Is My Scent Waking Up My Hungry Baby?

People say that my baby wants to eat frequently because she can smell me. She is three months old, sleeps in a bassinet by the bed, and was starting to sleep through the night, but has now started waking in the middle of the night again. I’m just imagining babies having the smelling ability of a bloodhound if she can smell me from her bassinet. Is this just a phase for her, or do I need to move her to her own room?

— On the Scent

I love this question because there is a lot to unpack and some cool science.

First, yes, your baby can smell you. In fact, babies are extremely good at smelling their mom — even right from birth. They can smell your breast milk, and studies show they’re also responsive to other smells from mom (like the upper chest area). Smells travel fairly far, so unless your bedroom is some kind of giant cavern, your baby can smell you.

It is important to note, though, that this has been true from when your baby was several days old. Your baby has always been able to smell you. So while that is cool science, it doesn’t explain the recent change.

Second, your baby has always been waking up at night. No one, not babies or adults, sleeps for the entire night without waking up. You perceive your baby as sleeping through the night because when they were waking up, which they definitely were, they went back to sleep without you being aware.

What has changed? The most likely is that as your baby has aged, they’ve gotten more aware of their surroundings and the possibilities of those surroundings. When they wake up a bit now, they are better able to process that you’re there, and yelling might produce some response. I’m not suggesting your baby is explicitly manipulating you, but they have gotten smarter.

This may just be a phase, but it is also possible that it’s time to move your child to their own room. This would likely limit some of this behavior and would also make it possible to do some sleep training as they get older. (Usual caveat: if you are happy with waking up at night, that’s great; no need to do anything.)

Bottom line: Yes, your baby can smell you, but no, that’s not the core issue.