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Many parents experience seeing their baby crying in sleep. But why do infants cry while sleeping? It can happen because of light sleep, or may have pain, and even nightmares. In this article, we’ll explore what’s behind sleep-crying, how to tell what’s normal, and what you can do to help soothe your baby.
Why Do Babies Cry in Their Sleep?
First is we need to understand how your baby sleeps and how it can be so different to yours. Your baby, as well as others, sleeps more in active sleep. You can characterize this sleeping type by the movement and breathing of your baby. During this phase, your baby might cry out briefly and then settle back without waking up. It’s completely normal and usually doesn’t mean they’re in pain or distress. Your baby will grow out or have limited sleep like this when they grow up. They will have a deeper sleep like yours soon, but until then these cries may happen often.
The 5 Most Common Reasons Why Babies Cry in Their Sleep
Crying in sleep can catch parents off guard, but most of the time, it’s nothing to worry about. Here are the five most common reasons behind those sleepy tears:
Light Sleep or Active Sleep
One common reason, like mentioned earlier, is active sleeping. At this phase, their brain is active, and their body may respond or move randomly, or cry. However, even with this movement, they would settle down without waking up.
Gas or Tummy Discomfort
Your baby's digestive system is not yet fully developed, and fullness or gas is uncomfortable even when they sleep. This can lead to sleeping, squirming, grunting, or crying.
Teething Pain
Teething may result in sore gums and aching at night. While your baby will not wake up completely, maybe the discomfort will make her fussy or cry during sleep.
Dreams or Brain Activity
Even though we do not yet know whether babies dream as much as grown-ups, their brains work hard while they sleep. This activity might lead to crying or irritability as they sort through new experiences.
Growth Spurts or Developmental Leaps
Baby leaps can overwork your baby’s brain. This can result in an interruption in their sleep that can mostly be seen at night or at nap time.
Knowing these reasons can ease your mind, and tell you how to approach the situation with kindness.
What Amount of Crying Is Normal?
Your baby crying in sleep is normal, especially if they are under 6 months old. It will be accompanied with whimpers and movements. It will also be short and would settle without you doing anything
Just monitor their behavior, if they eat, sleep, and can still be soothed, then they are fine. If something changes, like they cry more intensely and are accompanied by a fever, then it's a sign to go to your doctor.
Is a Baby Crying in Their Sleep Something to Worry About?
No, it’s normal and you shouldn't worry about it. It just happens because your baby’s brain is still developing, and may be caused by other things like teething or gas. If your baby cries, then after a couple of seconds it’s gone then that’s normal.
You know what's normal behavior for your baby. You will notice if something becomes different in their cries. To help you have peace of mind, you can use the Momcozy Smart Baby Monitor. It provides high-definition video, night vision, and temperature monitoring — so you can check on your baby without waking them, and better understand what’s normal for their sleep behavior.
Can Babies Have Nightmares?
Most doctors think that your baby can’t have a nightmare if they haven’t reached 2 to 3 years old. Only at this time that your baby have developed enough imagination. Only then can they have nightmares; if your baby is below that, then it's unlikely that they will experience that. However, that doesn’t mean they can’t be startled or unsettled during sleep.
When you see your baby cry while sleeping, it's most likely just normal brain activity that happens during active sleep. It may also be caused by discomfort from teething or gas. Your baby’s brain is still under ongoing development and sometimes the new experiences or information that they have when they are awake are still being processed when they sleep.
6 Tips for Soothing a Crying Baby
Even if your baby isn’t fully awake, their cries can still tug at your heart. Here are 6 gentle tips by the NHS to help soothe your baby when they cry in their sleep, without overstimulating them.
Let Your Baby Breastfeed for Comfort
If you're breastfeeding, offering your breast can be a soothing way to calm your baby. The act of suckling is naturally comforting and helps them feel safe and close to you.
Use Gentle Background Sounds
Playing songs, lullabies, or even your voice just humming can help your baby settle and calm down. The Momcozy Smart Baby Sound Machine offers white noise, lullabies, and womb-like sounds to calm your baby’s senses. With app control, you can adjust the sounds remotely — perfect for middle-of-the-night wake-ups when every second of peace matters.
