Can A Newborn Sleep Too Much
If a baby is sleeping more than normal but is thriving, then extra sleep is necessary due to any number of reasons. According to MedicalNewsToday, those reasons include:
- Growth spurts that occur every few weeks up to the three-month-old mark
- Vaccinations causing an immune response requiring extra sleep
- Common cold that requires extra sleep to fight it off
Extra sleep can be caused by an issue that is not allowing the newborn to physically and emotionally grows. According to SleepyBaby.org, those things include:
- Jaundice: If the baby has a yellow tint to his skin or whites of his eyes, then it is likely he has jaundice. Jaundice is caused by the bilirubin in the bloodstream not being removed due to the baby’s liver being too immature, according to the Mayo Clinic. While it is common for most newborns to be able to fight off jaundice with proper feeding and a bit of sun exposure, if the little one becomes lethargic and refuses to eat, medical intervention is necessary.
- Not eating enough: A baby is eating enough if he is putting on consistent weight. However, if he wakes just to feed for a few minutes after several hours, he is not getting enough in his stomach. This can lead not only to hunger but to dehydration. As such, if the baby becomes lethargic, is not calm after eating, or is losing weight, according to SleepBaby.org, a doctor should be seen immediately.
Your Baby’s Sleeping Position
Always put your baby to sleep on their back with their feet touching the end of the cot.
Do not let your baby sleep while lying on their tummy. Babies who sleep on their tummies have a higher risk of cot death. You can give your baby some tummy time when they are awake.
If your baby always lies with their head in the same position they might develop a flat head. This is called plagiocephaly.
You can help prevent this when putting your baby down to sleep on their back. When they are lying flat, you can alternate their head position so that sometimes they face left and sometimes they face right.
Living With Colicky Baby
Having a colicky baby can be very stressful for parents. It can make you feel tired, guilty, and even depressed. Your babys healthcare provider can suggest some things to do that may help to calm your baby. Its important to know that colic is a common condition in young babies. It will go away on its own, often by age 3 months. In most cases it is gone by age 6 months.
If possible, have someone else watch your baby when you become stressed. If no one else is available, make sure your baby is safe and go into another room. Distract yourself from your babys cries. Crying will not hurt your baby. Some communities have free or low-cost care called respite nurseries. You can leave your baby there for short periods of time.
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How Long Should A 1 Month Old Sleep At Night Without Eating
A one-month-old should sleep approximately 15 to 18 hours per day, including naps. At night, they should go for about 8 to 9 hours without eating.
If you let your baby sleep, he or she will be fine. Some babies require more time to sleep at night, but many others require fewer hours. Newborn babies require 14 to 17 hours of sleep per day, according to the National Sleep Foundation. When a baby is born, he or she requires liquid feeding every three hours. Your baby will eat more milk as they grow, allowing them to reach for more milk after each feeding. By the age of six months, a baby can be fed and sleep for about four hours at a time. After your pediatrician has given you the go-ahead, you can let your baby wake up at night when they are hungry. For the first few weeks of their lives, your baby will require an hour of sleep per night. If your baby wakes up and displays signs of hunger, he or she must always be fed.
At this early age, a baby is learning how to regulate his or her sleep and wake up on his or her own. They are also learning to set a routine for sleeping. Babies between the ages of four and six months can sleep for up to ten hours without food. They are beginning to develop a regular sleep schedule as they get older. They also know when they need to sleep and when they need to wake up on their own.
Wake To Feed But Dont Schedule
The advice to wake a baby for the above reasons doesnt mean we are suggesting putting your baby on a schedule You should still be feeding your baby on demand and when they show hunger cues! La Leche League writes, Scheduling feedings for a baby who is exclusively nursing frequently throughout the day and night, especially during the first six weeks has been correlated with slow weight gain.
Just know that this may end up being a lot sooner than every 3 hours with more than 8 â 12 feeds in a day. When your baby shows theyre hungry, feed them!
Instead, the advice is that you shouldnt let your newborn baby go longer than 3 hours between feedings which means if your baby keeps sleeping past that mark, you need to wake them up to eat. As your baby grows, so does this amount of time.
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Some Babies Cant Sleep Train Without Crying It Out
Some babies, for whatever reason, may end up needing to cry it out as part of their sleep training.
Perhaps youve tried other methods first and they havent worked. Maybe everyone is just so exhausted that you need a quick remedy now.
