Baby Sleep Patterns

Learn how to handle baby sleep patterns from 3 weeks to toddlerhood.

As a parent the most important question you should ask about your baby sleep patterns is how much sleep does my baby really need?

Some parents fear that their child might be getting less or more sleep than they should but this is not always true.

 Baby sleep patterns are peculiar to each child and can be generally erratic, so to help your baby sleep better, you need to understand the evolving sleep patterns of your child. Some babies are long and regular sleepers, some are cat nappers and others have irregular sleep.

Most babies sleep an average of 14 to 16 hours every day. This is minus regular few hour naps. Your baby sleep patterns will vary or change with age and circumstance.

Every human’s sleep is affected by the day and night cycle and this cycle in addition to the circadian rhythm (the human body internal clock) tells the brain when to induce sleep and when to wake you up. 

This cycle also influences your baby sleep patterns but unlike adults this clock is not fully formed and functional in babies.

So your baby’s brain cannot tell the difference between night and day. This is what makes a baby wake at 2am, stay awake till 5am and then sleep almost throughout the afternoon and then do the exact opposite the next day!

 As your baby grows older, this internal clock regulates your baby’s sleep and gives your child a sleep pattern. Please note that there are no strict rules to your baby sleep patterns and an average baby chooses the way she wants to sleep.  Apart from the circadian rhythm the way your baby sleeps depends on a number of other unique factors (age, circumstance, environment and body systems etc).

Recent research also has shown that if you feed your baby 11 times during a 24 hour period she is less likely to sleep well. Researchers from the University of London made this discovery when they studied 600 babies of 1 to 12 weeks of age to see what would influence them to sleep through the night.
During the test parent were encouraged to put the babies in a cot and not to feed or cuddle the child at night.

At the end of the test it was discovered that 82% of babies which had been most frequently fed at one week old, so-called "at risk" babies, on the behavioral program slept through the night compared with 61% of "at risk" babies not on the program, and this is regardless of whether they were fed by breast or feeding bottles.

The age of your baby plays a big part on the way your baby sleeps but depending on the age of your baby, she can be taught good sleep habits. Below are some tips on how to guide your baby’s sleep pattern and amount of sleep needed at different stages.

 NEWBORNS

Newborn babies sleep a lot and your newborn does not know the difference between night and day. Your baby needs to feed and sleep round the clock in order to grow and develop well.

She should get about 6 to 20 hours of sleep in a day, sleep 2 to 4 hours per time and should get about 5 to 6 rounds of sleep in a 24 hour period. You should help your baby develop good baby sleep patterns as this will help your newborn differentiate between night and day.

You can develop and keep routine behaviors with your baby in the day by keeping the room very bright, playing with and talking to your baby while you feed her.  At night, you should keep the room dark and quietly feed her with little or no distractions. (Minimize how you play with baby at night, so as to help her fall asleep faster).

As your baby catches up with this routine, she learns the difference between the day and night and eventually gets more sleep as she grows older. Formula fed babies sleep longer than the breast fed ones. This is because formula food stays longer in their stomachs.

 Also note that breastfeeding regulates your hormones as a mother to suit your baby’s sleep pattern. This means that your body will automatically adjust sleep patterns to keep you in sync with your child sleep and wake cycle. As a mother, you always have so much to do during the day so most health professionals’ advice mothers to take a nap while their babies sleep during the day, as this will help keep you and childn healthy condition.

Your baby expects to be fed every time she wakes up and like most babies she will love to be rocked, swayed and swaddled and then go right back to sleep after feeding. This behavior is a reflected character trace from the womb. Research has shown that when your baby is in the womb, your walking motion lulls her to sleep. After birth, she will want that lull before sleeping off.  

3 WEEKS

As your baby grows older, she sleeps for longer stretches at a time and also stays awake for longer periods but maintains about the same total sleep hours as newborns. As a parent you should take note of any changes in your baby’s sleep pattern and use it to your advantage. Possible changes are reduction in the number of naps and longer sleeping time.

