Inside you’ll find the top 10 reasons your baby won’t sleep. The reason is probably easier than you think.
There is nothing quite like that feeling.
The manic, middle of the night, I’ve-been-up-so-many-times-I-think-I’m-going-insane-feeling.
Even if it only lasts a few nights in a row, it is extremely difficult and debilitating to be awake for hours at night.
As days turn into weeks turn into months… everyone in the home suffers including the sweet baby, when no one is sleeping through the night.
It’s rough when your baby won’t sleep
While you might be willing in heart to wait this out, your mental health tells you differently.
Never fear, however, because we were all born to have restorative regenerative sleep, and babies are no different.
They aren’t always able to teach themselves to sleep on their own, but with some gentle and consistent help from you (and some good sleep habits) they will get it!
Fast, simple, and free strategies to implement if baby can’t get to sleep, won’t *stay* asleep, or is unsettled in general.
Top 10 Reasons Your Baby Won’t Sleep
While there will be more factors than these alone, these are the top 10 most common reasons.
If you want to turn around baby’s sleeping habits, get our daily baby logs to start noticing trends. That alone may help you locate the problem area.
2-Year-Old Sleep Regression – Common Signs & Guaranteed Solutions
Common Habits That Help and Hurt Baby’s Sleep
Your baby can’t sleep because she’s overtired
It is a huge misconception that babies who are super tired will sleep better.
They will not.
They will sleep worse, baby wakes more, and becomes fussier and whinier overall. There will be more tossing and turning and they will have more difficulty staying asleep.
Quite simply, it backfires every time.
To prevent overtiredness, keep your baby on a schedule. You’ll want a nap schedule and a bedtime schedule.
Read: How to Stop Contact Naps (Peacefully)- and What to Do Instead
Then, if your baby is overtired, put them to bed earlier than normal. Putting your baby to bed when they are already exhausted will make it much harder for baby to stay asleep.
Fast, simple, and free strategies to implement if baby can’t get to sleep, won’t *stay* asleep, or is unsettled in general.
Baby is overstimulated
Similar to over tiredness, overstimulation makes it very difficult for a baby to get to sleep.
Overstimulation occurs when a baby’s environment is so stimulating they are unable to calm down easily and end up hyper-alert, fussy, and even fidgety and anxious.
Imagine being at a full day meeting, conference, or training. After a while the new information starts to make you crave a break. You need to stop learning and start processing what you’ve learned.
Babies are no different. Too many screens, noise from older siblings, toys, books, scene changes, errands, and people talking in their faces will make them overstimulated.
You can prevent this by keeping them on a good routine, guarding their rest, and giving them a proper wind down before nap or bedtimes. This is something really to pay attention to if you are having some witching hours.
Create sustainable sleep habits for your little lamb so the whole family can sleep peacefully without the stress, drama, and tears.
Learn More
Baby can’t sleep because there’s no routine
No routine is the same from family to family.
And it definitely doesn’t have to be!
You don’t have to do certain specific things, you just need regularity, stability, and consistency with your babies.
➡️ Research is so overwhelmingly in favor of routine, there is absolutely no reason your baby shouldn’t have one.
They’ll sleep better, eat better, be happier, and make life more peaceful. For a visual reminder of your baby’s wind down and bedtime routine, you can use these printable routine cards in the nursery.
Sleep aids are a great way to create positive sleep association and these include listening to music, gentle rocking, and doing the same things at the same time every day. Routines help babies establish their circadian rhythm in a way that promotes good sleep.
Read: How To End Day And Night Confusion In 3 Days Or Less
A 5 Month Old Schedule (With Feeding & Sleeping Times!)
A 7 Month Old Feeding Schedule That Works Like A Charm
A Newborn Routine That Works Every Time
Baby’s First Year: The Ultimate Month By Month Guide
The 6 to 9 Month Routine Your Baby Will Love
Want an Easy Baby? Then Use A Foolproof Baby Schedule Baby is awake too long before napping and then won’t go down at naptime
You may think your baby isn’t “tired” because they are able to stay up a long time. Whether your baby can stay up a long time or not doesn’t mean much.
Except that they are able to keep being awake when they could actually be sleeping.Â
Babies under 4 months old will need a nap about 1.5 hours after they wake. This will mean multiple shorter naps per day.
Read: The Nap Trap- How to Deal with It and Not Resist It
This is good and right!
By the age of 9 months babies still need to only be awake around 2 hours after they last woke. At this point they’ll feel tired and need to go down to nap otherwise sleep problems will occur.
