Do babies have nightmares? What are some ways I can help soothe my baby to sleep when they wake overnight without feeding him or creating bad habits?
I’m guessing you are asking about nightmares because your baby is crying out in the night. Pediatric sleep experts don’t really think that babies have bad dreams or nightmares. Your baby may be crying out for other reasons.
Babies, like adults, have two kinds of sleep – still, deep sleep and active, REM sleep. In still sleep your baby looks really asleep. His body is still; his eyes stay shut. He breathes deeply and is quiet. Active sleep, however, looks like your baby is waking up. He wiggles, startles, pants, vocalizes, and even cries out. An exhausted new parent can misread their infant’s behavior and, rather than allowing the baby to fall back into deep sleep, end up feeding again.
Recognizing the difference between active sleep and deep sleep will help parents establish healthy sleep habits from the start.
Allowing baby to resettle – maybe with some subtle help like pressure on the torso or shushing – after moving through the active sleep phase helps babies establish healthy sleep associations instead of becoming dependent on sleep crutches to get back to sleep.
Depending on his age and growth curve, your baby might be hungry and still need an overnight feed. If your pediatrician has said he no longer needs feeds at night, he may need a quick diaper change done with minimal fuss and interaction. Keep lights low and no talking. I recommend using a red or amber light so as not to interrupt melatonin production for both baby and you. A red headlamp works great for a middle of the night diaper change.
