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What should I do if my baby is very hard to wake or floppy?

Call 911, or your local emergency number, now if your baby cannot be woken, is very hard to wake, or has gone floppy. A baby who cannot be woken, is very hard to wake, or has gone floppy with less muscle tone than usual is an emergency, according to both the AAP and the NHS.

Call 911 (or your local emergency number) now if your baby:

  • Can't wake up
The signs, the action and who says so
SignActionSource
Can't wake upCall 911 nowAAP
Change in muscle tone (decreased or floppy)Call 911 nowAAP
Difficult to wake, or cannot be wokenCall 999 or go to A&E (UK)NHS
FloppyCall 999 or go to A&E (UK)NHS

What the sources say

Can't wake up

AAP / HealthyChildren.orgSymptom Checker: Newborn Illness - How to RecognizePage date: undatedChecked on October 23, 2026

Change in muscle tone (decreased or floppy)

AAP / HealthyChildren.orgSymptom Checker: Newborn Illness - How to RecognizePage date: undatedChecked on October 23, 2026

is difficult to wake, or cannot be woken

NHS (UK)When to get urgent medical help for babies and children under 5Page date: August 6, 2026Checked on October 23, 2026

is floppy

NHS (UK)When to get urgent medical help for babies and children under 5Page date: August 6, 2026Checked on October 23, 2026

At 3 AM

Hard to wake is not the same as sleeping deeply. Try what usually wakes your baby: unwrap them, pick them up, talk to them, change the diaper. If none of that brings them round, that is what the sources mean by cannot be woken. Call.

Floppy means the baby feels looser in your arms than they did earlier today: the head, arms and legs hang more than usual. You know what your baby normally feels like, and the comparison is the point.

Have these ready: the baby's age in weeks, whether you can wake them at all, when they last fed and how much, whether there has been a fever, and whether the colour of the lips or face has changed.

Keep the baby with you and keep trying gently to rouse them while you wait. Do not put them back down to sleep it off.

The log fills in the rest once help is there: the last feed, the last wet diaper, any fever reading, any medicine, and when you first noticed the change.

Where the sources differ

The AAP's newborn illness page lists can't wake up and a change in muscle tone as reasons to call 911. The NHS urgent page lists difficult to wake, or cannot be woken, and floppy under 999 or A&E. They agree; this page shows both wordings so the sign is easy to recognise.

You know your baby best. If you think something is seriously wrong, get help now.

This page is general information, not medical advice. If you're worried, call your pediatrician.

Baby Tracker for Dads keeps these signs on its free When to call a doctor page, one tap from the log, with the same sources.

Written by The Baby Tracker for Dads teamChecked on October 23, 2026Medical review: pending. Every number on this page is quoted from the AAP, CDC or NHS; the links are above.