Since the time you welcome your newborn, their adorable activities make your heart brim with love. This is probably one of life’s most profound experiences, seeing your baby grow through various phases. You start paying attention to every detail of your baby, like how they are breathing during sleep or how they move their tiny fingers around you. These everyday moments become more meaningful when you follow a healthy baby sleep routine throughout different seasons. To keep your tiny human safe from seasonal changes, you go to great lengths. As sleeping plays a crucial role in your baby’s strong health and development, making the necessary adjustments to their sleep routine can significantly support. In this blog, you will get insights into how the sleeping habits of your baby change through the seasons.
Also Read: How to Prevent Common Baby Infections?
Understanding How Weather Affects Your Baby’s Sleep Pattern
If you notice your baby is sleeping well for one month and starts waking up the next, the reason might be the weather, not routine, or feeding. Usually, babies are far more sensitive to temperature, humidity, and changes than adults, which can affect their sleep patterns. To ensure your baby’s healthy sleeping routine, understanding how changing weather conditions can affect their sleep can be beneficial.
- Summer: The Heat Can Disturb Sleep: During summer, the hot weather and humidity make it harder for your baby to sleep. Your baby may feel restless due to excess heat and sweating, preventing them from entering deep restorative sleep. During these warmer months, you can notice your baby is waking up frequently, their bed is dampened with sweat, and they are taking shorter naps compared to other seasons. Making them wear breathable pyjamas or soft cotton clothes and keeping them in a cool temperature can help.
- Winter: Cold Seasons Need Extra Care: You must be extra careful about your baby during winter and cold nights. Your baby can wake up due to discomfort, especially when their bedding does not provide sufficient warmth. Winter can cause a cold in your baby, making it harder for them to sleep, and overlayering can lead to sweating, along with difficulty settling at night. Using soft, cosy blankets and sleep sacks to keep them warm and comfortable can help without overheating.
- Monsoon: Humidity Causes Discomfort: Monsoon causes high humidity and moisture levels in the air, making the bed and surroundings feel sticky and uncomfortable for your baby. Additionally, moisture buildup can irritate their sensitive skin, causing rashes, fungal infections, and viral fever. You may observe your baby is having increased fussiness, interrupted sleep, and skin problems. These factors affect their sleep quality and routine. Using a humidifier, clean and absorbent bedding with proper ventilation in the room can help them stay comfortable and sleep peacefully.
- Seasonal Changes and Shift in Routine: Your baby’s brain and immune system are immature to adjust to sudden weather changes. This can lead them to feel difficulty in finding the rhythm of sleeping. A familiar sleeping setup is more crucial for them during the seasonal changes. During summer, the increased daylight can interrupt their circadian rhythm, leading to earlier waking times and shorter naps. Using blackout curtains in this case is necessary. Keeping the same bedding, sleep environment, and pre-sleep routine can help them adjust to sleeping with weather changes.
Learn How You Can Support Your Baby’s Sleep Routine After Changing Weather
You can not control the weather, but you can maintain a proper environment that supports your baby’s sleep routine. Their immune system is still developing, due to which they can not regulate their temperature in changing seasons.
Even a small change in the weather, such as a cool breeze or mild sunlight, can affect more than you can think, affecting their sleep routine. Therefore, understanding how you can ensure your baby’s sleeping pattern despite weather changes contributes to their healthy growth.
Summer
-
Keep the Room Cool: Make sure the room temperature is comfortable for your baby to sleep. Use a fan or an air conditioner in the room during the heat seasons. Do not point the fan or AC directly at them. Try to keep a comfortable room temperature according to the changing seasons.
-
Dress Them Comfortably:To ensure their comfort during sleep, make sure you dress your baby in comfortable clothes. Make them wear loose pyjamas and cotton clothes during the summer seasons to avoid sweating and frequent waking from sleep.
-
Use Blackout Curtains: Summer causes bright sunlights which can disrupt your baby’s sleep. Use thick blackout curtains in the room to keep the environment dark and prevent early waking due to daylight.
- Keep Hydrated: During heat seasons, ensure your bay’s hydration. Keep them hydrated with fluids like water to combat heat-related sleep disruption
Winter
- Use Safe Layers: During cold seasons, use sleep sacks and cosy blankets to ensure the required warmth for your baby to sleep comfortably. Avoid overlayering, which can cause sweating and disturb their sleep.
-
Check Room Setup: Make sure the room set up of your baby is suitable. Keep the crib away from windows and heating machines to maintain a safe environment for them to sleep. You can consult a professional to learn tips for baby sleep during winter.
- Dress Your Baby With Natural Fabrics: To enhance your baby’s comfort, make them wear clothes made from natural fabrics such as wool or cotton for layering. This will help them regulate the temperature.
General Seasonal Advices
-
Follow Consistent Bedtime: To help your baby adjust their sleep according to the changing weathers make sure you follow a consistent sleep routine for them. Despite the changing season can cause slight disruptions in their sleeping patterns, but a routine will help them with their circadian rhythm.
-
Be Watchful of Their Cues: Indeed, the cues of babies during their sleep seem cute, but these can be the subtle signs that they may require adaptation. Watch for their cues if they have a warm or sweaty chest, cold or blotchy skin and unusual crying and fussiness. Mind the slight changes in their energy pr sleepiness to help them adjust.
-
Manage Humidity in the Room: To ensure their comfort and sleep disturbance due to increased humidity in the air use a humidifier or dehumidifier in the room. Especially during rainy seasons, this will help increase the ventilation and proper air in the room.
- Get Them Natural Light:To support their circadian rhythm, expose your baby to natural light. Take them to the sunlight in the morning, which can help them adjust to seasonal changes and support their sleep patterns.
Final Remarks,
Weather changes are a natural process that you can not prevent. Therefore shift in your baby’s sleep routine is also normal. But the key is understanding your baby’s comfort and required adjustments each season, helping them get quality and sufficient sleep. You do not have to worry, but be observant and responsive to support their sleeping habits. As a new parent, it might feel overwhelming for you to see your baby’s sleep disrupted, and in such a case, taking professional guidance can calm you down. You can consult Dr. Prince Parakh, a renowned paediatrician in Siliguri, to maintain the healthy growth of your newborn.
