How Long Should My Newborn Sleep

Dont Let Your Newborn Sleep In The Car Seat

This is a contentious one, because weve all been there: Your baby conks out in the car seat while youre driving home or running errands, and the beauty of the bucket seat is that you can pop it out and transfer your sleeping infant inside for the remainder of her nap. But according to the AAP, allowing an infant to sleep in a bucket car seat thats been placed on the floor or clicked into a stroller is a safety hazard, as the babys head can fall forward and cause something called positional asphyxiation. Due to the angle of the seat design, its much safer to let your newborn nap in the car seat while its attached to the base and installed in the car. Letting your baby sleep in a car seat overnight when youre not awake enough to check on her is a serious baby sleep mistake. In fact, experts actually recommend limiting the time your baby spends in a car seat, bouncer or swing to 30 minutes, mostly for developmental reasons and the risk of developing positional plagiocephaly . However, wed like to acknowledge that this 30-minute maximum is downright impossible on road trips, for parents who have long work or daycare commutes, or when the swing is truly the only place you can get your infant to nap. Wed love to see some more research on this recommendation.

How Should Babies Sleep

During the first weeks of a baby’s life, some parents choose to room-share. Room-sharing is when you place your baby’s crib, portable crib, play yard, or bassinet in your own bedroom instead of in a separate nursery. This keeps baby nearby and helps with feeding, comforting, and monitoring at night. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends room-sharing without bed-sharing.

While room-sharing is safe, putting your infant to sleep in bed with you is not.Bed-sharing increases the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related deaths.

Follow these recommendations for a safe sleep environment for your little one:

What Are An Infant’s Sleep Needs

Sleep needs for babies vary depending on their age. Newborns do sleep much of the time. But their sleep is in very short segments. As a baby grows, the total amount of sleep slowly decreases. But the length of nighttime sleep increases.

Generally, newborns sleep about 8 to 9 hours in the daytime and about 8 hours at night. But they may not sleep more than 1 to 2 hours at a time. Most babies don’t start sleeping through the night without waking until they are about 3 months old, or until they weigh 12 to 13 pounds. About two-thirds of babies are able to sleep through the night on a regular basis by age 6 months.

Babies also have different sleep cycles than adults. Babies spend much less time in rapid eye movement sleep . And the cycles are shorter. The following are the usual nighttime and daytime sleep needs for newborns through 2 years old:

Also Check: How Long Should Newborn Naps Be

Get Sunlight And Avoid Artificial Lighting At Night

Make sure you expose yourself and your baby to bright light during the day. And keep lights outor at least dimmedafter sunset.

As noted above, natural lighting helps influence newborn sleep patterns. But it also helps you keep your own circadian rhythms from drifting, which is important if you are going avoid insomnia and be a source of daytime cues for your newborn.

What If My Baby Isn’t Sleeping Enough

There is also a chance that your baby might be sleeping too little and not clocking the required amount of shut-eye for her age.

If your baby sleep log shows that her daytime and nighttime hours fall short of what she should be getting in a 24-hour period and you see telltale signs of an overtired baby including persistent fussiness, trouble settling down to sleep at night, and short catnaps instead of full naps, to name a few talk to your pediatrician about how to help your little one get enough sleep.

Getting to know your baby’s sleep cues and following a consistent, soothing bedtime routine are among the tips you’ll likely get from your doctor.

From the What to Expect editorial team and Heidi Murkoff, author of What to Expect When You’re Expecting. What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations. Learn how we keep our content accurate and up-to-date by reading our medical review and editorial policy.

Read Also: What Can Cause Seizures In Newborns

How Much Sleep Do Kids Need

The amount of sleep that kids should get changes significantly as they get older. As they move from toddlers to school age, their sleep becomes increasingly similar to that of adults.

In this process, the sleep requirements for young children decline, and that is reflected primarily in a decreased amount of time spent napping during the day.

Even though kids sleep for fewer hours than babies, sleep remains critical to their overall health and development. Lack of sufficient sleep at a young age has been correlated with problems with weight, mental health, behavior, and cognitive performance.