Again, multiple naps throughout the day, after every feeding essentially. See a guide for baby sleep times (naps and nighttime included) here.
I have had 5 babies with 5 different personalities all of whom followed these loose guidelines and all of whom napped well.
If your baby is awake too long, they will fight sleep.Â
Read: The Top 10 Indicators It’s Time to Sleep Train
Fast, simple, and free strategies to implement if baby can’t get to sleep, won’t *stay* asleep, or is unsettled in general.
Baby has a sleep prop and can’t sleep without it
If your baby needs something only you can give them to go to sleep, they have a sleep prop. (This does not include milk which they need to survive, but can’t get on their own.)
This may mean rocking to sleep, nursing to sleep, laying on you, and many more things.
If they can’t get themselves back to sleep because they need you to do something for them they won’t sleep long and they won’t sleep well.
Sleep habits are the single most important thing you can focus on.
These lovely cards and checklists will help you create and keep healthy wind down and sleep routines for your little ones.
Learn More
Baby has a physical or medical discomfort
Acid reflux will make it difficult for your child to sleep since they are in pain. Follow your pediatrician’s advice for how to bring your baby comfort.
If your baby usually sleeps well then stops All Of a Sudden, it could be something like a sore throat or ear infection. I’d rule out any sleep disorders or medical issues before trying to sleep train.
Also teething can disrupt sleep for a time. If they’ve always slept well then stopped, look for something medical first.
Read: How to handle teething without having sleep regressions
Fast, simple, and free strategies to implement if baby can’t get to sleep, won’t *stay* asleep, or is unsettled in general.
Babe can’t transition from active to passive sleep alone
All humans naturally go through both active and passive sleep cycles. As babies transition from one to the other (every 45 to 60 minutes or so) they will rouse lightly.
If they know how to put themselves back to sleep they’ll just keep sleeping. If they have a sleep prop and can’t go to sleep on their own, they will wake up.
This is the culprit for short naps and frequent night waking.Â
The way to help babies transition through this is to teach them to sleep on their own by putting them in their cribs drowsy but awake.
Read: Mom Habits That Are Barriers To Peaceful Baby Sleep
These lovely cards and checklists will help you create and keep healthy wind down and sleep routines for your little ones.
Learn More
Baby won’t sleep because he doesn’t eat enough solids
If your baby is 5 months or older and not on solids they will likely wake frequently at night.
I’m not telling you to feed them solids if your pediatrician suggested you wait until 6 months or you aren’t ready, but the reason they are waking is because they are legitimately hungry.
When you start giving them ample solids you will see improvement in sleep. In the hours before bedtime it’s important to make sure baby is eating well and feeling full.
Baby also won’t sleep if he snacks too much and isn’t getting enough milk.
Read: Breastfeeding Schedules Month By Month: Birth To 1 Year Of Age
Fast, simple, and free strategies to implement if baby can’t get to sleep, won’t *stay* asleep, or is unsettled in general.
Your little one is too hot or cold
This is always what you hope is the issue!
I once had a son wake up multiple times a night for a week until I finally realized he was cold, poor thing.
I added another layer to his nighttime wear and voila. Sleeping through. If you notice they are sweaty, shed a layer.
➡️ Keep in mind babies usually need one more layer than we adults do to be comfortable.
Read: Foolproof Baby Sleep Tips — Routines, Habits & Strategies
Create sustainable sleep habits for your little lamb so the whole family can sleep peacefully without the stress, drama, and tears.
Learn More
Baby can’t sleep because she’s having a growth spurt or wonder week
Often our babies will go from sleeping well to having struggles.
One thing I’m always aware of is whether they are having a growth spurt. If so, I give them more milk and/or solids throughout the day.
I change up their routine a bit to allow giving them more of what they need. This will also help if you need to get up your milk supply.
A “wonder week”  is a concept made popular by this book that shows you which weeks your baby is likely to start acting fussy based on developmental leaps.
Fast, simple, and free strategies to implement if baby can’t get to sleep, won’t *stay* asleep, or is unsettled in general.
Additional Reasons That Prevent Babies Sleeping Well
Here are a few honorable mentions.
- Teething. Babies who already sleep well typically aren’t that disrupted by teething. Normally just the day or two prior to cutting a tooth. If your baby hasn’t ever slept well and is still resisting sleep, it likely isn’t teething.
- Colic and gas. Colic can certainly result in some lost sleep as can witching hours. Colic will typically be done by 12 months and won’t affect every nap. In fact, babies with colic often sleep well at night. Comfort baby best you can and make sure and find support for yourself.
