Is Baby crying in her sleep a bad dream?

Question

I just had my baby 6 days ago and for the past two days I’ve noticed she cries in her sleep. Not like a normal cry but a whine and heavy breathing. Like she’s having a bad dream or something. Does anyone know what this is? She does it multiple times every time she sleeps.

Answer

Mine is 4 weeks and she does the same thing. Sometimes her eyes flutter and roll around her head. It really freaked me out at first, but her ped assured me it’s normal. It cracks me up though when they smile. I wondered out loud what a baby could possibly dream about and my husband suggested, “Boobies!” 🤣🤣🤣

Answer

I don’t think they can have dreams or nightmares this early. Babies’ sleep cycles are very different from adults’ (partly so they wake/stir often to help prevent what we now call SIDS). It’s likely that your baby was startled from a sudden movement (even their own) or is just stirring between sleep cycles. As a newborn that’s also an early sign of hunger and is a great time to offer a breast (if you are breastfeeding) before baby gets too hungry and frustrated to latch.

Answer

Mine is now 4 weeks old and still does this. Sometimes she'll let out a really loud cry, then instantly settle back down. She also moves a lot, opens and closes her eyes and whimpers. We have a nurse who does home visits and she said it was just "active sleep", and normal.

Answer

I think this is just developmentally typical for babies. I’m not certain it’s a bad dream, but my son definitely would whimper in his sleep when he was a newborn. He mostly outgrew this, but occasionally he’ll make louder sounds in his sleep as a 16 month old.

Is Baby crying in her sleep a bad dream?

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