Taking care of a newborn gives a lot of joy and excitement, but it also means a lot of sleep loss. It’s a fact: newborns can’t sleep through the night, and you won’t be able to either.
The biggest issue that most parents worry about even before the birth of their new baby is probably the fact that sleep will become a ‘rare commodity.
We all hear horror stories of parents who are so tired that it affects their health, their work performance, and even the ability to complete simple daily tasks.
To help minimize the effect that a newborn’s sleep pattern may have on you (and believe us, it will have an effect on your new parents out there!), here are some tips to help you create a good sleep routine for your new baby.
What can you read in this article?
- Sleeping habits for newborns: How much sleep does your baby need?
- The importance of bedtime routine
- How to change your baby’s sleeping pattern from day to night
- Sample bedtime routine for your baby
Sleeping habits for newborns: How much sleep does your baby need?
For newborns in their first year of life, there is a wide range of normal sleep habits. Sleep cycles are short bursts of sleep for newborns. The average sleep cycle lasts between 20 and 50 minutes.
Active sleep and peaceful sleep are the two types of sleep cycles. The newborn may wiggle, grunt, open their eyes, scream out, or breathe noisily or erratically during active sleep. They will lie reasonably still and their breathing will be more even during silent sleep.
1. Birth through 3 months old
- The average total amount of sleep: 15-16+ hours
- Average numbers of daytime naps: 3-5 hours
- The average amount of daytime sleep: 7-8 hours
Most newborn babies spend more time sleeping than awake. Their overall daily sleep time varies. Babies will wake up in the middle of the night to be fed. Their sleep might also be disrupted by being excessively hot or chilly.
Newborns sleep relatively lightly, with active sleep accounting for half of their sleeping period. Expect your baby to need nourishment every 2–3 hours around the clock throughout the first few weeks of life.
2. Three to 6 months old
- The average total amount of sleep: 14-16 hours
- Average numbers of daytime naps: 3-4 naps
- The average amount of daytime sleep: 4-6 hours
As your baby gets older, he or she will require less night feeds and will be able to sleep for longer periods of time. At the start of their sleep cycles, the amount of active sleep begins to decrease, and they begin to enter quiet sleep.
Longer sleep stretches likely will become more consistent at night. But around 4 months of age, you may see a brief return to more nighttime wake-ups as your baby works on developing more adult sleep patterns. They still have a habit of waking up at least once in the middle of the night.
After your first 6 to 8 weeks as a new parent, you’ll probably find that your baby is more attentive during the day and wants to spend more time engaging with you. You may also notice that your baby is missing one of their naps and sleeping an hour less every day around this time.
Sleeping habits for newborns. | Image from Pexels
3. Six to 8 months old
- The average total amount of sleep: 14 hours
- Average numbers of daytime naps: 3-4 naps
- The average amount of daytime sleep: 4-6 hours
Even if your baby doesn’t need to eat during the night, anticipate him or her to wake up at some point. During these months, some newborns may have temporary sleep regressions when they reach developmental milestones like sitting up and separation anxiety.
4. Nine to 12 months old
- The average total amount of sleep: 14 hours
- Average numbers of daytime naps: 2 naps
- The average amount of daytime sleep: 3-4 hours
The majority of babies sleep for 10 to 12 hours at a time during the night. When key developmental milestones such as pulling to stand, strolling, and talking occur, a sleep regression may occur.
The importance of bedtime routine and sleeping habits for newborns
Implementing a sleep routine or sleeping habits for newborns at the appropriate age will help you reclaim some control over your life. Here’s the importance of having a bedtime routine or sleeping habits for newborns.
1. Your infant will sleep better if you follow a night-time routine.
Babies are always learning and exploring new things. Your youngster might be stimulated by even the tiniest things or acts. Establishing a quiet, soothing baby sleep pattern will assist them in unwinding before bedtime.
It’s crucial to maintain your schedule as consistent and predictable as possible because your baby will be more relaxed if he or she knows what to expect next.
2. A bedtime ritual might also assist you in unwinding.
While your infant will find this time calming and will fall asleep more easily, you will be able to spend quality time with your child. This is a terrific time to bond with your family and get away from the stresses of everyday life.