- Growth spurts. Infants who are going through growth spurts can often become more hungry than before and it can present as sleep issues. If you suspect a growth spurt, then feed baby upon waking from naps and nighttime sleep and, if it’s a growth spurt, it’ll fix itself.
- Separation anxiety. Sometimes separation anxiety can affect the wind-down routines and sleep. Read this post for strategies to combat this.
- Sleep environment. Make sure the baby’s sleep environment for nap and nighttime is conducive to sleep. Lights down low, white noise, blackout curtains, etc.
A No-Fuss Guide To Sleep Training (With Printable!)
Baby Bedtime: 4 Essential Elements To Success
Baby Sleep Times: The Ultimate Guide To Naps, Nights, & Sleep
Sleep Arrangements For Siblings When You Don’t Want Them To Share 
Help! My newborn is 2.5 weeks old. What do I do when I put her down ‘drowsy but not asleep’ and 5-10 minutes later she is crying? We’re getting onto a bad pattern where she is awake for 3-4 hours at once in the morning. She’s obviously over-tired, but even when I give in and nurse her to sleep, a few minutes later she is awake and screaming for me.
Mariah, have you done the free sleeping video tips that show up at the bottom of the post?
My baby is 3.5 weeks old and we have been trying to stick with the newborn schedule. We have a baby girl who just seems to have such a hard time letting herself drop off to sleep. She loves to be comforted and close to us but we also want to teach her to be able to soothe herself and fall asleep on her own. We try to get her back to sleep in the 50 minute window, use white noise, swaddle, darkened room, watch her cues to avoid being overtired…and she still cries and fights it every time. We have tried a pacifier but she just spits it out and screams and is even more upset. Any tips? Even now she has been down for 20 minutes, is clearly tired and still crying off and on and fighting sleep. Also where do you feel baby carriers fit into the newborn schedule? During naps or part of activity? Thanks!
Hi Sarah, I generally do baby carriers when I’m out and about doing something. Otherwise at home I’ll just hold them or have them in a seat. That said, for napping, will your baby nap in some other place but her crib? Babies get in the habit quickly of not falling off to sleep so I’m wondering if a change of location (like a swing or your bed, etc.) will help?
I’m trying to get my 12 week old to nap in her crib. She has fought it ever since we came home from the hospital so I’ve allowed her to nap in her little vibrating chair. She sleeps well in her crib at night, going down about 7:3 or 8 and sleeping till 4 or 5, nursing, then going back to sleep till about 8am. Now I’m working on naps in the crib. I get her in her sleep suit, paci in, rock a few minutes, lay her down drowsy, and she goes to sleep on her own for about 30 minutes. Then she wakes and fusses. I put her paci back in, she spits it out and screams. So then it’s “cry it out” time. She screamed for an entire hour. So now it’s time for her to eat again after hardly any napping. Is an hour just too long? She never calmed back down to go to sleep. Do I just get her up now? This whole thing is breaking my heart, but she has been such a fussy baby that I’m starting to lose my mind. She doesn’t have reflux. She’s fed. She’s dry. How do you get your baby to nap in her crib for more than 30 mins??? How long is too long for “cry it out” ?
-emmy
(FTM, and really struggling)
Hi Emmy so the issue is that she won’t cry it out at th ebeginning, she’ll just wake up early from the nap and cry? How long is she awake from when you start feeding her unti she goes down?
Hi. I have an 8 week old boy that is a pretty good sleeper. 12 hours at night (2-3 feeds) & 4-5 naps during the day. He has most naps in his swing and goes from totally awake to sleep on his own. Just wondering when is the earliest age to get him to self settle in his cot? Initially at night I put him in his swing but the rest of the night he sleeps with me. I’ve put him in his cot a few times to try, but the crying isn’t fun for anyone. Just want the confidence that I’m not doing it too early for it to be successful.
There is never too early to let him nap in his crib. You can let him nap now OR wait until you’re ready! If you aren’t ready ti won’ stick though so make sure you’re willing to work through baby’s momentary discomfort.
One thing not mentioned in most sleep articles/websites is Ferritin. We STRUGGLED with my daughters sleep for 18 months before someone suggested ferritin. We got our 3rd pediatrician to look at ferritin (everyone else told us sleep training, which we tried and it did NOT work!) and her levels were extremely low. We started her on supplements and now (almost 6 months later) she is a MUCH better sleeper. I hope this helps other moms out there!!! <3
Kathleen, tell us more about this. What is it?