Tips for Helping You and Your Newborn Sleep Like Babies

When you arrive home from the hospital with your newborn, you may suddenly realize that parenting is a bit more involved than you expected. For experienced parents, one more child also means exhausting your mental, physical and spiritual resources. One of the first things new parents must get used to is a new sleep pattern. For at least the first four months, your new baby will be waking regularly throughout the night, and this is very healthy.

You may be given different advice and opinions from various friends, family and your baby's pediatrician; so it is important that you research the information yourself. By taking responsibility in this manner, you will be saving yourself worry and will be giving yourself confirmation and assurance that you are doing what's best for your baby.

Newborns sleep when they are tired, usually between 16 and 18 hours a day, spread over 6-7 sleep periods¹. This is partially because of your baby's diet. Babies have very tiny tummies, and their food is quickly digested. This causes them to become hungry more often, and sleep is needed for proper growth.

A handful of babies can sleep through the night (about five hours) by two to four months, but most will not develop a mature sleep pattern until they are at least one year of age.

If you are concerned about how well your baby is sleeping, review the following and consider how your baby is doing:

Some sleep experts say that a child who always falls asleep with something in his mouth will develop a "negative sleep association". Others call it a "pleasant sleep association"². If you want to help your baby to fall asleep on his own, try removing the breast/bottle/pacifier before he falls asleep, but start out slowly, since babies need comforting often.

Babies make sleep noises which do not mean that they are hungry. Learn to read your baby's cues. If she is hungry, feed her as quickly as possible so she will return to sleep easily, but if she is only making noises, let her sleep!

Give your baby day and night associations for sleep time. During the day, have him sleep where it is light out and there are noises. At night, have him sleep where it is dark and quiet. This will help him to develop a sleep pattern.

Learn to read your baby's sleepy signs: if she is fussy, yawning, quiet, losing interest in toys or looking "glazed", put her in bed. Babies who stay up too long will become sleep-deprived which can add to the problem.

Since you know that your baby will be waking up every night for some time, it is good to get comfortable with the idea. Getting frustrated will not change a thing, so try to relax and find a better solution for the problem.

Sources:
1 & 2. "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley (200)