Parents of newborn babies often dream about how much easier things will be when their babies are a little bit older, like seven months old. They imagine that the baby will be less fussy and sleep through the night. In reality, seven-month-old babies do have different sleeping patterns than newborns, but they are still not similar to those of adults. The sleeping habits of seven-month-old babies vary based on their physical and emotional development.
Sleep Cycles
According to Pediatrician Dr. Bill Sears, babies have much different sleep cycles than adults do. Even seven-month-old babies doze in and out of sleep. Babies around this age still move from being awake to being in a light stage of active sleep, to being in a deep, relaxed sleep over and over again. When a parent puts a baby down to sleep and the baby wakes right up, it is most likely due to the fact that the seven-months-old is still in the light cycle of sleep. It can take a good 20 minutes to get him into a deeper sleep.
Length of Sleep
According to the parenting website BabyCenter.com, babies age six months and older normally sleep about 11 and a half to 15 hours of sleep in 24 hours. Though they still don't often sleep through the whole night, seven-month-old babies can sleep for longer periods at a time, such as four or five hours straight. In the day time, seven-month-old babies usually take two long daytime naps in addition to their night time sleeping, states BabyCenter.com.
Bedtime Routine
Even if a bedtime routine was never established when the baby was younger, seven months of life is not too late to establish a bedtime ritual. BabyCenter.com recommends doing something every night before putting the baby to sleep. This helps to sooth the baby and remind him that it's sleep time so that he falls asleep easier. The bedtime routine can be taking a bath, reading a book or listing to lullabies together.
Sleep Schedule
When a baby is seven months old, he may not be adjusted to a regular sleep schedule. Yet it is possible for the parents to sleep train him so that he becomes more inclined to sleep on a schedule. BabyCenter.com states that if parents put their babies to sleep around the same times every day and every night, the baby will become used to those times and naturally adjust. Putting a seven-month-old to bed at the same time each night can also help him to fall asleep on his own.
Sleep Position
Unfortunately, even seven month old babies are still at risk for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). While they are not at as high of a risk as newborns, its still important to put a seven-month-old baby to sleep on his back, rather than his stomach. The Lucile Packard's Children's Hospital at Stanford states that putting an infant to sleep on the back instead of the stomach reduces the risk of SIDS.
