Welcome to the world of parenting. Here you can learn about your newborn’s development week by week and get ideas about toys and activities to share with your new baby. We have advice on the best way to keep your baby safe , as well as tried and tested tips for soothing a fussy baby
Newborn sleep - Cycles and Rhythms
Everyone sleeps in cycles which flow in and out of active and passive sleep phases within a given time period.
Did you know that babies have very different sleep patterns to ours. From birth to around 6 months, a baby has shorter sleep cycles than an adult, with more light sleep than deep sleep. During their first months babies may awaken 3,4 or even more times a night. Remember that little babies also have little stomachs and may wake because they are hungry. This stage of frequent waking won’t last forever. Before you know it, both baby and you will be enjoying a full night’s sleep.
Human beings function with an internal ‘body clock’ known as a circadian rhythm. This is what causes the natural peaks and troughs in alertness and tiredness over a 24-hour period. This rhythm is disrupted with shift work or for the parent who is up frequently in the night with a wakeful baby. The circadian rhythm is not usually established until after six weeks of age, which explains why some babies will wake regularly at night and want to sleep during the day.
It is helpful for a parent to assist in establishing their baby’s rhythm to ensure restful nights as quickly as possible. This is done by waking a baby for milk feeds every three to four hours during the day if he is not waking himself. Doing this it will lessen the need for him to wake frequently throughout the night. When you do nurse your baby at night, keep it quiet and dark with minimal fussing and get him back into bed as soon as possible.
A newborn will generally need about fifteen or sixteen hours of sleep out of every 24, which is broken into four to five short naps of one to one and half hours during the day and two longer periods overnight. Naturally there are always exceptions where some babies will happily develop on less or more sleep. During the first two to three weeks a baby will often just wake to feed and then go straight back to sleep, but after three weeks there is a need to establish a wakeful period for sensory development and exercise before going back off to sleep. It is at this age that sleep issues may start to arise.
The naturally developing cycles and rhythms will be challenged when a baby’s physical needs of food, comfort, and security are not met. A parent has several choices to ensure a baby’s physical and psychological needs are met and settled sleep is obtained. Having some of the above facts on sleep and crying will help a parent to make the right choices for their family.
The amount of advice available, both solicited and unsolicited, can be overwhelming for a new parent. Elizabeth Pantley writes in her book The No-Cry Sleep Solution: ‘Newborn babies do not have sleep problems, but their parents do. Newborns sleep when they are tired and wake when they are ready.’ This is true in some cases but certainly not all. In fact, there seems to be no blanket rule for all babies.
Cycles and Rhythms
A newborn sleep cycle rotates every 20 to 30 minutes, which means every 20 to 30 minutes your baby experiences a light period in his sleep. This is when sleep issues often arise.Human beings function with an internal ‘body clock’ known as a circadian rhythm. This is what causes the natural peaks and troughs in alertness and tiredness over a 24-hour period. This rhythm is disrupted with shift work or for the parent who is up frequently in the night with a wakeful baby. The circadian rhythm is not usually established until after six weeks of age, which explains why some babies will wake regularly at night and want to sleep during the day.
It is helpful for a parent to assist in establishing their baby’s rhythm to ensure restful nights as quickly as possible. This is done by waking a baby for milk feeds every three to four hours during the day if he is not waking himself. Doing this it will lessen the need for him to wake frequently throughout the night. When you do nurse your baby at night, keep it quiet and dark with minimal fussing and get him back into bed as soon as possible.
A newborn will generally need about fifteen or sixteen hours of sleep out of every 24, which is broken into four to five short naps of one to one and half hours during the day and two longer periods overnight. Naturally there are always exceptions where some babies will happily develop on less or more sleep. During the first two to three weeks a baby will often just wake to feed and then go straight back to sleep, but after three weeks there is a need to establish a wakeful period for sensory development and exercise before going back off to sleep. It is at this age that sleep issues may start to arise.
The naturally developing cycles and rhythms will be challenged when a baby’s physical needs of food, comfort, and security are not met. A parent has several choices to ensure a baby’s physical and psychological needs are met and settled sleep is obtained. Having some of the above facts on sleep and crying will help a parent to make the right choices for their family.
The amount of advice available, both solicited and unsolicited, can be overwhelming for a new parent. Elizabeth Pantley writes in her book The No-Cry Sleep Solution: ‘Newborn babies do not have sleep problems, but their parents do. Newborns sleep when they are tired and wake when they are ready.’ This is true in some cases but certainly not all. In fact, there seems to be no blanket rule for all babies.
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By Jan Murray from www.settlepetal.com Co-author of Caring for your newborn: How to enjoy the first 60 days as a new momComments
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