CDC Milestone Tracker
Track your baby's developmental milestones and their impact on sleep
CDC Milestone Tracker
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Sleep Impact:
Select an age to see sleep impact
Track your baby's developmental milestones and their impact on sleep
Sleep Impact:
Select an age to see sleep impact
Developmental milestones are exciting, but they can significantly impact your baby's sleep patterns. If your baby is experiencing sleep disruptions, restlessness, or sleeping for fewer hours, it could be related to:
Why it happens: Major physical milestones like rolling, crawling, or walking trigger significant changes in your baby's brain and body. When babies learn new motor skills, their brains are actively processing and consolidating these new abilities even during sleep.
How it affects sleep: During sleep, your baby's brain practices these new movements, causing them to wake up more frequently. They may also wake up and immediately try to practice their new skill (like rolling over in the crib), which disrupts their ability to fall back asleep independently. This creates a cycle of frequent night wakings and shorter sleep cycles.
Common signs: Waking every 1-2 hours, refusing naps, increased fussiness at bedtime, practicing new skills in the crib instead of sleeping.
💡 Tips to Help:
Why it happens: During major cognitive leaps, your baby's brain is forming millions of new neural connections. This rapid brain growth requires significant energy and creates increased brain activity, even during sleep.
How it affects sleep: The heightened brain activity makes it harder for babies to enter deep, restorative sleep stages. Their brains are essentially "too busy" processing new information to fully shut down for sleep. This can cause lighter sleep, more frequent awakenings, and difficulty settling at bedtime because their minds are actively working.
Common signs: Taking longer to fall asleep, restless sleep with lots of movement, waking easily from sounds or movements, appearing "wired" at bedtime despite being tired.
💡 Tips to Help:
Why it happens: Learning new physical skills requires your baby to use muscles in new ways. This can cause muscle tension, soreness, and physical fatigue, similar to how adults feel after a workout.
How it affects sleep: Physical discomfort from muscle tension or soreness can make it difficult for babies to find a comfortable sleeping position. They may wake up when they shift positions and feel the discomfort, or they may be unable to fully relax their bodies for sleep. Additionally, babies learning to crawl or walk may wake up and immediately want to practice, unable to settle because their bodies are "ready to move."
Common signs: Restless sleep with lots of position changes, waking up and immediately trying to move, difficulty settling in one position, appearing uncomfortable or fidgety.
💡 Tips to Help:
Why it happens: When babies discover new abilities (like pulling up, clapping, or making new sounds), they become fascinated and want to practice constantly. This excitement can be overwhelming and make it difficult to wind down.
How it affects sleep: The excitement and stimulation from practicing new skills can flood your baby's system with adrenaline and cortisol, making it physiologically difficult to fall asleep. Their nervous system is in an "alert" state rather than a "calm" state needed for sleep. This is similar to how adults feel after an exciting event - too energized to sleep despite being tired.
Common signs: Appearing wide awake and alert at bedtime, difficulty settling even when clearly tired, wanting to practice skills instead of sleeping, taking much longer than usual to fall asleep.
💡 Tips to Help:
Why it happens: As babies develop cognitively, they gain object permanence - the understanding that things (and people) exist even when they can't see them. This cognitive milestone also brings the realization that you can leave, which can be frightening.
How it affects sleep: When babies understand that you exist even when they can't see you, bedtime separation becomes more distressing. They may wake up and immediately cry for you because they now understand you're not there. This anxiety can prevent them from falling asleep initially, cause frequent night wakings to check if you're still there, and make it difficult to self-soothe back to sleep.
Common signs: Crying when you leave the room, frequent night wakings to "check" on you, difficulty falling asleep without you present, increased clinginess during the day.
💡 Tips to Help:
Why it happens: Teething often coincides with developmental milestones because both are driven by rapid growth periods. The discomfort from emerging teeth can be significant and persistent.
How it affects sleep: Teething pain can cause babies to wake up frequently throughout the night when the discomfort becomes noticeable. The pain may be worse when lying down due to increased blood flow to the head. Babies may also have difficulty falling asleep initially because the discomfort makes it hard to relax. Additionally, teething can cause other symptoms like drooling, which can lead to skin irritation and further discomfort.
Common signs: Waking frequently at night, increased fussiness, excessive drooling, chewing on hands or objects, difficulty settling, pulling at ears (referred pain from jaw).
💡 Tips to Help:
If your baby's sleep is being affected by developmental milestones, these evidence-based products may help:
Premium sound machine with customizable sounds, nightlight, and time-to-rise features. Perfect for creating a consistent sleep environment.
Shop Hatch Rest →Smart baby monitor with sleep tracking, breathing wear, and insights to help you understand your baby's sleep patterns.
Shop Nanit →Evidence-based sleep training programs from Baby Sleep Made Simple. Includes 21 Days to Peace & Quiet and other proven methods.
View Sleep Courses →Help block out household noise and create a consistent sleep environment. Studies show white noise can help babies fall asleep faster.
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