Why Does My Baby Wake Up So Often? What I Learned From Having Two Babies 18 Months Apart
If your baby keeps waking through the night, you're probably wondering what you're doing wrong.
I know because I wondered the same thing.
I have two babies with only 18 months between them, and although they were completely different sleepers, they both went through phases of waking constantly.
At first, I thought it was random.
But after a lot of trial and error, I realised there were usually a few reasons behind it.
Once I understood what was happening, sleep slowly got easier.
Not perfect — just much more manageable.
Here are the biggest reasons I found behind frequent night waking.
1. Your Baby Might Be Struggling Between Sleep Cycles
This was a big one for both of mine.
Babies wake more often between sleep cycles than adults do. Some babies settle themselves back to sleep easily. Others fully wake and suddenly need help getting back down.
I noticed my babies often woke at nearly the same times every night.
At first I thought something must be wrong.
But most of the time, they were just struggling to move between sleep cycles comfortably.
If your baby wakes every 1–3 hours, this could be part of it.
2. Their Sleep Environment Might Be Working Against Them
This one surprised me.
Babies are so sensitive to little things.
Too much light. Noise. Being too warm or cold. Even moving them from your arms into the cot sometimes changed everything.
I noticed with my second baby that even small changes made nights worse.
If the room felt different from one night to the next, sleep became much more unsettled.
A soft night light helped us a lot — I could still see what I was doing during wake-ups without turning on bright lights and waking everyone up fully.
3. Overtiredness Can Make Sleep Worse, Not Better
Nobody explained this to me properly with my first.
I assumed if my baby stayed awake longer, she'd sleep better.
Sometimes the exact opposite happened.
Once either of my babies became overtired, bedtime got harder, wake-ups increased, and everyone slept worse.
With two little ones close together, routines weren't always perfect, and I definitely noticed how much overtiredness affected nights.
4. Your Baby Might Have Their Days and Nights Mixed Up
This one caught me off guard with my first.
She was wide awake and happy at 2am, and then sleeping soundly through the morning.
It felt completely backwards — and it was.
Newborns are born without a sense of day and night. In the womb, they were rocked to sleep by movement during the day and woke when things went still at night. So when they arrive, many babies genuinely don't know the difference yet.
The good news is that it usually sorts itself out — but there are things that help speed it along.
So What Actually Helped?
After two babies, I learned there usually isn't one magic solution.
For us, it was a few small changes that worked together.
These are the things that genuinely helped us get better nights.
Step 1: Keep Bedtime Looking Similar Every Night
I stopped trying complicated routines.
What worked better was simply repeating the same pattern.
Bath (sometimes), pyjamas, feeding, dim lights, cuddles, bed.
Nothing fancy. Just familiar.
Babies seem to settle better when bedtime feels predictable.
What helped us most was keeping the same sleep setup every night so they recognised it was time for sleep — wrapping them in a familiar soft swaddle was one of those consistent cues that made a real difference.
Step 2: Make the Room Calm and Consistent
This made a bigger difference than I expected.
We kept the room darker, quieter, and avoided bright lights during wake-ups.
Instead of turning on lights at 2am and fully waking everyone up, I kept things calm and boring.
That alone helped nighttime settling.
Our DreamNest™ GentleGlow Baby Night Light was perfect for this — soft enough not to overstimulate, but bright enough to see during feeds and nappy changes.
A soft night light can help create a soothing sleep environment without overstimulation.
Step 3: Don't Let Overtiredness Sneak Up
This took me time to figure out.
Once my babies got overtired, nights were harder.
I stopped chasing perfect routines and instead aimed for a similar bedtime most nights and paid more attention to sleepy signs.
Even keeping bedtime roughly consistent helped.
Having them in a comfortable sleeping bag also meant I wasn't worrying about them kicking off blankets and getting cold in the night.
Step 4: Help Their Body Learn the Difference Between Day and Night
This one took the most patience — but it worked.
I made daytime feel lively: open curtains, natural light, talking, gentle play. Even just being in a bright room made a difference.
During night feeds, I did the opposite. Lights low, voice quiet, no stimulation. Just feed, settle, back down.
I also stopped letting daytime naps go on too long — especially in the late afternoon. Capping them helped build more sleep pressure for the night.
And I kept the bedtime wind-down at roughly the same time each evening. Dim lights, quieter voices, a familiar wrap in her swaddle. Over time, her body started to recognise those cues as a signal that night was coming.
It took about one to two weeks before I noticed a real shift. Some nights were still hard — but gradually, the long stretches started moving to the right side of the clock.
What Worked Best For Us
After having two babies so close together, I realised better sleep usually comes from small things done consistently.
For us, the biggest difference came from:
- Familiar sleep cues every night
- A calm bedtime environment
- Keeping wake-ups low stimulation
- A comfortable, predictable sleep setup
- Helping them learn the difference between day and night
Some nights were still hard.
But things gradually improved.
And when you're exhausted, even one better night makes a huge difference.
If you're trying to create a calmer bedtime routine, these are the kinds of things we found genuinely helpful:
- Soft swaddles and sleep bags for a familiar, cosy sleep setup
- Gentle night lights for calmer wake-ups
- Sleep products designed to make bedtime feel familiar and comforting
👉 Explore DreamNest™ sleep essentials for calmer nights and better sleep.