What To Do When Baby Wakes
When your baby awakens, develop a nighttime parenting approach. An Approach that respects your babys need for nighttime trust and comfort, in addition to the need for baby and parents to quickly get back to sleep. While some babies are self-soothers, being able to resettle easily and quickly without outside help, others need a helping hand . Try these back-to-sleep comforters:
Laying on of hands
Determine what your babys nighttime temperament is. Is your baby a born self-soother who awakens, whimpers, squirms, and then resettles by herself? Or is your baby, if not promptly attended to, one whose cries escalate and becomes angry and difficult to resettle? If you can get to your baby quickly before she completely awakens, you may be able to resettle her back to sleep with a firm laying on of hands. To add the finishing touch, pat your babys back or bottom rhythmically to match your heartbeat. Remove your hands gradually first one and then the other easing the pressure slowly so as not to startle baby awake. Sometimes fathers, perhaps because they have larger hands, are more successful in this hands-on ritual.
Honor your partner with his share of nighttime parenting
Its important for babies to get used to fathers way of comforting and being put to sleep in fathers arms, otherwise, mothers burn out. A fathers participation in nighttime parenting is especially important for the breastfeeding infant who assumes the luxury that moms diner is open all night.
GER Clues
How Can I Tell If A Newborn Is Sleeping Too Much
A baby occasionally sleeping for longer than usual is not a cause for concern unless there are other symptoms.
In general, it is uncommon for a newborn to consistently sleep through feedings or to sleep for longer than 19 hours per day unless they are ill or are having feeding difficulties.
Some of the most common reasons that healthy babies sleep for longer than usual include the following:
- They may experience a growth spurt or developmental leap.
- They may have a minor illness, such as a cold.
- They may have a serious infection. This is rare, but it can happen. A newborn might not have a fever or other symptoms of illness like an older baby might.
- In very rare instances, a baby may have another medical condition that causes them to sleep too much. Breathing and heart disorders may affect sleep, and premature babies often have different sleep patterns from full-term infants.
- Some babies sleep too much because they have jaundice. A newborn who has jaundice will have a yellow color to their skin and a yellow cast to the whites of their eyes. Other symptoms of more severe jaundice include being lethargic, having difficulty eating, and being fussy or irritable.
- Sometimes, babies may sleep too much because they are not getting enough to eat. They may get dehydrated, lose too much weight, and even experience a failure to thrive.
However, in the early stages especially for first-time parents the signs of a potential problem may be easy to miss.
When Should You Move A Baby Out Of The Bassinet
Bassinets are perfect for the first few months of a childs life. As soon as your child reaches certain milestones, you should move him or her to a crib. Milestones differ from child to child, but here are some to watch for:
Once your baby can roll over from their stomach to their back.
When your baby can pull himself or herself out of a swaddle blanket, which poses a safety risk in a bassinet.
OR When your baby has reached a certain weight or is around six months old.
Make sure to follow the manufacturers instructions closely when using a bassinet for your newborn.
There are no set rules as to how long can a baby sleep in a bassinet. In other words, if you are using it as intended for the first few months, you wont have to worry about changing to another sleeping arrangement until they reach the milestones we listed above. Youll be fine if you keep an eye on your little one and follow the instructions for each product.
Similar to cribs, each one has different guidelines about when to stop using it. The important thing you want to avoid is your baby getting stuck. You should not use a bassinet if your baby can roll over from their stomach to their back or vice versa. Once they can roll over, you should move them over to a crib.
Recommended Reading: When Should You Give Newborn A Bath
Let Your Baby Cry It Out
One crying-it-out type of sleep training is the well-known Ferber Method, also known as “Progressive Watching” or “Graduated Extinction.” The goal is to teach your baby how to sleep on their own and put themselves back to sleep if they wake up during the night. Richard Ferber, MD, director of the Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders at Children’s Hospital Boston, developed this method. He advises parents not to start this training until their baby is at least 5 or 6 months old. Heres an overview of how its done:
- Put your baby in their crib — drowsy, but awake. Once you’ve finished their bedtime routine, leave the room.
