Sleeping babies often make noises. If you hear sounds from your baby in her crib when she's been sleeping and before you assume she is hungry and crying, first be sure she is awake. Misguidedly, some parents will wake a baby for a feeding who is whimpering or making other noises in her sleep, or alternatively, they may offer her a bottle while she is still asleep. The baby may suckle in a half-asleep state and then return to sleep. But the fact is that the baby was not awake, was not crying, was not hungry, and did not need to be fed.

Whether out of concern for the baby's well-being or for the sake of their own peace and quiet, many parents are often too quick to feed a baby who isn't hungry. Not every cry signals hunger, and not every sound from a baby is a cry (or a demand for something). Babies do make sounds in their sleep, and these sounds should not concern you, nor do they signal any sort of need. These sounds are akin to an adult's talking in his sleep, nothing more, and they do not indicate a problem. Since babies do not yet talk, of course, the sounds they make in their sleep are not words but coos and even whimpers, but these sounds are not an indication that anything's wrong.