Nd Month Newborn Sleep Tips
What Your Newborn Is Up To: You made it through the first 4 weeks! Your baby is growing and adjusting. At this point, they are waking up to the world around them. You may have caught a glimpse of a first smile. Their vision is increasing and you get more eye contact. Babies show more reactions to stimuli like music or sounds. So what are the newborn sleep tips to follow for this month? Check it out!
What Are The Sleep Patterns Of A Newborn
The average newborn sleeps much of the day and night, waking only for feedings every few hours. It’s often hard for new parents to know how long and how often a newborn should sleep. Unfortunately, there is no set schedule at first, and many newborns have their days and nights confused. They think they are supposed to be awake at night and sleep during the day.
Generally, newborns sleep a total of about 8 to 9 hours in the daytime and a total of about 8 hours at night. But because they have a small stomach, they must wake every few hours to eat. Most babies dont start sleeping through the night until at least 3 months of age. But this can vary a lot. Some babies dont sleep through the night until closer to 1 year. In most cases, your baby will wake up and be ready to eat at least every 3 hours. How often your baby will eat depends on what he or she is being fed and his or her age. Make sure you talk with your healthcare provider to figure out if you need to wake your baby for feedings.
Watch for changes in your baby’s sleep pattern. If your baby has been sleeping consistently, and suddenly is waking more often, there may be a problem. Or your baby may be going through a growth spurt and need to eat more often. Some sleep disturbances are simply due to changes in development or because of overstimulation.
What If My Baby Won’t Sleep In A Crib
Sometimes babies just dont want to transition from Mom or Dads cozy arms into their own crib, no matter how cute it looks.
If thats the case, blur the lines between you and the baby bed. Try calming him down in your arms until he’s drowsy, then gently place him directly onto the bed without losing skin-to-skin contact.
A little massage or patting should help him nod off too. Make sure the temperature in your baby’s room is comfortably warm. Dim the lights and put on a white noise machine or fan to drown out ambient sounds.
Swaddling baby or putting him into a sleep sack before placing him in the crib may make him feel extra secure and, hopefully, encourage him to fall asleep in his bed.
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Nighttime Decisions When Getting Baby To Sleep
Develop a realistic attitude about nighttime parenting
Sleeping, like eating, is not a state you can force a baby into. The best you can do is to create a secure environment that allows sleep to overtake your baby. A realistic long- term goal is to help your baby develop a healthy attitude about sleep. Baby should feel that sleep is a pleasant state to enter and a secure state to remain in. Many sleep problems in older children and adults stem from children growing up with an unhealthy attitude about sleep. Such as sleep was not a pleasant state to enter and was a fearful state to remain in. Just as daytime parenting is a long-term investment, so is nighttime parenting. Teach your baby a restful attitude about sleep when they are young. By doing this, both you and your children will sleep better when they are older.
Beware of sleep trainers
- Does this advice sound sensible, will it fit your babys temperament and does it feel right to you?
Sleep training may result in long-term loss
Using the rigid, insensitive let-him-cry-it-out method has several problems. First, it will undermine the trust your baby has for nighttime comfort. Second, it will prevent you from working at a style of nighttime parenting until you find the one that works best for you and your family, and third, it may keep you and your doctor from uncovering hidden medical causes of night waking. Night feedings are normal frequent, painful night waking is not.
Stay flexible when putting baby to sleep
Teach Your Baby To Self
When your baby wakes in the middle of the night and cries for you, its always okay to go check on them. However, try and limit your time in there with them. Make it clear that its still time to sleep, not play or eat. Place your hand on their chest for a few moments to calm them, then leave the room . The Zen Swaddle and Zen Sack are gently weighted on the chest and sides, which make your baby feel like youre still there. This can help ease separation anxiety, break the sleep association to be held to fall back asleep, and help your baby learn to self-soothe.
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Bonus: What You Shouldnt Do To Get A Breastfed Baby To Sleep Through The Night
Ive been talking to a lot of mamas and Ive discovered that there are a ton of misconceptions about how to get a breastfed baby to sleep through the night.
So heres a list of what NOT to do to get a breastfed baby to sleep through the night.
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Why Won’t My Baby Stay Asleep
If your baby stays asleep for a few hours at a time, that could be completely normal and healthy for them, even if it differs from your sleep schedule. Sleeping for short blocks of time, such as three to four hours, is typical for newborns.
Around three months of age, many babies begin to sleep for somewhat longer time periods. By the age of six months, a majority of infants sleep for six hours uninterrupted at night. Still, there’s quite a bit of variation among babies when it comes to sleep duration. Your baby could be a completely healthy one-year-old and still not regularly sleep for six hours uninterrupted.
If you feel your baby isn’t staying asleep for long enough, consider if any of the following factors are at play:
Whether or not you understand the reason your baby only sleeps for short periods of time, there are several strategies you can try to get your baby to sleep longer.
How to Get Your Baby to Stay Asleep
Many of the sleep hygiene tips that work for adults are also useful for getting babies and young children to sleep better. If you want your baby to sleep longer, try the following:
- Minimize outside noise and light.
- Teach your baby to self-soothe by putting them in their crib before they fall asleep and keeping their crib in a separate room.
- Engage in a bedtime routine, such as reading a book or singing a lullaby , that helps them relax and indicates it’s time to sleep.
