You may have heard stories from people who say their babies started sleeping through the night at six weeks. You should know up front that, no, that's not normal. Their tiny stomachs can't hold enough milk or formula to hold them over for very long. So in most cases, they'll have you up every few hours.
The First Weeks
According to the experts at the Nemours Foundation, newborns need between 16 and 18 hours of sleep every day. Too bad for parents it's not continuous sleep. Because babies have no circadian rhythm until around six to nine weeks, they can't tell the difference between night and day. So they will typically sleep for two to three hour periods between one to two hour periods of being awake, all throughout the day and night. As they grow, however, babies begin to adapt to the rhythms of life outside the womb, their periods of wakefulness increase and their sleep patterns begin to mimic yours more and more.
Growth Spurts
Infants will have frequent growth spurts in the first weeks and months of life. They usually occur around 7 to 10 days, 2 to 3 weeks, 4 to 6 weeks, 3 months and 4 months, according to Baby Fit. During these times, you may notice that your baby is sleeping noticeably more. This is due to her need to conserve energy.
Routine
How we sleep as adults is based on habits and signals that it's time to sleep. The same is true for babies, according to Nemours. But it's up to you as parents to establish a routine for them to get used to in the first place. For example, your routine could consist of a bath, pajamas, reading a book, feeding and then rocking. If you stay consistent with the same routine every night---and to a lesser extent during the day for naps---your baby will start to catch on and know that it's time to sleep.
Sleep Positions
In recent years, a link has been found between Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and babies sleeping on their stomachs, according to the Children's Hospital at Stanford. Experts also point out that side-sleeping carries a higher risk for SIDS than back sleeping, so they recommend always putting baby to sleep on her back. There is also evidence to suggest that spitting up and/or choking may be more likely when baby sleeps in the prone position. The consensus is that back sleeping is the safest for your baby.
Considerations
Unless your doctor advises you to do so, it's not necessary to wake your baby during the night to eat. However, the experts at University of Virginia Health System recommend not letting your newborn sleep longer than five hours at a time in the first six weeks.
Also, you should contact your pediatrician if you think your baby is either sleeping too much or not sleeping enough.