Whatever the case, there are some babies that will do better after using a variation on crying it out. If thats the case, try a variation on cry it out. See how it works. Because sometimes, all that stands between your family and a better nights sleep is a small amount of crying.
In any case, best of luck as you sleep train your baby and figure out how long they should cry.
References: What Scientific Studies Say About Newborn Sleep
Anders TF. 1979. Night-waking in infants during the first year of life. Pediatrics 63: 860-864.
Bennett C, Underdown A, and Barlow J. 2013. Massage for promoting mental and physical health in typically developing infants under the age of six months. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013 Apr 30 4:CD005038. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD005038.pub3.
Cheruku SR, Montgomery-Downs HE, Farkas SL, Thoman EB, and Lammi-Keefe CJ. 2002. Higher maternal plasma docosahexaenoic acid during pregnancy is associated with more mature neonatal sleep-state patterning. Am J Clin Nutr 76:608-13.
Cubero J, Valero V, Sánchez J, Rivero M, Parvez H, Rodríguez AB, Barriga C. 2005. The circadian rhythm of tryptophan in breast milk affects the rhythms of 6-sulfatoxymelatonin and sleep in newborn. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 26:657-61.
Cubero J, Narciso D, Terrón P, Rial R, Esteban S, Rivero M, Parvez H, Rodríguez AB, Barriga C. 2007. Chrononutrition applied to formula milks to consolidate infants sleep/wake cycle. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 28:360-6.
Custodio RJ, Junior CE, Milani SL, Simões AL, de Castro M, Moreira AC. 2007. The emergence of the cortisol circadian rhythm in monozygotic and dizygotic twin infants: the twin-pair synchrony. Clin Endocrinol . 66:192-7.
Dement W and Vaughan C. 1999. The promise of sleep. New York: Random House.
Doan T, Gardiner A, Gay CL, Lee KA. 2007 Breast-feeding increases sleep duration of new parents. J Perinat Neonatal Nurs. 21:200-6.
Image credits for Newborn sleep patterns
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Normal Sleep Patterns For Babies
Newborns typically split their 1417 hours of sleep between daytime and nighttime sleep, though in small chunks of time. Babies dont typically sleep longer stretches until about 3 to 6 months old.
When you bring your newborn home, theyll take turns sleeping and waking up ready to feed. A newborn baby might sleep for 1 1/2 to 3 hours and then wake up hungry.
Your little one may also need an equal number of diaper changes. Your best bet is to try to get some shut-eye while theyre snoozing, no matter what time of the day it is.
Your babys sleep patterns will change as they grow, week by week.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that infants 4 to 12 months old should get between 12 and 16 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period.
Let your doctor know if you think your newborn is sleeping too much or too little:
- If your baby is a fresh newborn, 3 months or under, they shouldnt have less than 11 hours of sleep and not more than 19 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period.
- Babies 4 to 11 months shouldnt get less than 10 hours of sleep and not more than 18 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period.
How Can I Get My Baby Used To Night And Day
It’s a good idea to teach your baby that night-time is different from daytime from the start. During the day, open curtains, play games and don’t worry too much about everyday noises when they sleep.
At night, you might find it helpful to:
- keep the lights down low
- not talk much and keep your voice quiet
- put your baby down as soon as they’ve been fed and changed
- not change your baby unless they need it
- not play with your baby
Your baby will gradually learn that night-time is for sleeping.
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What Are The Different Alert Phases Of A Newborn
Babies also have differences in how alert they are during the time they are awake. When a newborn awakens at the end of the sleep cycles, there is typically a quiet alert phase. This is a time when the baby is very still, but awake and taking in the environment. During the quiet alert time, babies may look or stare at objects, and respond to sounds and motion. This phase usually progresses to the active alert phase in which the baby is attentive to sounds and sights, and moves actively. After this phase is a crying phase. The babys body moves erratically, and he or she may cry loudly. Babies can easily be overstimulated during the crying phase. It is usually best to find a way of calming the baby and the environment. Holding a baby close or swaddling may help calm a crying baby.
It is usually best to feed babies before they reach the crying phase. During the crying phase, they can be so upset that they may refuse the breast or bottle. In newborns, crying is a late sign of hunger.
Some Kids Cant Handle Crying It Out For Any Length Of Time
Now, just as some parents cant handle sleep training via cry it out, there are some babies who cant sleep train with it. For these babies, crying works them up so much that they cant go to sleep.
That doesnt mean that they cant sleep train. It just means they cant sleep train with crying involved.
These babies usually sleep train great with a tear-free option.
