Newborn has more problems than what you think. However, they themselves can’t resolve so your task is to find out and deal with all. For example, if your newborn wakes up screaming while sleeping in an environment without distraction and noise, it can be indicative of sleep deprivation, nightmares or any reasons which you have to deal with as soon as possible.
In my post, I will help you determine the causes of waking up screaming, and as the bonus, you will also know some good ways to prevent it happened in order to provide your baby a deep and safe sleep.
Newborn wakes up screaming _ normal or not normal?
It’s totally not normal. A baby can wake up from 3 to 4 times per night depending on how old it is and how its eating routine is but waking up screaming may be a sign of a serious problem which you have to resolve soon.
Why does your newborn wake up screaming?
Nightmares:
First, you had better know that nightmare and night terror are 2 different concepts. Night terror is a kind of scary feeling disturbing your baby’s normal sleep, not wake it up. Meanwhile, nightmare usually occurs in the half of sleep, ends up your newborn wakes up screaming and feeling terrified.
Hunger:
If the body and mind begin to be active, restless these can be indicators of hunger which leads to waking up disturbed. The serious situation is to scream in order to catch your attention.
Pain:
Babies can’t resolve their problems by themselves, so you have to create a free and comfortable space in newborn’s crib as much as possible by taking all harmful items out like sharp toys and pins.
What’s more, don’t arrange fabrics (pillow and blanket) near to your baby because that’s the common cause of suffocation resulting to screaming.
In some cases, they may eat unsuitable foods which cause flatulence and stomach pains screaming at night.
Wet diaper:
Normally, it happens at night. In this case, your newborn will be irritated and feel itchy, uncomfortable, and cold. Screaming is the only way to let you know its situation.
Medical condition:
If your newborn has a deep sleep at night but wakes up screaming, that can be a sign of health problem like fever, infection, pain. Therefore, you need to bring it to doctor immediately.
Insect bites:
Insects like ants and mosquitos love attacking newborn most so you must keep crib and bed where it sleeps away from dirt and the development of insects. In a serious situation, the insect bite can kill your newborn so as soon as it screams you must check and bring to the doctor.
How to prevent your newborn from waking up screaming?
Preventing is always easier and simpler than resolving. Thus, you can refer and apply my tips below:
- As mentioned, the nightmare is one of the causes leading to your newborn wakes up screaming, so you have to make sure don’t let it watch terrible films or see scary images before its bedtime. Due to just a baby, it can’t fight against bad feelings influencing its dreams.
- To strengthen the mind of your baby, you can use flash light as a magic lighting to remind it that fighting against ‘evil’ and ‘darkness’ is possible thank to that prop.
- Try to make a proper eating routine for your baby’s comfortable sleep.
- Check your baby’s nappy regularly to change another one timely.
Note: If at last, that still happens, you can refer to the short video below about how to soothe a newborn wakes up screaming
Tips
- If your newborn wakes up screaming at night, wait for a while, not reach it immediately. That can be just a small disruption in the sleep cycle, and it will come back the sleep soon. If not, you may be the cause of disrupting its sleep. Moreover, this is also a good way so that your baby itself soothes its sleep.
- You should invest in a baby monitor. This is an effective support to take care of your baby when you are busy.
The final word
In sum, newborn wakes up screaming is not a normal issue. Thus, after determining the specific cause, remember to find out a proper solution for your newborn. Yet, it’s better to prevent before what’s terrible happened
Is my article informative? Have you got the answer? If my post is useful, please share and leave your comment below.
