Newborns Need Sooooo Much Sleep
Keep An Eye On The Clock
Newborns need soooo much sleep and new parents often underestimate this. Having an awareness of what a tired baby looks like can help. Even better though, is paying attention to the clock. Catching them before they are exhausted is key to good sleep. Even when it doesn’t seem like they are tired, they are! If your newborn has been up for 45 minutes to an hour, it is time to put them back to sleep! If they’re calm, try putting them down awake and see if they just doze off on their own – they may surprise you! As time goes on, these awake windows will start to stretch to 90 minutes, and usually the first window will be the longest. This will happen around the 2-3 month mark. For the first few months, try to keep it under an hour!
Sleep Begets Sleep
Keeping a baby awake during the day “so they will sleep at night” is a mistake! Don’t listen to people who give you this advice – it’s great for a 2-3 year old, but definitely not for a little one. Sleep begets sleep, and doing this will just lead to baby being overtired and even more restless. The reality is, newborns are taking in everything around them and experiencing a crazy amount of stimulation. The longer a baby is awake, the more adrenaline and cortisol they are producing. We call it baby coffee! To keep them from getting overstimulated, newborns should be sleeping for the majority of the day! The more they sleep, the more they sleep. Their little brains are working hard to learn about this brand new world and need LOTS of rest to integrate it all. How do you know if you are on track? If they are sleeping during the day, through the night, getting enough to eat, and are not grumpy, they are getting enough sleep! There is no such thing as too much sleep!
Need More Support?
Keeping an eye on the clock and making sure your baby is awake for no more than an hour is key. Doing this will keep your baby from overstimulation, which leads to frequent wakings during the night! Need more support? We’re here to help with a combination of in-person visits, calls, texts, emails, overnight stays, and just being there. To learn more about our services or get in touch you can contact us here. Also, you can access our full library of video content when you register for any of our webinars or sign up for our newsletter!