How Long Will My Baby Sleep

Because babies this age are more awake, alert, and aware of their surroundings during daylight hours, they’re more likely to be tired at night and sleep. But the range of normal is still very wide.

Infants up to 3 months old should get 1417 hours of sleep over a 24-hour period, says the National Sleep Foundation. Many will have settled into a daily sleep routine of two or three naps during the day, followed by a longer “sleeping through the night” stretch after a late-night feeding.

Also Check: How Many Hours Should A Newborn Sleep At Night

: : : : : : : : : : :

Bibliography

Rybak, Anna et al. Gastro-Esophageal Reflux in Children. International journal of molecular sciences vol. 18,8 1671. 1 Aug. 2017, doi:10.3390/ijms18081671

M.D. Arthur H. Parmelee Jr. et al, “Sleep patterns of the newborn” The Journal of Paediatrics, February 1961Volume 58, Issue 2, Pages 241250

Goodlin-Jones, B L et al. Night waking, sleep-wake organization, and self-soothing in the first year of life. Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP vol. 22,4 : 226-33.

de Weerth, C., R.H. Zijl, and J.K. Buitelaar. Development of cortisol circadian rhythm in infancy. Early Hum Dev. 73: p. 39-52. 2003.

Other Factors Affecting Sleep:

In the first 12 weeks there are some other factors that can affect your baby’s ability to go to sleep and stay asleep. For babies who have a more predictable sleep pattern to their day though, it is far easier to pick up when something is amiss.

Hunger is often an issue with young babies. A hungry baby will not settle or sleep. Whether you are breast or bottle feeding, there are factors that need to be considered if you feel your baby seems to be constantly hungry or unsettled, such as an undiagnosed lip or tongue ties or reflux. If everything else is lined up for your baby to get them sleeping well, yet you suspect hunger is an issue, talk to your paediatrician about these possibilities.

Sickness can also affect a baby’s sleep. Common colds can mean your baby is uncomfortable or in pain and you should follow your medical professional’s advice here. Sometimes, more seriously, babies can suffer from ear or throat infections and show no outward symptoms other than a disturbance to their sleep. In most countries, healthcare is free for infants so if you are really struggling with your babys sleep or settling, it always pays to err on the side of caution and have your baby checked by your GP.

At this young age, babies change very quickly and so do their sleep needs. Our Sleep and Nutrition Program changes with your baby, as their awake times increase and their nap hours regulate, to help ensure they are settling and sleeping well both day and night.

Also Check: What Clothes Do You Need For A Newborn

Can A Bedtime Routine Help Your Baby Sleep

Yes. Your babys sleep schedule changes over time, but sticking to a routine can make bedtime easier for the both of you. Start setting a bedtime routine when your babys around 4 to 6 months old.

Heres how to get your baby ready for bedtime:

• Wind down any playtime fun.
• Turn off the phone, television, etc.
• Give your baby a warm bath.
• Softly stroke your babys back.
• Give your baby a pacifier.
• Sing to your baby or play soft music.
• Read your baby a bedtime story.

Stick to your babys sleep routine as much as you can. Plan ahead if your babys routine may need a temporary change, like if youre going out of town travel or attending family parties. Change his bed time the best you can but try to get back to his schedule and routine as soon as possible.

Newborns Communicate By Crying

The average newborn cries and fusses almost three hours a day until around 3 to 6 months of age. Some newborns cry more than this.

Newborns are usually the most unsettled during their first three months. They also have their longest periods of crying during this time.

A lot of this crying and fussing tends to happen in the late afternoon and evening.

Crying is a newborns main way of communicating, you should respond calmly and consistently.

Sometimes, there is no clear reason why a newborn is crying. They may not stop crying even though you try to help them settle.

From approximately two weeks to three to four months of age, newborns go through a stage of increased crying, which peaks around 6 to 8 weeks of age.

The crying may be difficult to soothe. If you need to take a break, place your newborn in their cot or another safe place and take a break for a few minutes. Your self-care is important.

This is a completely normal part of newborn development. There is no need for concern, as long as your baby is growing, gaining weight and is happy at other times.