Sleeping habits for newborns. | Image from Pexels
3. Bedtime routines help during transitional periods.
Baby bedtime rituals also aid in putting your baby to sleep through sleep regressions and transitional times. Many babies experience interruptions to their usual sleep pattern around the age of 4 to 6 weeks.
Which can be difficult for both you and your baby. Maintaining a consistent nighttime schedule will assist children in navigating this adjustment.
When your baby hits the 6-week mark, he or she can begin to internalize a schedule, and you can feel a little more in control! You’ll be grateful for your baby’s routine once your maternity leave is up and you have to return to work, especially if you have other children at home to look after.
How to change your baby’s sleeping pattern from day to night
By the age of three to six months, most newborns have established normal sleep patterns and can sleep till daybreak. You’ll probably notice a sleep pattern emerge as your baby’s brain matures throughout the first few months, though it may not be the pattern you want.
Follow these simple measures to help your newborn establish good sleeping habits and patterns for babies.
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Allow your baby to nap on a regular basis.
Most babies can’t stay awake for more than two hours at a time during the first six to eight weeks. If you wait any longer, your infant may become overtired and have difficulty falling asleep.
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Allow your newborn to fall asleep on his own.
Around the age of three months, your baby should be able to fall asleep on his own. Naturally, this does not imply that he will!
Put your baby down when he’s sleepy but still awake to encourage him to settle down to sleep. You can stay with him until he falls asleep if you choose, but be prepared to do so every time he wakes up in the night.
It’s crucial how you put your kid to sleep. If you nurse or rock your baby to sleep every night for the first eight weeks, he may come to expect the same treatment in the future.
Some experts recommend avoiding rocking or nursing your baby to sleep, but it’s up to you and your baby to figure out what works best for you.
It’s a good idea to use the same method every night if you want to build a consistent sleep routine.
READ MORE:
How to boost baby immunity at 2 months
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When your baby is drowsy but awake, put him to bed.
Sleeping habits for newborns. | Image from Pexels
By the time he’s 6 to 8 weeks old, you can try putting him in his crib or bassinet when he’s sleepy but still awake to give him an opportunity to go asleep on his own. However, this method does not work with all newborns. When he’s a little older, you can always try again.
When your baby is cheerful and awake, you can also place him in his crib or bassinet during the day. This will assist him in forming positive associations with it and it is one of the sleeping habits for newborns that you can try.
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Teach your baby the difference between night and day by establishing positive sleep associations
“Sleep associations are incredibly strong. The repetitive nature of a parent’s exact actions before bed is very powerful. It doesn’t matter that there’s no massage or books, what matters is that we created a reliable set of steps before bed that cue her brain and body that it’s time to sleep…you could stand on your head as the first step in your bedtime routine, as long as you do it every night.” – National Sleep Foundation
It’s critical to establish a positive sleep association for your baby. Some settling practices, such as keeping your baby until they go asleep, may be difficult to maintain over time.
Your newborn may develop a negative sleep association as a result of this, requiring them to be held to fall asleep. You must make the decision that is best for you and your family.
The routine could include the following:
- soaking in the tub
- putting on a fresh nappy and changing into nightclothes
- tucking them in at night
- listening to a bedtime story
- creating a relaxing ambiance by reducing the lights in the room
- kissing and cuddling goodnight
- singing a lullaby or having a wind-up musical mobile that you may turn on after your baby is asleep
- brushing their teeth (if they have any)
- when they are sleepy yet awake, put them in their cot
- recognizing and reacting to indicators of sleepiness
(rubbing his eyes, swiping his hand across his ear, sobbing, whining, looking blankly into space, yawning, stretching a lot, becoming quiet and still, and losing interest in toys or in people)
- sticking to a calm, positive, and consistent routine, including feeding, playing, and sleeping.
- using a variety of ways to calm your infant
While there is little that can be done regarding the baby’s instinctive needs, you can help illustrate the difference between day and night by interacting with your baby more during the day and limiting stimulation at night.
This simple habit aids babies in understanding that day is the time for noisy stimulating activities, while night is for resting and quiet time.
During daytime:
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- When he wakes up, change his clothes to help him comprehend that it’s a new day.
- As much as possible, play, chat, and communicate with him.
- Make social daytime feeds. As you feed him, talk and sing to him.
