Babies are the cutest things that have ever happened to a family. Just like an average human being, a baby also needs people’s care to grow efficiently. Sometimes you have to require a fixed routine to take care of them.
Babies require a lot of sleep, but there’s a time when they don’t want to sleep anymore. They wake up early and often don’t take proper naps.
As a result, they stayed awake the entire morning and felt sleepy in the afternoon. All this happens because of developmental leaps.
Developmental leaps not only lead to shorter sleep but also cause changes in babies’ mood and health.
However, it’s not a negative thing at all. In this blog, you’ll learn all about baby leaps and their impact on their sleep.
You’ll also discover a few tips and remedies during that period. It may guide you to improve the sleep schedule of your baby.
What is Developmental Leap?
According to so many health experts, a development leap is a time when a baby’s life is evolving.
In this period, a baby learns new skills or generates excitement for it. Apart from that, the babies finally learn to walk, crawl, and roll.
In a word, they are finally able to coordinate their hands and eyes. This is also recognized as a major development.
So, there’s no need to worry if your child is going through baby leaps. Some doctors suggest that the period of developmental leaps begins around five weeks of age.
In his period, they also suffered a little bit of tiredness and lack of sleep.
At this time, your baby may achieve cognitive changes that lead them to grow their physical health. It also helps them in the process of mental development.
A few health experts acclaimed that in the first two years, a baby might experience an intense mental leap. It is interconnected with their age, not their date of birth.
The positive thing about developmental leaps is that it helps your child to be aware of their surroundings.
It helps them to connect with the world that exists around them. A few doctors call this period the ‘wonder weeks.’
How to Identify the Baby Leap
Recognizing the baby leaps isn’t a very difficult task. At this time, a lot of things are running in a baby’s mind.
They started growing effectively both physically and mentally. There are a few signs that can help you to identify the occurrence of a development leap.
It may include the following.
1. Mood Change
Babies often experience sudden mood changes during developmental leaps. It may include crying, crankiness, and clinginess.
At this period, you may notice an alteration in your baby’s temper. It’s not an extraordinary thing; it’s quite normal.
A few parents may feel anxious or depressed about the sudden change in their baby’s mood. However, there’s no need to worry about it.
During the development leap, the baby tries to connect with their surroundings. If you notice your baby is crying more than normal, don’t panic!
It may not last longer. You can consult a child specialist near you.
2. Alteration in Health
Not only in the moods but a sudden alteration in health is also observed among the babies in this period.
A baby may catch a cold, and then it may cause them a little bit of cough. All this is happening because of the leap period.
However, if your child is facing extreme colds or coughs, don’t hesitate to consult a health expert. Apart from a cold or cough, a baby may catch teething issues.
Besides these, the child can also face an infection in the ear. It’s all because of their physical and mental growth. Take proper medication to protect your babies in this development leap period.
3. Fuzzy Feeding
Another major sign that is baby is going through a leap period is fuzzy feeding. It means your baby wants to be fed more or less than the average time.
They may not take their meals in their times as per their daily routines. However, this situation is short-term and doesn’t last long among the babies.
You may notice while feeding; the baby gets easily distracted. Apart from that, they consume less milk and more snacks.
As their mental leap is also developing, the babies prefer solid food more than liquid ones. So, in this period, you must ensure that your baby is having a proper meal or not.
4. Eagerness to Learn New Skills
Another major sign that can help you to recognize the baby’s leaps is their eagerness to acquire new skills.
As mentioned, the physical and mental leap started to grow among the babies in the first two years. Thus, they want to smile and coordinate their eyes with their hands.
A baby learns to crawl, roll, and walk. They want to hold objects, such as toys and spoons, during this period. It’s a positive sign that indicates their effective physical growth.
A baby also starts to talk with so much eagerness. You may also notice a sudden improvement in their voice and pronunciation.
How Does It Affect a Baby?
Generally, the development of the leap period affects the babies in their sleeping schedule. The babies face a few difficulties during their sleep.
As a result, they get tired easily. However, these situations are temporary.
Here’s a list of things that are caused by baby leaps.
1. Sleep Difficulties
The first thing that your baby suffers during the development period is lack of sleep. During this period, their mental leap started to grow.
As a result, they want to connect with their surroundings and the world. It led them to sleepless times. At night, they don’t feel comfortable sleeping.
No matter how hard you try, you may not put your baby to fall asleep at night. It occurs frequently, especially during this development leap period.
However, there’s no need to worry about the situation. It’s temporary, and the difficulties may be reduced after 20 months.
For excess situations, don’t be afraid to consult your doctor.
2. Excess Level of Walking at Night
As their physical and mental growth starts occurring, the babies become so eager to master the new skills they learned.
It may include walking, crawling, and rolling. As mentioned, in this period, the baby face difficulties falling asleep.
Thus, they wake up suddenly at night numerous times. At this time, a baby started to crawl or walk instead of sleep.
