How Do Newborn Babies Sleep?
5 Facts Your Might Not Know About Newborn Baby Sleep
Do you think you know everything about a newborn baby’s sleep? Or are you a novice at parenting? Either way, there are various things that you need to know about your baby, especially when it comes to sleeping habits. In order to understand the psyche of your newborn, consider a simple instance.
When ever you go abroad and come back, do you experience jet lag? Your body clock takes time to adjust to the time difference and the sudden change in environments, doesn’t it? Likewise, when babies are born, they witness a similar, yet amplified change in ambiance and temperatures, which is why they need time to adjust and adapt to their surroundings.
One: Newborn Babies Sleep Is Unpredictable
If you think the weather is the most unpredictable thing ever, you couldn’t be more wrong. During the early stages of an infant’s life, he/she is thoroughly sleep deprived and tries to make up for the loss sleep by sleeping at inappropriate hours. Usually, a newborn sleeps for only a few hours, at a stretch and then wakes up again, with a soiled nappy or hunger pangs.
Research reveals that newborns sleep about 14-18 hours, on average, but this figure reduces, as the baby grows up. Therefore, you cannot simply predict when and where your newborn would go to sleep and never make the mistake of keeping your baby from sleeping, only to fix his sleeping routine. A newborn needs his fair share of sleep and this is certainly not the time to work on his habits.
Two: Sleep All Day.. Party All Night
Depending on which part of the day your baby was born, his body clock would operate accordingly, especially during the first few weeks. There is a possibility that they would sleep all day and stay up, racking your brains, all night.
The best way to survive this period is to take a nap, whenever your baby sleeps. Having said that, this irregularity in sleep behavior is only temporary and as the baby matures, physically and mentally, sleeping routine would automatically get fixed.
Three: Newborns Do Not Need Pin-Drop Silence
Newborn babies are usually used to a lot of commotion and noise, since they have spent a good nine months in their mother’s womb. Therefore, you do not need to be particularly careful around them, they can even sleep with the lights on, or with plenty of background noise.
“Most young babies can sleep in the noisiest, brightest places,” says Charles Shubin, director of pediatrics at Mercy Family Care in Baltimore, “They don’t need the same kind of sleep environment we do.”
On the contrary, research reveals that they tend to sleep better with a repeated sound of a machine or the fan. Therefore, you do not need to drive people out of your room or create a night time environment for your baby to sleep. What you should do is cherish the time while the “sleeping phase” lasts, after that all that awaits you is endless hours of sleepless nights.
Four: Newborns Have Their Personalities
Newborns have varied sets of sleep personalities, some try their best to ward off drowsiness, while others happily embrace it.
“There are definitely individual differences in how babies sleep, just as there are light sleepers and heavy sleepers among adults,” says pediatrician Cohen
If you have more than one child, you would probably be able to relate to this and can compare the extent to which sleep personalities differ, amongst various children.
Five: Newborns Need a Comfortable Sleep Place
When you think of the ideal sleeping place for your child, what is the first thing that comes to mind? A wooden crib with a soft and cozy cushioning, right? Various pediatricians have discovered that, perhaps the most ideal setting for a newborn to sleep in is a flat and firm mattress, with a soft blanket to keep them warm. Stuffing your baby’s crib with toys and stuffed animals would only restrict his sleeping space, not to mention the risk of suffocating your baby. Therefore, make sure you clear out the sleeping space and make it as spacious as possible.
Newborn baby’s sleep is a very sensitive matter, but keeping the aforementioned facts in mind, you just might be on the path to becoming an expert in parenting.
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