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By 6 months of age, most babies are physiologically capable of sleeping through the night and no longer require nighttime feedings. However, 25%-50% continue to awaken during the night. When it comes to waking during the night, the most important point to understand is that all babies wake briefly between four and six times. There are things you can do to help make the nights in those early days with baby a bit easier. Set up a good sleep environment for when you come home from hospital. Make sure you’ve got a lovely bedroom set up which is dark and cool. You can be forgiven for thinking that the later you put your baby to bed the later they will sleep in the morning. It’s simply not true. If you’re like most new moms, a good night’s sleep shimmers in your weary mind like a mirage in the desert. No wonder sleep struggles are the number one behavioral grumble of parents. New parents now have a massive range of baby products to choose from and it can be really confusing to know what is needed. Our advice is simple: the safest cot is a clear cot. Your baby's sleep pattern could be affected by all sorts of things – a lousy cold, a tooth coming through or a change in routine. So take a deep breath and turn detective. Has a change in weather made their room colder at night? Is the nursery flooding with sunlight at dawn? Is a neighbour’s new dog barking through the night? Or could their broken sleep be caused by a surge in development?



Your baby needs about eleven to twelve hours of nighttime sleep, so if they are consistently starting their day between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m., they need a bedtime about twelve hours before then. You must get used to the fact that your baby will wake at night and need you. That doesn’t mean there is anything wrong with the baby, or with your parenting. It’s a myth that some babies are ‘good’ sleepers and some are ‘bad, but there are positive things you can do to help everyone through this sleep-deprived stage. Sometimes parents accidentally teach their babies to expect high excitement at night. This is especially common when parents are away at work all day and return home wanting to play. Help your baby to gradually learn how to fall asleep independently without always needing a sleep ‘prop’ such as being fed or rocked to sleep. A sleep consultant will take a holistic approach to create a sleeping system that you can manage and one which takes into account 4 month sleep regression as well as the needs of the baby and considerations of each family member.

Keep The Routine Short

If your baby is due for a feed, then they will likely be difficult to settle or will only fall asleep for a short amount of time before waking due to hunger. Designate the nursery as a room for sleep, not play. Keep the area around the crib free of toys and other fun knick knacks. Crib distractions confuse baby. They’ll make them wonder, ‘Is this a playpen, or is it a place to sleep?’ Maintain a gentle waking up routine for baby. Don’t try to rush your kid through the morning. Keep the wee hours of the morning passive and uneventful. When your baby is around 6 to 8 weeks of age, you can try starting a bedtime routine. It should be very short at first — maybe just a cuddly feeding and a brief reading of a book. Try to keep the lights low and resist the urge to play with or talk to your baby. This will send the message that nighttime is for sleeping. If possible, let your baby fall asleep in the crib at night so your little one learns that it's the place for sleep. For sleep regression guidance it may be useful to enlist the services of a sleep consultant.

So even if your baby is snoozing well now, don’t brag about it to your friends. Big changes (weaning swaddling, growth spurts, poop changes) are coming soon that can totally disrupt her slumber (and yours!), and make your little sweetie start waking every three hours—like a newborn—all over again. Occasional illness can be part and parcel of life and babies and toddlers are no exception. Except little ones can pick up illnesses quite often and can frequently takes its toll on their ability to sleep well. We know it's exhausting for new parents but night waking is completely normal for babies. Especially in the early months. Most babies actually can’t sleep through the night – especially those younger than three months old. Studies recommend that newborn babies should have a minimum of 8 hours of daytime sleep until they reach 3 months old, so make the most of it and get some shut eye. Also go to bed earlier than normal. With a newborn you never know what time they will wake up, so take every opportunity to get some zzz’s. With so many products on the market, it can be easy to get confused about what babies should sleep in or on. Remember, the safest mattresses for your baby are firm and flat and protected by a waterproof cover. Having a baby is a steep learning curve and aspects such as ferber method come along and shake things up just when you're not expecting them.

Your Sleep Habits Affect Your Baby

Babies respond well when they know what to expect so getting used to a bath, book, snuggle, sleep in the same order can really help. They will get to know that bedtime is coming and will associate that with their cot. One or two daytime naps – short period of sleeping during the day – are often needed for a few years until your child grows out of them. It’s common for this to happen around the age of 3 to 4 years old, although some children may keep on napping until they’re older than this. The goal of sleep training is to teach your little one that they are capable of falling asleep independently. You want your baby to be able to fall asleep on their own without needing to be rocked or soothed by you. Take time to help your newborn clear up any day/night confusion. At this age, it’s too early to have a super structured sleep schedule. While you can start implementing a simple bedtime routine, your baby is just going to sleep whenever they feel like it. In the era of connectivity, work projects and deadlines can easily crowd their way into home life, robbing us of precious sleep. During the first months with a new baby, make an effort to leave work at work and limit work-related emails, texts, and phone calls. There are multiple approaches to gentle sleep training and a sleep expert will help you choose one that is right for you and your family.

In terms of neurological development – the amount of time spent in active REM sleep needs to drop from levels of over 50% to nearer 20% which is closer to the amount of REM sleep an adult Thus making night waking’s less likely. This tends to happen around 6-7 months. Wake times matter much less after the age of about 4 to 5 months, but they mean everything to a newborn. Keep those newborns awake for about 50 to 60 minutes (including feeding and changing time if they’re awake during the feeding), and then start to get them ready for a nap. A great routine: swaddle baby, take them to their room with darkness and white noise, and actively try to get them down for a nap. Parents don’t often think of this as a reason but it can be the case. Your newborn will give you tiredness cues, eyes getting heavy, yawning, look out for your baby showing these signs so you can get them down to sleep when they really need it. Babies vary a lot in how long it takes them to develop regular waking and sleeping times. But if you’re worried about your older baby's sleep, you could have a chat with your health visitor about it. Sleep regression can happen at any time while your child is a baby or toddler. In fact, older children and even adults have periods of restless sleep too. Some parents have found that their baby’s sleep patterns tend to get disrupted between 6 and 9 months old when babies go through a series of growth spurts. A sleep expert will be with you every step of the way, guiding you on how best to find a solution to your sleep concerns, whether its sleep training or one of an untold number of other things.

Sleeping Positions For Baby

If your baby looks just a little to snug in the crib, it may be time to think about moving into a cot. If their head or feet seem to be forever bumping into the sides or they suddenly wake up more often (or very suddenly), it might be a sign they need more space to sleep. Your baby was used to constant sound when in the womb – your heart beat, stomach gurgles – so you may find that noise will help to settle them - you could try playing them white noise. Over time these will become familiar and your baby will come to associate them with sleep. Older babies and toddlers sometimes get into a habit of waking for feeds in the night that they don’t really need. To break the pattern you can try reducing the number and length of daytime naps they have. This will mean they’re more tired and will need to sleep for longer at night-time. Stumble upon more info relating to Sleep Experts at this Wikipedia article.

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