- If your baby cries, wait a few minutes before you check on them. The amount of time you wait depends on you and your baby. You might start waiting somewhere between 1 and 5 minutes.
- When you re-enter your babys room, try to console them. But do not pick them up and do not stay for more than 2 or 3 minutes, even if they are still crying when you leave. Seeing your face will be enough to assure your baby that you are close by so they can eventually fall asleep on their own.
- If they continue crying, gradually increase the amount of time you wait before going in to check on them again. For instance, if you wait 3 minutes the first time, wait 5 minutes the second time, and 10 minutes each time after that.
- The next night, wait 5 minutes the first time, 10 minutes the second time, and 12 minutes each time after that.
Helping Your Baby To Sleep
Some babies sleep much more than others. Some sleep for long periods, others in short bursts. Some soon sleep through the night, while some don’t for a long time.
Your baby will have their own pattern of waking and sleeping, and it’s unlikely to be the same as other babies you know.
It’s also unlikely to fit in with your need for sleep. Try to sleep when your baby sleeps.
If you’re breastfeeding, in the early weeks your baby is likely to doze off for short periods during a feed. Carry on feeding until you think your baby has finished or until they’re fully asleep. This is a good opportunity to try to get a bit of rest yourself.
If you’re not sleeping at the same time as your baby, don’t worry about keeping the house silent while they sleep. It’s good to get your baby used to sleeping through a certain amount of noise.
Also Check: What To Use For Newborn Acne
Have An Earlier Bath Or Bedtime
Your baby might benefit from having an earlier bedtime, especially if your current one is later than 8:30pm. The early evenings are prime time for the witching hour, or when infants get fussy after a long day. So much so that, come bedtime, theyre too exhausted and overtired to feel rested and sleep.
The solution? Move bedtime earlier. For instance, start the bath at 7:15pm, followed by pajamas, reading, and songs. Feed your baby right before bed, and by then, 8:30pm rolls around and its time for him to sleep for the first stretch of the night.
How Did Sleep Become So Controversial
For most of human history, McKenna writes, parents slept close to their babies for their safety and protection, as well as for parents own ease of breastfeeding and sleeping. The particular arrangements variedsome parents slept nestled with their babies on the same bed, mat, or rug others placed their babies in a hammock or basket within arms reach still others placed them in a sidecar arrangement next to the adult bed. But all of them slept within sensory range of their babies.
About 500 years ago, Western societies diverged from the rest of the world regarding family sleep, McKenna explains. Historical records from northern Europe show that Catholic priests heard confessions from destitute women who had overlain onto their newborns, suffocating them in a desperate attempt to limit their family sizethey just couldnt support another child. So the church ordered that babies should sleep in a separate cradle until the age of three.
Over time, other Western trends converged with that decree: Rising affluence and the value on independence and individualism made separate bedrooms fashionable. In addition, Freudian psychology privileged the marriage bed and claimed that babies would be harmed if they were exposed to parents sexuality. Religious and psychological opinion said that children should not be coddled or indulged but required severe discipline to grow up .
Also Check: When To Be Concerned About Newborn Spit Up
Check Out Our Sleep Tips
In Baby Sleep Simplified you’ll find sample schedules for every age through the first year, as well as tips on what you should focus on during every sleep stage to help your baby become a good sleeper. You can also check out our 7 Tips and Tricks on How to Get Your Newborn to Sleep or our 7 Highly Effective Sleep Tips.
Use Night Time Rituals
If you create a consistent, yet boring routine, it is more likely that your newborn will sleep through the night. A bath, reading a story, singing a lullaby, or rocking for a few minutes are great ways to consistently wind your baby down for bedtime.
Many babies will prefer a specific sleepwear item to provide feelings of comfort, safety, and security as they head to bed. Medical studies have shown that babies sleeping in wool sleepwear settle more quickly, cry less, sleep longer, and even feed better. Woolino products are an excellent option as they are made with the Magic of Merino Wool, and the benefits are countless.
