A baby's sleep is one of parents' main concerns, especially during the first few months.
Frequent awakenings, difficulty falling asleep, needing to be held. These are normal situations at that age: the baby's nervous system is still organising itself, and contact is part of how they regulate.
Even so, when rest becomes difficult for the whole family, there are sometimes physical tensions that do not help the baby to relax. A long or instrumental birth, a preferred posture, tension in the jaw or at the base of the skull.
Osteopathy does not replace paediatric monitoring. If anything is concerning – weight, feeding, fever – the first step is to speak to the paediatrician.
At our Eixample clinic, we help babies with sleep difficulties every week, using gentle methods, no abrupt manipulations, and tailored to their age.
For the first few months, a baby wakes up. Every two hours, sometimes every hour. They need arms to fall asleep and protest when you put them in the cot. That's not a sleep problem: it's a nervous system that doesn't yet know how to calm itself down and is learning to do so through contact.
What does make us look closer is when the baby seems uncomfortable in their own body. They arch their back again and again. They turn their head always to the same side and struggle with the other. They latch poorly to the breast, or only on one side. They have colic that doesn't subside. They are tense even when asleep.
The problem isn't «sleep» itself. It's that the body can't relax, and without that, rest doesn't come.
That's what we come to see you for in consultation: where that tension comes from and if it can be relieved.
If you're worried about your baby's weight, feeding, or general well-being, the first thing to do is talk to your paediatrician.
Sleep crises in 1 month old babies are common and can be a cause for concern for parents.
During this period, babies may experience changes in their sleep patterns, such as waking up more frequently during the night.
This may be due to a number of factors, such as the development of their nervous system and adaptation to a new environment outside the womb.
If your baby has a sleep crisis at 1 month of age, it is essential to stay calm and follow a regular sleep routine.
Consulting an osteopath who specialises in babies can be beneficial in addressing any stresses that may be affecting their sleep.
A baby sleeps poorly when their body can't find calm. And there are concrete things that make it difficult for them.
Childbirth leaves its mark. A long pushing stage, a very quick one, the use of forceps or a ventouse: the baby's head has been put to work, and sometimes a spot remains that doesn't fully regain its mobility. We notice this particularly when the baby always turns to the same side or always rests its head in the same way.
The pelvis and spine also count. A posture maintained during the final weeks of pregnancy can leave the baby with one side more restricted than the other. They struggle to stretch, arch, and protest when changing position.
Digestive discomfort is another common cause. Colic, reflux, trapped wind. The baby falls asleep and twenty minutes later is awake again, curled up.
And beneath all that, a nervous system that remains on high alert. When the body has been uncomfortable for days, the activation level doesn't drop even if the environment is calm. It's then that parents tell us their baby «never switches off».
None of these causes are serious. But they explain why some babies need a lot more help than others to fall asleep.
The session lasts an hour, and a good part of it the baby is in the arms of its mother or father. It's not necessary to undress them completely. Many fall asleep while we work.
We start by observing. How they are positioned, where their head is turned, if one side stretches less than the other, how they breathe. That observation already says a lot before touching.
Afterwards, the work is manual and very gentle: light, sustained pressures, with no sudden movements or «cracking.» Nothing that could disturb a newborn. We pause on areas that have remained tense – the base of the skull, the jaw, the diaphragm, the pelvis – and wait for the tissue to release on its own.
The baby often relaxes during the session. Other times, they protest for a while and then relax later at home, that same evening.
We don't make a baby sleep. We remove what's preventing it, and sleep organises itself.
The changes are usually seen in the following days. In most cases, two or three sessions are enough.
There's no need to wait until the situation becomes unbearable, but there's also no need to rush to the doctor just because a newborn wakes up at night.
It makes sense to come and see us when you notice that your baby is having trouble being in their body. They turn their head to the same side all the time. They arch their back when you pick them up or when they are eating. One side stretches less than the other. They latch on well to one breast but not the other. Colic isn't easing up, and neither is reflux.
Also, whether the birth was long, very quick, with forceps, with a ventouse, or by C-section. Not because that will leave after-effects—most babies reposition themselves—but because sometimes something remains that is worth checking.
And if you've simply gone weeks without sleep and want someone to calmly check on your baby, that's also a good reason.
Before anything else, if you are concerned about weight, diet, or how they are in general, speak to your paediatrician first.
Working with a baby is nothing like working with an adult. The pressure is minimal – the weight of a resting hand, little more – and they set the pace.
If he cries, we stop. If he needs to feed mid-session, he feeds. If he falls asleep, we continue with him asleep. There's no sequence that has to be completed.
In osteopathy, listening to the body means something specific: the hands remain still on an area and wait. The tense tissue first resists and then yields, and that moment marks the rhythm of the work. We don't force it.
Every baby arrives with their own story: how the pregnancy was, how the birth was, how they feed, how they move. That's what decides what we do that day.
Between fourteen and seventeen hours spread throughout the day, in chunks of two or three. It doesn't distinguish between day and night until six or eight weeks, when it starts to produce its own melatonin. The figures vary a lot from one baby to another and serve as a guideline, not a rule.
They are tired, they rub their eyes, and yet they cry as soon as you put them down. It’s often a nervous system that has gone past the point of calm: the more exhausted they are, the harder it is for them to settle. Contact, dim lighting, and slow movement help more than persisting with the cot.
Because in arms, they hear a heartbeat, feel warmth and movement, and this is similar to where they were for nine months. It is not a whim or a bad habit: it is how a nervous system that doesn't yet know how to do it alone regulates itself. With the weeks, it needs less and less.
A baby's sleep is organised into short cycles with a lot of light sleep. Waking up at the end of each cycle is to be expected, and it also has a protective function. What we look at is not the number of awakenings, but whether it is difficult for them to fall back asleep because something is bothering them.
There isn't an age. Some do long stretches by six months, others not before a year, and night wakings remain normal during the second year. Your baby waking up doesn't mean anything is wrong.
Natural light and normal house noise during the day, also during naps. At night, little light, little talking, quick changes. In a few weeks the rhythm settles on its own.
A baby who was sleeping reasonably well suddenly starts waking up a lot more. This usually coincides with a developmental leap—around four months, then again around eight months—and lasts for a few days or a couple of weeks. Nothing has gone wrong; they are reorganising their sleep.
No. We remove what makes it difficult for them: tension left over from birth, a posture that limits them, digestive discomfort. When that's relieved, the baby rests better because their body stops getting in the way.
In most cases, two or three. The changes are usually noticed in the days following each session. If after two or three we don't see anything, we'll let you know and look for another way.