In this scenario, you must consider a suitable sleeping solace for your baby.
In addition, don’t forget to ensure that the baby is receiving adequate comfort or not. It may assist you in keeping your baby on their bed for a long period.
3. Short Sleeping Period
The sleep difficulties and the sudden waking up from bed decrease their sleeping time. As a result, their sleeping period is affected.
This is one of the most important situations that your kid suffers during the development leap period. If it’s occurring regularly, consult your doctor for better remedies.
Aside from that, try to provide your child with a comfortable vibe so that their sleep might not get hampered. Your baby may face separation anxiety during this time.
Not only that, they may feel upset, and that can lead them to have a short sleeping period. All human beings require adequate sleep, even babies.
4. Tiredness
All the impacts caused by the development period are interrelated with each other. Correspondingly, the short sleep leads them towards tiredness.
Lack of sleep generates tiredness among all human beings, even babies. If they feel tired, they may not grow effectively.
As a parent, try to maintain a perfect balance on it. Make sure your child is getting a balanced sleeping schedule. It may help them to get rid of tiredness.
Also, in this stage, the baby acquires physical milestones and wants to walk and play with toys as much as possible, which leads them toward tiredness.
5. Feeding Difficulties
Not only during sleep, but the babies also face complications while consuming their meals. As their mental leaps reach the development stage, the babies want to consume more solid foods than milk.
Apart from that, their hunger level decreases, and it leads them toward fuzzy feeding. Sometimes, they consume their meals at an excess level and a few times less than usual.
The less amount of meals leads them towards sleeping difficulties and tiredness. A human needs a proper meal to grow effectively.
It goes the same for the babies. In this case, as a parent, you are required to provide them with a balanced meal.
Sleep Remedies During Developmental Leap
Here are some possible remedies that you can adopt during the baby leaps.
1. Don’t Panic
The greatest way to help your babies during the development leap is just to stay calm. At this time, the baby started to grow their physical and mental health positively.
It’s a positive sign, and your toddler is learning good things. Try to maintain a daily routine as much as possible.
It may help you to enhance the sleeping time of your baby. In addition, it may also reduce the chance of waking up early. The leap period is temporary, and it won’t last after two years.
2. Create a Pleasant Sleeping Environment
It’s normal that the sleeping schedule of your baby might get disrupted during the development leap.
Thus, at this time, try to provide a suitable sleeping environment for your baby. You can turn on some toddler nursery music to make your babies fall asleep.
Along with that, you may buy some toddler’s story or rhyme books and read them gently till your infant falls asleep.
You should add this activity to your daily routine for almost two years until the leap period is over.
Also, add a fragrance to your room that may help the baby to fall asleep quickly and peacefully.
3. Keep Your Baby in Touch as Much as Possible
During this period, the baby grows their mental and physical leap rapidly. They started crawling, walking, and rolling down frequently.
In this case, try to keep your baby in touch as much as possible. It ensures them that they are not alone and you’re connected with them.
Try to connect with your baby through skin-to-skin touch. Apart from that, try to sleep close to your baby and keep a hand on their belly or head.
The closer you are to your babies, the more their sleeping schedule will be improved.
4. Ensure Adequate Feeding
Sometimes, a baby fails to sleep because their stomach isn’t full. They haven’t consumed their meal properly.
In this case, you must consider whether your baby is consuming a meal adequately or not. This can also be the reason for lack of sleep.
In this period, as babies grow their mental leap, they want to consume more snacks than liquid ones.
So, you must bring a well-designed plate that has a watermark of your favorite snack. It can help you to feed your baby peacefully.
Besides these, try to sit in a place where your baby feels more comfortable and enjoys their meals.
Summing It Up
All in all, the development leap period is quite a difficult time not only for the babies but also for the parents.
However, the period doesn’t have any negative impact at all. It is a sign that your baby is evolving. While the baby leaps, a baby develops a physical and mental leap.
As a result, they started to learn new activities, such as walking, talking, crawling, and so on. It may create excitement for them, and they find it difficult to sleep.
So don’t panic and take a few remedies. It may include ensuring proper feeding and enabling a proper sleeping environment.
Finally, in this blog, you’ve learned about the development leap and its impact on babies and their sleep.
If you still have got any queries, let us know in the comments.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Does the Development Leap Last on Babies?
In general, the development leap period lasts for 20 months among babies from five weeks after birth. A few health experts also said that it could last up to two years.
What Is the Actual Effect of a Developmental Leap on a Toddler?
The actual effect caused by the developmental leap is very affirmative. It helps your toddler to grow their physical and mental milestones rapidly. It helps them to connect with their surroundings and coordinate their hands with their eyes.
Does Development Leap Have a Negative Impact on Babies?
No, the developmental leaps don’t create any negative impact on your babies. It may create a certain sleeping and feeding issue. However, those are temporary and can be cured with proper remedies.
