family - snoozing & snuggling - sleep matters from day ONE

Snoozing & Snuggling

Sleep is as important to your growing baby as good nutrition and affection. But how much sleep does your baby really need? Read on ..

During the first year, a baby 's sleep needs and sleep patterns will change rapidly. Parents often don't know what to expect -- or what to do -- about helping their babies get the sleep they require. Here's a quick course in sleep, baby style, and how you can begin to install healthy sleeping habits right from the start

Sleep Matters - From Day One - New parents can generally attest to the fact that newborns and infants spend most of their time sleeping. Sleep is believed to be necessary to the development of a baby's growing brain and body. But sleep also plays a major role in a baby's ability to pay attention, learn and make memories - all of which are the foundation of the important work a baby does as he takes in his world every day! During the first few weeks of life, newborns have their own unique sleeping patterns. Circadian rhythms, or what we think of as our internal clock, tell us to sleep at night and awaken at daylight. But these are not yet established in your newborn. As a result, he can sleep as easily during daytime as at night. While a full-term newborn will sleep between 16 and 18 hours per day , it's rarely for more than a few hours at a time. You will probably see your newborn twitch, smile, frown, make sucking movements and breathe irregularly as he sleep. You'll learn soon enough that your sleeping newborn is easily awakened.

Sleep Patterns - You Can Count On - When your baby is about two to three months of age, sleep begins to become more regular as circadian rhythms begin to share her sleep patterns and she becomes more aware of cues from her environment, such as darkness and light. Also, by this time, your baby has been both an observer, and part of, what goes on around her at home. This all adds up to your baby sleeping more during the nighttime hours, when there is less light and noise, and spending more time awake when there is daylight, activity and when feedings are more frequent. At the time , as your baby grows, she will need fewer total hours of sleep. From two to six months of age, most babies need 16 to 16 hours of sleep per day and can sleep up to six hours at a time. Most no longer need a middle of the night feeding and sleep through the night. By six to nine months, your baby may sleep during the night for seven to 11 hours. By nine months and up to one year, she'll sleep for about 14 or 15 hours per day. At this point, many babies can sleep through the night for 10 to 12 hours, but also need one or two daytime naps to get the remainder of their sleep.

The Difference Between Night and Day - As your baby establishes his natural sleep patterns, you can help shape his good sleep habits. He'll follow the cues you provide and will be able to learn when, where and how to sleep from what is going on around him. Basically, you are teaching him the difference between daytime activities and nighttime activities. During the day, your baby gets the message that daytime is the time to be awake, except for scheduled naptimes, when you play with him and offer him stimulating activities. He may have contact with other children and adults, perhaps company stops by and you carry on your own activities in a well-lit environment with a certain amount of conversation, music and other household noise. Later on, at bedtime, you can help your baby fall asleep by establishing a regular, soothing nighttime routine and by quieting his part of the house and lowering lights. You might, each night, give him a bath, read to him for a bit or sing a lullaby and offer the last nighttime feeding before putting him in his crib. It is important, though, to put your baby in his crib when he is sleepy, but not fully asleep. Many babies are rocket to sleep or fall asleep during their last feeding and become reliant on rocking and feeding as a way to doze off. They never really learn to fall asleep on their own even though their parents have worked hard to set the stage for it. Babies love routine and your baby will look forward to having your company and attention as his day winds down. He'll also know that bedtime is coming.

Little Night Owls - In some households, getting the baby to sleep isn't the challenge. It's the baby's nighttime awakening that leave everyone bleary-eyed. You can actually expect your baby to awaken five to eight times per night as part of normal sleep. During these awakenings, your baby may move around her crib, babble or cry briefly. It helps to know that most infants will put themselves back to sleep. If you respond immediately to these brief nighttime awakening, your baby will learn to cry until you come to her. Instead, check on your baby to reassure yourself that she is safe but don't pick her up or feed her. After a few nights, she'll discover that she can fall back to sleep without your help. And, when she does need attention, keep lights low and take care of her needs without playing with her or waking her further. This will help to reinforce the idea that nighttime is for sleep. In this challenging first year, routines will help your baby pick up on all the right cues for sleep. You'll have a happier, less fussy baby -- and the whole household will benefit - especially you!

source: "Baby connection" magazine
© 2007 - 2010 BabyToddlerGuide.biz