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Sleep Between One And Three Months
As your baby becomes more wakeful during the day, their sleep pattern may change. They might start having longer sleeps at night maybe even around four to five hours.
Most babies still need night feeds, and help to settle back to sleep.
If your baby was premature, or had a low birth weight, your doctor might recommend you only let your baby sleep for a certain amount of time before waking them for feeds.
Getting Your Baby Used To The Day
Its a good idea to start getting them used to the day-night cycle early on. During the day:
- make day feeds fun with time talking and cuddling.
- have the curtains slightly open when theyre sleeping.
- keep your everyday noises normal use the vacuum cleaner and shower etc, even if theyre sleeping. Most babies sleep through household noises.
During the night:
- keep the room quiet, and the lights low.
- when your baby cries in the night, settle or feed them as soon as you can.
- give night feeds in the bedroom. Babies need to feed at night for the first six months so they get enough food for growth and development. Feeding them in the bedroom will help keep these feeds short and make them different from daytime feeds.
- dont play or talk to your baby while feeding. This will hopefully help them settle back to sleep easier.
These first few months can be a struggle for parents suffering from sleep deprivation and the demands of caring for a new baby, but dont worry, itâll get better.
Remember, the most important things in these early months are responding to your baby and being flexible. If your babys unsettled, its fine to cuddle or rock them to sleep. Its also okay if your baby sometimes falls asleep while theyre feeding. Do what works best for you and your baby.
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Make Sure Theyre Getting Enough Naps During The Day
Sleep deprived babies will sleep less, not more, so make sure to give them a chance to nap frequently.
During the first to eight weeks, they wont be able to stay awake much longer than 2 hours at a time. If they stay awake beyond that, they will get overtired, fussy and will have trouble falling asleep.
The ideal awake time for them will be at least 60 minutes, after which, you have to get them ready for a nap.
Master The Four B’s: Bath Book Bed Bottle
“A consistent bedtime routine can work wonders. The order is up to you, but it usually involves a soothing bath, a story, and one last feeding. I also like to add a quick massage with lotion, gently squeezing and releasing the baby’s knees, wrist, elbows, and shoulders, wherever there’s a joint. Then you might do a final ‘closing up’ of the nursery: Now we turn out the light, now we start the white-noise machine, now we sway beside the crib, now I lay you downand that’s the signal that it’s time to sleep.” Nalle
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How To Help Newborns Get In Sync With The Natural 24
1. Make your baby a part of your daily routine.
When parents include their newborns in their daily activities, newborn may adapt more rapidly to the 24-hour day .
One study took continuous measurements of mother-infant activity patterns for four months after birth. Newborns who were active at the same time of day as their mothers were quicker to develop mature circadian rhythms .
2. Reduce stimulation at night.
When your baby wakes for night time feedings, keep activity to a minimum. Make as little noise as possible, and avoid moving your baby around. Ideally, you want to avoid waking her all the way up. But if that isnt possible, at least try to minimize the hustle and bustle. You want the baby to learn that nighttime is for sleep and quiet.
3. Expose your newborn to natural lighting patterns.
Light cues might not instantly synchronize newborn sleep patterns, but they help.
For example, in one study, newborns slept longer at night if their parents observed a regular policy of turning out the lights by 9pm .
In another study, young babies tended to sleep longer at night if they had been exposed to lots of early afternoon light .
And time spent outdoors might make an important difference. Babies who go outside experience much higher daytime light levels than those kept indoors all day, and may develop stronger circadian rhythms as a result .
4. Try infant massage.
The takeaway? More research is needed on this topic , but meanwhile, this seems worth a try.
How Can I Get My Baby Used To Night And Day Being Different
It can be helpful to teach your baby that night-time is different to 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
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When To Introduce A Bedtime Routine
Before beginning sleep training, youll want to work on a bedtime routine first.
Routines are great for everyone babies and parents alike. It never hurts to start working on a bedtime routine, as long as you remember that babies only start developing the ability to follow one around 6-8 weeks .
You can start sooner, even as soon as a newborn! Just be prepared for the routine to be broken frequently for 1-2 hour feedings, cuddling sessions, and other speedbumps.
Creating an early routine is more of a loose practice to get yourself, your family, and eventually, your baby into the habit.
Look Out For Tired Signs
Babies will show signs when they are getting tired such as grimacing, yawning, grizzling, frowning, sucking, staring, snuggling in, jerky movements, becoming over active, clenching fists, rubbing eyes, fussiness or crying. Responding early to these tired signs prevents your baby becoming distressed and makes it easier for them to sleep.
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Week 1: Transition To The Crib
If youre using a bassinet or some type of crib made for the newest baby you may have noticed its getting a little bit smaller. Thats because your newborn is growing!
Most bassinets are safe for 3 months or younger. As you get closer to 12 weeks its good to consider transitioning your baby to the crib.
To start make sure your standard crib is set up properly and that the mattress is at the correct height. You dont need any bells or whistles like blankets, pillows or bumpers to keep your baby comfortable. Safety is essential and anything like that is not safe for a sleeping baby.
Some babies do just fine getting placed in the crib. Other newborns might need help with the transition. In that case, start small. Use naptimes to get your baby used to their new sleep space and gradually add in additional naps or bed-time. As always follow the same nap-time and bedtime routine and always lay your baby on their back.