Erratic sleep patterns are something that many new parents would be happy to change about their babies. A normal newborn is a night owl, who is confused between day and night and spends most of the day asleep, while she is wide-eyed at night when her tired parents need to sleep. It is often not easy to change a baby's sleep schedule. Fortunately, there are some strategies you can use to adjust your newborn's sleep cycle to become a bit more conducive with your lifestyle.
Step 1
Increase the frequency of your daytime nursing of your baby, particularly in the early evening. When you lay her down, be sure you can hear and see her. Be aware of your baby making soft noises, moving around and sucking on her fist, as these are both clues that she could be hungry. By providing your baby the nutrition she needs when you are awake, it is more likely that she will sleep better at night.
Step 2
Stimulate your baby by carrying her more between feeding. Use a sling to carry her with you during the day to keep her awake longer in the daytime. This will make her feel more relaxed early in the evening, so she will be alert enough to interact with the family and stay up longer during the day, which will make sleeping at night easier for her.
Step 3
Establish a bedtime routine to help your baby sleep better at night. Give her a nightly bath just prior to putting her to sleep to help her calm down. Lather moisturizing cream onto your baby's skin after bathing her. After you give her a bath, rock her and read her a bedtime story.
Step 4
Do not wake your baby up for feedings at night if your baby is more than 6 weeks old, is healthy and is gaining weight. This will only make it more difficult for her to adjust to a normal sleep cycle at night.
Tips and Warnings
- Sleeping between six to eight hours without waking up is considered to be "sleeping through a night." Babies are usually not able to do this until they weigh approximately 12 or 13 lbs. or are at least 3 months old. Do not encourage your baby to sleep for more than the five hours that he needs during the day. Do not put your baby into a totally dark room either, as this can make him more prone to going into a deeper sleep in the day, which prevents him from sleeping soundly at nighttime.
