Welcome back, parents! Today I’ve got a fantastic question from Amber Macer, a Facebook community parent who is a new mom to a happy and healthy 22-day-old baby! Her newborn is doing well but stirs and makes a lot of noise at night, and Amber wants to know what she can do about it because she can’t sleep and is (understandably) exhausted.  I’m so glad you wrote in, Amber, because I’m a light sleeper myself and I had to deal with this, too!

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What can I do about my newborn’s noisy sleeping habits?

It isn’t just the crying, the endless diaper changing and the constant feedings that can keep a mom awake —  it’s also those adorable, gurgling, happy-baby noises!  Whether your infant is awake making those cute noises and not sleeping at night or asleep and making the noises in her sleep, you’ll likely lose any chance of getting sleep.  Both my husband and I are light sleepers, so we found that using a monitor wasn’t a good choice for us. The monitor that we had would pick up tiny little noises, and not ones that were cries of hunger or anything that really needed my attention. They were just simple, little baby noises and I didn’t get any sleep because of it.

Our baby’s nursery was right next to our room, so I would turn the monitor off and leave both of the bedroom doors open. When my baby cried, I would hear it and get up and feed her or change her diaper or give her a burp.  Many parents have monitors and video monitors, and they can work great, but the key is finding one that is sensitive enough to pick up on the crying noises and not just every little gurgle.

I understand that not all moms are OK with not having their baby sleep in their room, so this entirely up to you. I found that leaving doors open worked perfectly for me and I put my baby in the crib, but if you’re a heavier sleeper, then maybe a monitor or keeping the baby in your room would work best for you.

Parents, does your newborn’s sleeping patterns affect your own sleeping pattern? How do you deal with those adorable extra noises at night from your baby? Help out fellow light-sleepers by sharing your experience in the comments section below!