Newborn babies don't spend most of their time in a wakeful state, spending up to 18 hours sleeping. However, periods of sleep are extremely brief. Your baby may not sleep through the night until he reaches the age of 6 months. If you're the parent of a newborn, expect many sleepless nights until your child's sleeping habits evolve into a pattern more similar to your own.
Understanding Your Baby's Sleep
Your newborn's sleep schedule is closely tied to her need to be fed, says the National Sleep Foundation, or NSF, although it can be interrupted due to a diaper that requires changing or her desire to be cuddled and nurtured. During the first few weeks of your baby's life, she can't tell the difference between day and night. Because her circadian rhythms aren't intact, she splits her sleep almost equally during the day and the night, sleeping for brief periods of time, often for only one or two hours at a time, states the MayoClinic.com.
Why Babies Wake
According to the Nemours Foundation, your baby's hunger supersedes his need to sleep, even during the middle of the night. Newborn babies need to be fed every three to four hours. Premature babies and those with a low birth weight may require even more frequent feedings. Formula-fed babies require fewer feedings than breastfed infants, who may want to nurse every two hours. A baby who won't sleep through the night can be frustrating to any new parent who faces the next day in a fuzzy mental state caused by sleep deprivation. However, as your baby's circadian rhythms emerge and his need for frequent feedings decrease, he'll sleep for longer and longer periods during the night.
It Gets Easier
Your baby's circadian rhythms begin to develop at around 6 weeks, says the NSF. When she turns 3 months, she might sleep in five-hour intervals, says MayoClinic.com. Six months is the magic number. Without the need for nighttime feedings, your baby may well sleep through the entire night, in blocks of time that last from nine to 12 hours.
Self-Soothing
Although newborns have their own agenda when it comes to sleep, you can help your newborn develop healthy sleeping habits as soon as your bring her home from the hospital. Always place your baby in her own crib or bassinet when she sleeps, advises the Nemours Foundation. It's fine to keep your child in the same room with you at night; however, the American Academy of Pediatrics, or AAP, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission stress that "cosleeping" with your baby isn't advised for safety reasons. It's also important that your baby learn how to "self-soothe" to make getting her to bed an easier task as she grows older. Put your baby in her crib when she's nodding off so she learns to put herself to sleep independently.
Other Sleeping Problems
Some babies sleep longer and more restfully during the day, saving the night hours for periods of playfulness and activity. This day-night reversal can eventually be remedied, assures the AAP, but it can take a toll on frazzled parents. Until your newborn adapts to nighttime sleep, the best thing you can do is develop a consistent, predictable routine to lay a foundation for him as he grows older. The AAP advises keeping your baby in areas of the home that are busy, noisy and well-lit during the day. Make nighttime quiet time. Keep your house calm and dimly lit. Avoid stimulating play--save that for daytime. Limit nighttime engagement with your baby to feeding, changing, burping and quiet assurance. These lifestyle adjustments send the signal to your baby that nighttime is for sleep.
