Bringing home a new baby is an exciting, overwhelming and terrifying time. "Does your baby sleep through the night yet?" is a question parents of new babies are often asked and feel defeated answering. Realistic expectations of your new baby, as well as some helpful tips, will help you make the transition from frequent night wakings to longer periods of sleep.
Adult Sleep
Understanding normal sleep cycles is important to help your baby sleep. After drifting off to sleep, the adult brain enters deep sleep, also called non-rapid eye movement, NREM, sleep. During this sleep stage your body is relaxed, your brain is quiet, your breathing is shallow and rhythmical. The deep sleep stage lasts about an hour and a half, and then light sleep, or rapid eye movement, REM, sleep, begins. During light sleep, your brain is active and you have dreams, your eyes move beneath closed eye lids and you body stirs. On average, and adult spends six hours in deep sleep and two hours in light sleep each night.
Infant Sleep
Infants sleep for 16 or more hours per day, but that sleep is broken into one to three hour segments. This erratic sleep pattern is due to an infant's immature nervous system and need to eat every two to three hours. Infants go through deep and light sleep cycles just like adults do, but spend more time in light sleep than deep. Author and pediatrician Dr. William Sears states that infants spend less time in deep sleep than an adult per cycle, and twice as much time in light sleep.
While it may seem frustrating that an infant wakes up so easily and often, it actually is a survival mechanism. Sleeping lightly enables babies to wake up from minor disturbances, including hunger, feeling cold or hot and difficulty breathing. The Mayo Clinic states that by three months of age, your baby can sleep for five hours at night, and by nine months of age will sleep for nine to 12 hours at night. Sears describes infant sleep differently, that between three to six months of age your baby will wake for one to two feedings at night.
Establish Routine
Individuals of all ages benefit from a routine before sleeping at night. A nighttime routine for an infant should include quiet activities, such as a bath, changing into pajamas and reading a book. The consistency of completing this routine every night will help your baby learn it is time for nighttime sleep. When your baby wakes up during the night, keep interaction to a minimum, reserving activity and excitement for the daytime. With lights dimmed or off, use a quiet voice and calm movement to take care of baby's needs and then help him back to sleep. If your baby fusses, rock, sway, cuddle or sing softly with your baby to help them settle down. You cannot "spoil" your baby in the first few months of life helping them calm down.
Day versus Night
Make daytime fun and exciting. Active interaction, engaging your infant and allowing the normal light and sound stimulation of daytime will help your infant learn day from night. Naps are an important part of daytime as well. Create a different routine for before naps than nighttime sleep. A nap time routine could be as simple as a diaper change and quiet wind down period of rocking, swaying or singing. Environmental differences, such as the ambient light during the day and background noises, will also help your baby recognize the difference between daytime and nighttime sleep.
Have Realistic Expectations
Your baby's ability to sleep at night has no bearing on your parenting ability. Sleeping at night is simply a goal both you and baby are working towards, and every new parent has the same goal. While some sleep habits are learned, others are a part of your baby's personality, which is something that takes time to understand. Some people enjoy staying up late at night while others wake early in the morning; some fall asleep easily within minutes and others struggle to relax into sleep. Babies are the same, but it will take time to learn your baby's preferences and personality. If you are ever worried about your baby's sleep, call his pediatrician to discuss your concerns.