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Do Babies Feel Pain During Birth
The results confirm that yes, babies do indeed feel pain, and that they process it similarly to adults. Until as recently as the 1980s, researchers assumed newborns did not have fully developed pain receptors, and believed that any responses babies had to pokes or pricks were merely muscular reactions.
When Should I Seek A Doctor’s Help
Contact your healthcare provider if:
- Your baby seems to be extremely fussy/irritable or cannot be soothed he/she may have a medical problem such as colic or reflux .
- Your baby appears to have a breathing problem.
- Your baby has a difficult time being awakened from sleep.
- Your baby is uninterested in feeding or persistently shies away from activity.
Last reviewed by a Cleveland Clinic medical professional on 03/17/2020.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sudden Unexpected Infant Death and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Accessed 3/23/2020.
- National Sleep Foundation. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Sleep. Accessed 3/23/2020.
- American Academy of Pediatrics, Pediatrics: Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. SIDS and Other Sleep-Related Infant Deaths: Updated 2016 Recommendations for a Safe Infant Sleeping Environment. November 2016, 138. Accessed 3/23/2020.
- American Academy of Pediatrics. Safe Sleep. Accessed 3/23/2020.
- American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Sleep Education. Healthy Sleep Habits. Accessed 3/23/2020.
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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:
Should I Put My Newborn Baby On A Sleep Schedule
No. It’s normal for your newborn baby to have an irregular sleep pattern. Part of that comes from the need to eat frequently and sleep a lot. Most experts recommend following your baby’s cues during the first weeks of their life, including feeding them on demand.
Still, you can start to follow a schedule of sorts over this first month by establishing some consistent routines, like eating, “playing,” and then sleeping. As your baby starts to sort out their sleep rhythms, having these routines in place and introducing good sleep habits can help them more easily settle into a schedule as they get older.
Getting outside into daylight, especially in the morning, will also help your newborn learn to tell day from night and start to get on a more predictable schedule.
It’s normal for babies to have irregular sleep patterns from birth to 3 months. Newborns haven’t yet developed their circadian rhythm, the internal 24-hour clock that signals to your body when it’s time to be awake and when it’s time to sleep.
Unpredictable sleep patterns are also linked to your newborn’s nutritional needs. They need to eat every two to three hours in the first month and every three to four hours in the second month. As they get older, they won’t need to eat as frequently. Most babies will be able to go through the night without a feeding anywhere from 3 to 6 months old.
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Should A Newborn Baby Cry It Out
NO, you should not try to sleep train a newborn baby with the cry it out method. Crying is the only way your newborn can communicate their needs. They will cry to tell you that they are hungry, that they need their diaper to be changed, that they are hot , that they are sleepy and so much more. So, allowing your newborn to cry it out is the same as ignoring them when they are trying to tell you something.2
With that said, there are times where your newborn will cry no matter what you do. Especially if your baby has colic. A baby who has colic will cry for what seems like no reason, cry at the same time every day, cry for 3 or more hours a day, more than 3 days a week, for at least 3 weeks.3
As you can imagine, it would be very hard to console a newborn who has colic. Just remember to remain relaxed. And, if your newborns crying makes you feel like your losing control, its perfectly fine to place your baby in their crib and go to another room to collect yourself.4
Earliest Work On Independence
If youve done any amount of reading about sleep and newborns you are probably familiar with the practice of putting your baby down sleepy but awake or drowsy but awake. We prefer the term Awake and Aware which is a better description of the goal of this practice. Although we chose to introduce it here in the first six weeks, this technique can be practiced any time in the first few months!
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Should I Let My Newborn Sleep All Day
No. No, you definitely shouldnot. Babies will have strong sleep needs and strong drive to sleep in those early days. Sometimes theyll try and nap for 4 to 5 hours even. During the middle of the day!
As a certified sleep consultant and mother of 5, take it from me if they sleep long stretches during they day they will not sleep long stretches at night.
How Much Sleep Does My Baby Need
The short answer: A LOT. Your newborn will spend the majority of time sleeping, and the rest of their time eating â this is especially true for the first few weeks. As a 6-week-old baby, your newborn will sleep up to 18 hours for every 24 hour period â in their first few days of being alive, theyâll sleep even more! Of course, as your baby grows theyâll need less and less sleep each day. Our newborn sleep schedules break it down for you and apps can help you track naps and nighttime sleep.
Zen Sleepwear is gently weighted to help soothe babies to sleep, so they can start learning healthy sleep habits while getting the rest they need.
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