 In such cases, encourage your baby to take naps at regulated intervals not close to late evenings, so that she can sleep longer at night.  By so doing, your baby learns that the longest sleeping periods is during night times.

2 MONTHS

At this age, your baby sleep patterns starts to follow a regular pattern. It becomes clear that your baby is adjusting to the day/night cycles. Your baby sleeps for shorter periods during the day and longer periods at night times, but still wakes up to feed at night. You can now observe the period of REM sleep (rapid eye movement sleep i.e surface or light sleep) and non REM sleeps (deep sleep) of you baby. Babies sleep a little less than they do as newborns, just about 15 to 16 hours on the average, in a day.

 In some cases, babies become “hyper awake”, that is, your baby beginsrying more in the late afternoon or evening. When your baby settles, she will sleep longer at night. As each newborn is unique, I always advice parents  to observe their baby sleep patterns and not try to force one on their baby as this will be unhealthy.

4 MONTHS

Your baby’s sleep hours will drop as she grows older. At this age, your baby is capable of sleeping throughout the night without needing to be fed. By now she should have an average sleeping time of about 9 to 12 hours each day and take 1 to 2 hours nap, twice or trice daily.

At this age she will almost always sleep through the night. Some babies require a quick top up feed. Sometimes your baby is already asleep before you go to bed, try waking her up, top-up feed her and put her back to sleep. This way your baby will sleep throughout the night without waking up to feed.

Many babies do not reach that milestone of sleeping throughout the night until they are 5 or 6 months but you can help your baby get there sooner by teaching your baby good sleep patterns (habits) from the start if that is your goal.

At 4 months you can teach your baby a pattern of putting herself to sleep whether at night or during the day, as she is now capable of settling to sleep on her own. When dealing with children of this age, routine is very important, so try to be consistent with your baby sleep patterns.  Please do not be rigid or try forcing your baby to a pattern.

Every child is unique, you need to observe her sleep pattern and guide her and help her develop and sustain a routine sleep habit. You can do this by observing the sleeping posture your baby is most convenient with. Observe her rolling style. Is she the blanket sleeper? Or she ends up outside her covers? Does she wake up cold? Painstakingly observing all this will pay off for you and your child in the end as you will both get better sleep.

6 MONTHS

As she grows older, she is prone to change her sleep pattern. You need to be prepared and help her adjust easily. Averagely, all healthy 6 months old babies can sleep throughout the night, without the need to be fed at night. Your babies change in sleep pattern at this age will be largely influenced by circumstances such as moving your baby from her bed to a new one or moving her to a new room. Your baby falling sick can also alter her sleep pattern.

 6 months old babies have sleep about 11 hours a day. That is, all through the night and 1 to 3 hour naps (once or twice daily). At this stage, the bedtime routine you taught her will help her settle to sleep and stays asleep on her own.

9 MONTHS

Crawling, climbing, walking, standing and playing will wear her out quickly and she will definitely have longer naps. There will be a loophole if you allow her sleep a lot during the day. The longer she sleeps during the day the shorter her night sleep. From this age on ward, activities and circumstances determines your baby’s sleeping length but she will likely keep sleeping like she always has.

 

Below are some tips that can help you and your baby establish a good sleep pattern.

• Learn the signs that means she is tired
• Begin to teach her the difference between day and night
• Establish a bedtime routine
• Give your baby a chance to fall asleep on her own

Sometimes substantial late feeding helps. Babies sleep better when they are loved, fed, warm and dry.
Between 7-12 weeks, most babies now have a regular sleep pattern. Most doze off at 11pm and sleep through until the next feed at 4am.
To ensure you baby sleeps well always make the environment is conducive. Not too hot or too cold.

Some mothers think a baby should always be wrapped in blanket regardless of the heat. This is wrong. If the central heating is on in the house make sure your baby’s room is not too hot. If your baby is red in the face or her hair is damp, just remove the blanket or turn of the radiator. It is essential that your baby feels comfy so as to aid sleep.

Sleep in Children can be monitored and understood overtime. Since each child is unique general rules cannot be applied to every child.