I think every new mom could use some tips and tricks for baby sleep! That was such a hard stage and it is good to know you are not alone and having some help along the way :) I love having guest posts to see things from another perspective.
The sleeping patterns of your baby can convey a lot about their health as well as behavior. It is important to monitor the sleeping patterns in order to know more about your infant. There are a few things which you can easily comprehend from the sleeping patterns of your baby. We will highlight them below.
A single sleep session is always short
Even though, most of the infants actually sleep for 16 to 18 hours per day but a single session is pretty short. It can range between 30 minutes to 4 hours. Moreover, the timing of the sessions can be all over the place. Unlike adults, most of the infants do not coincide their sleeping patterns with the day and night cycle. Owing to this very reason, they can easily sleep at any point in time.
They are active sleepers
Most of the infants are active sleepers. They rarely go into the deep cycle sleep. During the active sleeping time, they often move around a bit. That is why, it is important that you keep them safely secured especially in cars. When sleeping, their breathing is also shallow. This is also the reason why they can easily wake up.
Sleeping times will be all over the place
The total sleeping time for an infant can be up to 18 hours per day. This will be reduced to 14 hours after 4 weeks. However, you have to keep in mind that the timings are not aligned according to the day and night cycle. Thus, the baby might sleep throughout the day and might remain awake during the night. You have to keep this factor in mind and thereafter only, it will be easy for you to understand the sleeping pattern. You need to understand that most of the infants follow the circadian rhythm. This is a psychological rhythm which is based on the 24-hour cycle. Initially, this rhythm is not impacted by light exposure. However, sooner than later the infant starts to recalibrate the internal cycles of the body to the day and night cycle. This means that after a few months, the baby will get more accustomed to sleeping at night rather than during the daytime. This is when the sleeping cycle of the infant will coincide with your sleeping cycle.
Proper sleeping schedule is after 12 weeks
Once the infant is 12 weeks old, their sleeping cycle starts to change. The sleeping cycle starts to coincide with the day and night cycle. As a result, it becomes much easier for you to look after your baby. Generally speaking, when the infant is following this pattern you can be sure that they are healthy and they are getting adequate rest. This will also stimulate proper growth in infants. You need to however keep in mind that not each and every infant will follow the sleeping pattern. Some of them might adopt sooner as compared to others. That is why, even though these are the general patterns but it is not necessary that your baby might follow the same pattern as the ones which we have listed above.
Things which you can do in order to sync to the sleeping cycle of the infant to the day and night cycle:
Minimize the activity at night
It is normal for the infant to wake up during the night for the feed. While feeding them, you have to minimize the activity. You have to minimize moving around or turning on the lights. When you are able to do that, it will be easier for the baby to go back to sleep.
Try infant massage
When the infant wakes up at night and is not able to sleep, you can give them a light infant massage. This will help them go back to sleep quite quickly. You need to however wait till the infant is at least 3 months old and after that; you can go for the massage.
Expose the infant to the day and night cycle
Once you expose them to sunlight and the cycle of light and darkness, it will be easier for you to help them coincide their sleeping cycle with the day and night cycle. If you always keep the shades down and do not let some light come into your home, they will never be exposed to do the day and night cycle. In such a case, they cannot align their sleeping cycle with the day and night cycle.
So, it is important to always monitor the sleeping pattern of your baby in order to find out more about their habits and health. You can even help them coincide their sleeping patterns with the day and night cycle to make it easier for them to get adequate rest. This will also help you as a parent as you will be able to coincide your sleeping time with that of the infant.
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