How do you decide which of your baby's noises to respond to at night?

[escher]

I know that babies make lots of noises at night, not all of which mean that they need something. But at one month in I'm still having trouble distinguishing between sleeping noises and I'm-waking-up-and-need-attention noises. This isn't crying (our babe generally only cries at night when he is having his diaper changed), just grunts and babbles and chirps and noises that sound slightly complainy. Our baby sleeps in a crib in our room, and I know that sometimes I mistake sleeping noises for awake noises and end up waking him up by picking him up out of his crib. I can't see in the dark if his eyes are open or closed, and I've been reluctant to turn on a light because I think that will wake everyone up more. Any suggestions?

Thank you!

[boater]

I use a night light, just bright enough to see if the baby's eyes are open, change diapers/potty and latch on. That way there is no change in light to wake either of us up more than we already are.

[gumshoegirl007]

I second using a night light.  And unless I suspect a poop at night, I don't change the diaper.  We bed share and my didn't wake up that age at night or make much noise, she would just bat at me when she needed to eat, so I don't have much to offer in that department.  But unless the baby was awake, I don't think I'd respond.

[Blanca78]

It took me so long to figure this out! My DD was a very noisy sleeper sometimes. Generally, though, she would fuss if she wanted to eat, and I just assumed that was the only reason she'd be waking otherwise. So even though she was right next to me in bed for the first three weeks, and then moved to a crib in our room, I didn't get up unless she fussed, and then I just assumed she needed to nurse. Over time, the night noises reduced--by three months or so she wasn't such a noisy sleeper, and so if she cried out, I KNEW she needed something (generally, just eating--dirty diapers never seemed to bother her much).

So I guess my advice is, maybe wait to see if he actually seems upset or needy, and otherwise try to assume it's a sleep noise? If he really was hungry or needed a diaper change, I'm guessing he'd probably do more than just grunt or squeal. If he's just kind of talking a little, you might be surprised by him falling back to sleep on his own (my DD often did).

[AnnieA]

If DD needs to eat or is otherwise uncomfortable, she won't stop with the noises. She rarely cries out but she smacks her lips when she wants to eat or rustles around continuously in her bed until I get her up. Also, we have this turtle nightlight that puts the constellations on the ceiling and that is just enough light for me to see what I need to without disturbing us or DH.