Probably the most baffling issue for the majority of new parents can be newborn sleep. While most of us learn through the zombie-like days and some gritty nights, our baby simply doesn’t snooze like us, and here are the reasons why.
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Some babies sleep all day and party all night
Many newborns arrive in the world with their nights and days wholly reversed. In contrast, many newborns wake up each hour at night to kick their legs that can be pretty challenging for parents since our bodies aren’t psychologically oriented to be up all night.
Aastra Women’s Center suggests trying to take a nap during your newborn’s longer stretches of sleep. Always keep in mind that the day/night switcheroo is a temporary thing. As your newborn’s central nervous system and brain mature, his sleep cycles will become longer so that more sleep will occur at night. Most newborns adjust to the timetable of the family in a month or so.
Newborns need a spartan sleeping space
A well-appointed crib included a few cozy blankets, a lovely soft bumper, and a couple of pillows, but that was a generation ago. Nowadays, things are a little bit different. Besides organic cotton baby clothes, it’s also much safer for newborns to sleep in a bit more streamlined environment. The most sheltered sleeping position for newborns is on their back on a flat, firm mattress, and a tight-fitting sheet.
I suggest you remove any items that can potentially suffocate your baby, impair breathing, cause overheating, and similar, including pillows, blankets, bumpers, and stuffed animals. This is what will also reduce your newborn’s risk of SIDS.
Babies sleep is unpredictable and erratic
Your little one may rack up his sleep hours in those early weeks, such as college students home on winter breaks. Newborn babies generally sleep between 14 to 18 hours per day in the first week, and between 12 to 16 hours per day, by the time they are one month old.
According to the survey, about 71% of moms revealed that the hardest part of having a newborn is the lack of sleep.
You can always blame your lack of energy on the erratic nature of your newborn’s sleep. Every baby is an individual, which means that some of them can sleep a bit less or a bit more than the average. That is why some parents are startled or even alarmed by how much their newborn sleep.
Babies don’t need a quiet environment to fall asleep
Babies generally don’t need the same sleep environment as we do; most of them can fall asleep in the brightest and the noisiest places. This shouldn’t be surprising if you consider the fact that the baby spent nine months in your uterus, and the sounds like the mother’s heartbeat, digestive system, or some other bodily functions can be quite loud. They can fall asleep whenever they need to.
Many newborn babies sleep better when surrounded by some repetitive sounds, such as a white-noise machine or fan.
Newborns have their sleep personalities
There are many individual differences in how newborns sleep, such as there are heavy sleepers and light sleepers among adults. Parents that have more than one child can often see these differences from early on. Some of the newborns are more determined and would fight sleep as long as they can, while others are a bit more easygoing.
Whether you won the newborn sleep lottery or not, it would be great if you can begin to teach your little one good sleeping habits. You can do that by establishing their bedtime routine and reading up on your baby sleep basics.
