sleeping?

by Nadim Attieh
(Muscat, Oman)

My baby is only one month and 4 days, he is barely sleeping, today he was calm all day long and now he is crying nonstop, he just sleeps for 2 or 3 minutes and wakes up bothered as if he wants to go to the toilet and then a couple of seconds later he starts crying.

Now he is eating but he is even crying when eating, he stops eating and starts crying often.

Baby Help Line Response:

Hi Nadim!

It must be very tough for you that your baby is so upset.

It is not all that easy to know what is wrong, with such little information, but I'll try my best. You can always add more information, by writing a comment below.

First of all, young babies cry. All of them. Actually, for healthy babies, the peak is at around 6 weeks, when it is completely normal that they cry for 2 hours per day! What's wrong? Too tired, hungry, worried, too warm, too cold, tummy pain, more tummy pain...

Some tummy pain is almost a rule at the age of your baby. Buy a book about baby massage and try it, it can really help. You don't say if your baby is breastfed or formula fed. Breastfed babies generally don't become constipated, but formula fed do sometimes. Click here for symptoms of constipation.

Also, the normal pattern is for babies to be relatively calm during the day and then very fussy in the evening. One of my kids practically lived with my nipple in his mouth for a month every evening. That was the only way to keep him calm. He fell asleep at the breast, but woke up immediately if I put him down. It passes. Really.

However, a baby that cries a lot can of course also be ill or have colic. If your baby doesn't eat well or cries without stopping for several hours and seems to be in pain, don't hesitate to contact a doctor. These days there are several ways to mitigate colic, both by massage, diet and medication, if that turns out to be the problem.

In my view, it is always better to talk to a doctor one time too many, especially for such young babies. If nothing else, it will make you calmer, which is very important too!


I hope this gives you at least a few answers. The first few months with a new baby are often very exhausting and sometimes confusing, since it is so hard to know how to help your baby.

For a few tricks to soothe your baby, click here.

And don't hesitate to ask for more help if you need it!

/Paula

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