Hold Your Baby Close
Sometimes just holding your baby, like in your arms or sling, makes them chill out a bit. You can try walking slowly or like swaying side to side, maybe hum something or talk softly just so they hear you.
Provide Gentle Visuals or Sounds
Distractions help, too. Like, grab a toy that makes music or one of those things that spin above the crib. Anything that makes them look at something else instead of crying.
Try Gentle, Rhythmic Touch
You can also try having some kind of physical contact with them. Put them on your lap face-down or just hold them kind of close and rub their back, not too fast, just slow so they feel you’re there. That’s usually enough to calm them a bit.
Reach Out for Support
If nothing works and you feel like you're losing it, seriously just ask someone. Call your doctor or whoever. They’ll probably tell you something that helps.
How to Help a Crying Baby Fall Asleep?
When your baby cries instead of drifting off to sleep, it’s tough—not just for them, but for you too. The goal isn’t to “fix” every cry but to help your baby feel safe and ready to rest. Here are a few calming strategies you can try:
Watch for Sleepy Cues
You gotta catch the signs early. If they start yawning, rubbing their face, or kinda staring off into space or getting cranky, that’s your hint. Waiting too long and they get too tired to even fall asleep.
Use a Consistent Sleep Phrase
Some parents say a little phrase helps. Like saying something chill every night, maybe “Time to sleep now” or whatever works. It’s not magic, but babies remember stuff like that over time.
Swaddle or Use a Sleep Sack (If Age-Appropriate)
Swaddling helps too, if they’re still tiny. Wrap them up like a burrito and it kinda feels like the womb again. If they’re bigger, those sleep sack things are good too — cozy but not tight.
Avoid Eye Contact During Soothing
Try not to make full eye contact either. Sounds weird, but looking right at them can wake them up more. Keep the lights low, stay calm, and don’t move too fast. Your vibe matters.
Let Them Settle on Their Own (Within Reason)
Also, if they’re just whining a bit, not full-on screaming, maybe wait it out. Sometimes they settle on their own after a minute. Don’t rush in unless you have to.
Not every baby reacts the same. You’ll try things, some will flop, some will work. But honestly, just being there with them, that’s already doing a lot.
When to Call the Doctor?
If your baby regularly cries during sleep, certain signs mean it’s time to consult your pediatrician:
- The crying is intense and continues for a couple of hours or more
- Your baby appears to be in physical pain while crying
- Their sleeping patterns have changed suddenly or drastically
- Feeding has become harder, such as refusing the breast or struggling to latch
Experts usually say it’s worth checking in with your doctor if your baby keeps waking up crying at night. Most of the time it’s nothing major, just regular baby stuff, but still, having a doctor say everything’s fine can help you chill a bit.
After that, don’t feel like you need to rush over every time they make a noise. Some babies are just loud sleepers. They fuss, cry a little, then go back to sleep on their own. Giving them that space can actually help them learn how to settle without you always stepping in.
Conclusion
Hearing your baby cry while they sleep can really mess with your head. It’s weird and kind of emotional, especially when you don’t know if something’s wrong or it’s just one of those baby things. A lot of times, it’s just part of how they grow. Light sleep, maybe some aches, random fussing — it happens.
But if something feels off, trust your gut. It’s always better to just call your pediatrician than stay up stressing over it alone. Even if it turns out to be nothing, at least you’ll feel more at ease.
Over time, you’ll start getting used to your baby’s little patterns. You’ll notice the difference between their “I’m uncomfortable” cry and “I’ll be fine in 30 seconds” cry. Having tools like the Momcozy Smart Baby Sound Machine can help keep them relaxed and comforted during rough nights, and Momcozy Smart Baby Monitor is a total sanity-saver. Just knowing they’re okay without running to check every sound makes a huge difference.
It takes patience and a lot of love for them and for yourself. But you’ll get better at it, and those midnight cries won’t throw you off so much anymore. You’ve got this.