However, if you are worried about your newborns crying, please talk to your maternal and child health nurse, doctor or phone the Maternal and Child Health Line on 13 22 29.

You May Like: How To Let Newborn Sleep At Night

How Long Do Newborns Sleep At Night

On average, newborns will sleep for around 16 or 17 hours in a 24-hour period, but in one- to three-hour stretches. This means your baby will sleep for several short blocks at night, totaling about eight hours altogether.Remember, since every baby is different, your baby may sleep more or less at night than this.As a general guide, hereâs how much of your newbornâs total sleep time occurs during daytime and nighttime, and how those hours shift month by month:

Newborn Sleep Cycles: Why Newborns Are Light Sleepers

When adults first fall asleep, we pass through a couple of light sleep stages, and then plunge into a bout of deep sleep.

Afterwards, we switch into REM, or rapid eye movement sleep, a sleep stage famous for its association with dreaming, and the loss of muscle tone. We dont move much during REM.

When REM is over, we either awaken, or return to light sleep and begin the cycle again. For the average adult, a single sleep cycle lasts about 90-100 minutes. We may partially awaken many times during the night. But were more likely to wake up all the way during transitions between stages, during light sleep, and during REM.

Newborn sleep is also characterized by sleep stages and cycles, but there are crucial differences.

First, babies typically begin their sleep bouts in the newborn equivalent of REM .

Second, newborns in REM dont usually experience muscle atonia.

Unlike us, they may thrash around, stretch, twitch, and even vocalize. The results can fool parents into thinking their babies are waking up, when they are actually experiencing normal REM sleep.

Third, newborn sleep cycles are shorter around 50-55 minutes for the average infant and REM makes up a much bigger proportion of sleep.

Its not unusual for newborns to spend more than half their total sleep time in REM . Indeed, several studies suggest that, over the course of a 24 hour day, some newborns spent may spend as much as 75% of their sleep time in active sleep .

Read Also: What Size Bottle For Newborn

Baby Sleep Schedule: 10

Read 8 Solutions to Get Your Baby to Sleep Through the Night for additional tips on getting your baby to finally sleep all the way through the night and tips for helping baby sleep alone to help your baby become an independent sleeper.

Ultimately, these baby sleep schedules are just suggestions. Every baby is different. We cant stress that enough. So, dont compare your babys sleeping habits to another babys because they WILL be different. Like we said, some babies start sleeping for longer stretches right at six weeks while other babies will take much longer to reach this milestone.

Over & Under Tiredness:

Babies in this age bracket can get overtired really quickly and easily and then need a lot of help to switch off and settle to sleep. So naturally, a lot of parents will try to avoid this by settling their baby to sleep after just 1-1.5hrs awake time or as soon as their baby starts to show tired signs. However, overtiredness very regularly gets mistaken for its doppelganger: under tiredness .

Once the newborn sleepiness wears off, your baby may start to exhibit quite unsettled behavior – crying more, being difficult to settle to sleep, catnapping or waking very frequently overnight. Many parents assume this unsettled behaviour is due to colic, reflux or overtiredness, when in actual fact, their baby is undertired and needing some more awake time between naps now.

Don’t Miss: What Causes Breathing Problems In Newborn Babies

How Much Should A Newborn Sleep

It’s been a long day at the hospital. Your new baby is probably snuggling up to you for her first small sleeps and she’ll be at it for a while.

âI never realised how much skin-to skin contact with my baby mattered. When it’s time for bed and she feels distressed, we spend some time touching and reassuring, then she quickly calms down.â

Germaine, mum of Amos, 3 months

During the first few weeks, newborns can sleep up to 16-20 hours a day in 3-4 hour stretches.

If You Are Breastfeeding You Are Likely To Get More Sleep If You Keep Your Baby Nearby

The World Health Organization recommends that babies share a bedroom with their parents, and its a recommendation that makes breastfeeding less disruptive. A recent study found that breastfeeding women got more sleep when they co-slept with baby . In fact, mothers who co-slept and breastfed got more sleep than did mothers who bottle-fed their babies .

Read Also: How To Rid Newborn Puppies Of Fleas