- Keep his room and the rest of the house light and airy.
- Allow him to hear commonplace sounds like the radio or the washing machine.
- If he nods off during a feed, gently wake him up
Stimulate your baby by talking and playing with him during the day and try to limit his nap to no more than 2 hours. This will hopefully tire him out sufficiently by sunset and he will sleep through most of the night, only waking up for milk and then promptly falling back asleep again.
Place your baby in a noisy daytime environment such as the living room to help prevent him from oversleeping. At night, put him to sleep in a quiet and dimly lit room where there are minimal disturbances/distractions. This also adheres to the “day and night” cycle that was mentioned earlier.
After a few days of repeating this, your newborn will probably be accustomed to sleeping longer hours at night instead of during the day.
During the night:
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- Put him in his pajamas to signal the start of his nighttime routine and to signal the conclusion of the day.
- Don’t talk to him while you’re feeding him.
- Reduce the amount of light and noise in the room.
- Try not to chat too much and keep your voice low.
- As soon as your baby has been fed and changed, put them down.
- Do not change your infant unless it is absolutely necessary.
- Do not interact with your child
If it is acceptable to you, you can also choose to minimize contact with your baby at night to help build their independence.
A newborn can (and will) easily fall asleep most of the time due to their need for rest, and if we avoid repeating certain habits to “help” them, they will slowly be able to associate the lack of interaction with others (especially you) with bedtime.
Habits like rocking, cradling, and giving them milk to help them get to sleep might only make them rely on these forms of comfort in order to fall asleep. Avoiding them will prevent the formation of bad – and very hard to quit – sleep habits down the road.
Take note though that the results of these practices will not be experienced immediately, but will definitely be seen later on. They will also help further down the road when your child’s separation anxiety kicks in at about 9 months old.
Image from Pexels
Sample bedtime routine for your baby
Getting started in your bedtime routine will depend on your baby. However, the best pre-bedtime routine may last between 1 and 15 minutes, depending on your baby’s temperament and the kind of day they’ve had.
Here’s a timeline of what your bedtime routine should look like:
- 45 minutes to 1 hour before sleep: Give your little one a bath, clean diaper, lotion, etc.
- 30 to 45 minutes before sleep: Give your baby a massage, put on his or her pajama, and swaddle him or her. Turn on the ambient noise and dim/darken the room.
- 15 to 30 minutes before sleep: Nursing/feeding, as well as any relaxing activities of your choice.
- 10 to 15 minutes before sleep: Move to the baby’s bedroom if you haven’t already. Burp (if necessary), and rock or snuggle gently.
- 5 minutes before sleep: Your baby should be really sleepy. Before they fall asleep, place them in their cot.
- Sleep time: When your infant has fallen asleep, try leaving the room.
Predictability is something that babies adore. They begin to recognize patterns at a young age, and the more constant we can be with our baby’s environment, the happier and calmer they will be simply because they know what to expect on a daily basis.
Consistency is the key!
The most important key in creating a good sleep routine is that it must be consistent, especially in the first few months. Once you have the routine down pat, your baby will most likely be more adaptable to slight adjustments, such as a slightly later bedtime.
If you choose to let your baby learn to comfort himself and settle down to sleep, there will definitely be some uncomfortable moments when your baby has difficulty self-soothing and you may be tempted to help him out. Learn to ‘ride it out’ though, and let him try comforting himself.
Some people call this the ‘cry it out method.’ It may be hard to hear your baby cry as he tries to soothe himself to sleep, but some parents believe that it helps to foster independence later on.
Take note that it is also very important to praise your baby for his efforts in falling asleep alone. This will help build his confidence and encourage him to try again the following night.
Once your child is older, try to also explain that sleeping soundly at night is very important and that a good night’s rest will help him to grow up big and strong.
Having a bedtime routine for your infant or toddler is a simple and effective technique to let them know that it’s time to sleep. Your baby will recognize a sequence of events from a young age, and when the last event is going to bed, the bedtime ritual will be critical to them settling peacefully.
Establishing good sleeping habits for your newborn may be challenging at first but once you’ve gotten the hang of it both you and your baby will be all the better for it — and sleep more soundly too!
Additional information from Matt Doctor