Putting your newborn to sleep with a predictable nighttime ritual will also come in handy down the road when your baby begins to go through sleep regressions.
Recommended Reading: Why Is My Newborn More Fussy At Night
How Much Does A Newborn Baby Sleep
Babies and infants require a lot of sleep. A healthy newborn baby will spend a majority of their 24-hour day sleeping.
To be exact, a newborn should sleep 17 to 20 hours per day, on average. These hours arent consecutive. If they were, parents would never have problems with sleep deprivation! A newborn will sleep one to four hours at a time. Most often, your baby will sleep two to three hours chunks.
Nighttime sleep should be eight to 12 hours, waking every two to four hours to eat. Breastfed babies do tend to wake up every two to three hours because breast milk digests faster.
Most newborns can only stay awake for 45 minutes to an hour at a time. You have to be cautious not to keep your baby awake for too long! An overtired baby is harder to get to sleep and fussy.
Throughout the first 12 weeks of life, your baby will start to develop day and night sleep patterns. By the time your baby is three months old, he will sleep 14 to 15 hours per day. Babies are always changing!
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
Recommended Reading: How Much Sleep Should My Newborn Get
Ways To Help Your Early Riser Sleep Longer
Tired of pre-dawn wakeup calls from your toddler? We can help. These tiny tweaks to your routine will help your tot sleep until at least six.
Every morning, between 4:30 and 5:30, two-year-old Carrie stands up in her crib and cries: Mommy, Daddy! Bleary-eyed, her mother, Wendy Chau, talks to her through a two-way monitor: Lie down, Carrie. Its bedtime. Carrie inevitably screams No! Shes awake and ready to start the day. Her mother, not so much. I silently pray that Carrie will fall back to sleep on her own, or that Im reading the clock wrong. But neither is ever true, says Chau, who is on maternity leave after giving birth to her second child, Cameron, in July. Shed be happy if her daughter would even sleep until 6 a.m.
The National Sleep Foundation says that toddlers need 11 to 14 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period. That means a one- to three-hour afternoon nap plus 10 to 12 hours of sleep at night will do it. Not getting enough shuteye can lead to bigger problems than a grumpy toddler. Over time, insufficient sleep can lead to delayed milestone acquisition and learning difficulties in school, says Myron. There are also medical consequences, such as changes in appetite and growth dysregulation. Fortunately, there are things you can do to delay wake-up time and help establish healthy sleep habits in your kiddo from the get-go.
Is It Normal For Babies To Not Sleep Through The Night
A baby will sleep for around 16 hours each day, and most of this sleep is fragmented and disorganised. Since your baby will be getting a significant portion of his sleep during the day, his night time sleeping pattern may be erratic. Hence, it is fairly common for a baby to not sleep through the night. Typically, babies also need regular feeds in the night as their stomach doesnt keep them full for an extended period of time, which contributes to the irregular sleep pattern.
You May Like: What To Do When Your Newborn Baby Is Constipated
Get Realistic Expectations About Your Babys Sleep Habits
Whats the right bed time? How long should your baby sleep? When should your baby begin sleeping for long intervals at night?
If you knew the answers to these questions, it would help you avoid pitfalls and needless frustration.
For example, when your baby isnt sleeping the way youd expect, its easy to assume that youre doing something wrong. New parents sometimes worry that there is something developmentally awry if their young infants are waking up multiple times at night. In fact, night wakings are perfectly normal.
Parents can also make the mistake of setting the wrong bedtimes, and try to force their babies to fall asleep at a time thats out of sync with their internal clock. As noted in baby sleep tip #4, the resulting conflict can create lasting sleep problems.
And sometimes parents are overly complacent about certain things like a babys vampire-like, nocturnal schedule. If you assume this is something you cant change, it can become a self-fulfilling prophesy. You might not employ important strategies, like the baby sleep tips about light cues.
So it helps to learn about normal course of infant sleep development, and the wide range of variation that healthy babies can show. For baby sleep tips about whats typical, see opens in a new windowthis baby sleep chart, as well as these Parenting Science pages: