Newborn Sleeping Suggestions
By Dr. Brown
Sleeping Suggestions for Good Nights
Suggestions for sleep change with age and therefore some things you may have learned to do may no longer be appropriate for being conducive for a great night sleep for your child and you. This handout should help educate you how to be a great teacher for your child. As your child ages, be sure to read the next sections that are age appropriate.
An important point in all of this is to get your baby unaccustomed to feeding in the night; the less feeding in the middle of the night that he begins to rely on, the sooner he will sleep through the night. Try to get your baby from becoming a "Trained Night Feeder". Don't deny your child feeding in the middle of the night; just get him to learn to take less as the nights go. Please be sure that your child is doing well, gaining weight, etc., before you begin to deliberately begin to decrease your child's reliance on night feedings.
Newborn to 1 month:
So much of a newborn's life is related to feeding and sleeping that it may be helpful to also read our article on Breast Feeding Suggestions at the same time as this one. The baby may have eat and sleep cycle times of 2-3 hours by the end of the first month of life. As hard as it may be to avoid, try to not use the feeding as your baby's hypnotic potion to induce sleep. Rather have the eating as separated from the sleep. If your girl wakes at 2 and goes to sleep at 4, feed at 3 or 3:15. By 3:30 to 3:45 feeding should be done and your daughter should still be awake. Change a diaper and sing a song and put her in the crib. It is ok to allow her to fuss for 2-3 minutes before picking her up. During this time, be out of sight and quiet so she can learn to quiet herself and put herself to sleep. After 2-3 minutes of crying, pick her up, calm her for 1 minute and put her back in the crib. Always place her on her back for sleeping to decrease the possibility of CRIB death (SIDS). She is likely to fuss or cry again. Again you may let her cry for 2-3 minutes and pick her up and calm again for only 1 minute. Place her back in the crib for a third time for 2-3 minutes of crying.After three times, pick her up for 5-10 minutes and repeat. Use this method day and night. By the end of the first month of life you can slowly add minutes of crying from 2-3 minutes to 3-4 minutes to 5-7 minutes. Try to arrange the feeding schedule to separate the end of the feed and beginning of sleep by at least a few minutes. Try not to "feed to sleep", this is a bad habit for your baby to get into. As an adult you do not eat and jump into bed. You eat and hours later when digestion is nearly done you go to sleep. When you eat, your metabolism increases and when you sleep your metabolism decreases. So when you eat and immediately go to sleep these two functions are fighting each other. The same concepts are true in infancy. The problem is that a baby's cycle time of eating and sleeping is so short, maybe only 1-3 hours. However, try to separate feeding from the sleeping time for now, even a few minutes is useful. Sleep habits are just that, habits. And whatever your baby gets used to often continues. So if a parent's feeding or rocking is needed to go to sleep, you can bet your baby will need you to go back to sleep. Infants (and older) sleep in sleep cycles lasting about 45-60 minutes and "sleeping through the night" is really 6 cycles of sleep, awakening, going back to sleep without intervention 5-6 times and finally waking up after 6 hours. You can expect this by around 6 weeks of age. However, if your son is still being rocked to sleep, fed to sleep, being put into a swing to sleep, going for a drive to sleep, etc. you may not be "teaching" your baby to put himself. So try our suggestions. They will work. Do not give up after a few days of trying. The habits you began with can be altered. Your child is smarter than you think. He can learn to be an independent sleeper. And so can you.
Top reasons to have a good sleeper in the house:
Good sleepers:
1. Are less likely to get sick from infectious diseases. Your immune system is hard at work during sleep. This means fewer trips to see the doctor too!
2. Are much less cranky and much more pleasant to be around. You will not mind the compliments of how cute she is either.
3. Are smarter. When you are sleep deprived, you do not learn as quickly nor are you interested in learning.
4. Are less likely to have a cranky mom or dad!
1-2 Months of age:
During this age newborns grow in many ways. They eat more, gain weight, stretch in length and begin to smile socially too. Another developmental milestone is sleeping through the night without a parent intervening for feeding, rocking, etc. This means that they need good habits which you may have already begun. If not, now is a fine time to begin habits that will reward your family for the years to come. When we say sleep through the night, we mean 6-8 hours without needing a parent to be with them. The reality is that with 45-60 minute cycles of sleep, they wake up and put themselves back to sleep 5 times during that 6 hour period! And here is the problem. If you are needed to go to sleep, you will likely be needed for your baby to go back to sleep. It is okay to allow your baby to fuss or cry for 2-5 minutes at bed time or nap time. After 2-5 minutes, pick him up and calm for just 1 minute and return him to the crib. Then he can be allowed to cry for 2-5 minutes again. Then calm for a minute and return him to the crib. After 3 episodes of crying, pick him up for 5-10 minutes. Now try again. With each day you can increase the time you allow him to cry to 5-7 minutes and to 7-10 minutes. Most babies learn quickly and by one week will be sleeping better and this means independently. When you hear him on an intercom beginning to fuss, stay away, turn the volume down so you do not have to hear this every hour. Oftentimes, the fussy sounds are your baby waking up from a sleep cycle, and attempting to put himself back to sleep. You really are not always needed. Allowing your child to learn to sleep is one of the most important lessons of life.
Sleep training after 2 months of age:
Use the same recommendations as above. Consistency is the most important part. If a mom and dad differ and do not agree, the child gets mixed messages and may not have a clue what you want to do. Being consistent day to day and caregiver to caregiver is critical. When the adults are both ready to work on this, it happens quickly. Begin with 3-5 minutes of fussing or crying and increase on each day by a couple of minutes. By a week, all will be better sleepers.
Nightmares and Night Terrors
Many children will get one or both of these as they sleep. Understanding them helps you to know what you may need to do. A Nightmare is a simple thing. Whether the "Boogie Man" is chasing them or what is in their dreams, the stress and upset is over quickly when they are reassured by a parent. They may not want to return to the crib in fear of seeing their dream again. Reassurance and being firm that it is only a dream is all that is needed for an older child who can understand the difference between real and pretend, in other words, between a dream and reality.
A Night Terror is slightly different. Rather than the child being awake and taking comfort from a parent, the stimulation of sound, light and touch add to the anxiety of the child. They often are arching and trying to get out of your arms, they may look really weird, drugged or in a trance. Reassurance seems to make the child more upset rather than less. So, be quiet, do not touch, turn out the light. The Night Terrors will burn themselves out in a few minutes usually. Some may last 20 minutes or more. Stress of the , changes in schedules often cause Night Terrrors, as can illnesses like a cold, ear infection, or even a new tooth. Being over tired at bedtime can be stressful too. Treatment is often directed to parents to understand these are common problems. Children may remember Nightmares the next day, but they never seem to remember Night Terrors. While no newborn can answer the question about memory, it does seem that they can have Nightmares or Night Terrors even at a very early age. This review of sleep is intended to round out any discussion you may have had with your pediatrician. For further help, give us a call during regular work hours to discuss your child's sleep.
Please see our section on Recommended Books for additional information and help with this issue.
Sleeping Suggestions for Good Nights
Suggestions for sleep change with age and therefore some things you may have learned to do may no longer be appropriate for being conducive for a great night sleep for your child and you. This handout should help educate you how to be a great teacher for your child. As your child ages, be sure to read the next sections that are age appropriate.
An important point in all of this is to get your baby unaccustomed to feeding in the night; the less feeding in the middle of the night that he begins to rely on, the sooner he will sleep through the night. Try to get your baby from becoming a "Trained Night Feeder". Don't deny your child feeding in the middle of the night; just get him to learn to take less as the nights go. Please be sure that your child is doing well, gaining weight, etc., before you begin to deliberately begin to decrease your child's reliance on night feedings.
Newborn to 1 month:
So much of a newborn's life is related to feeding and sleeping that it may be helpful to also read our article on Breast Feeding Suggestions at the same time as this one. The baby may have eat and sleep cycle times of 2-3 hours by the end of the first month of life. As hard as it may be to avoid, try to not use the feeding as your baby's hypnotic potion to induce sleep. Rather have the eating as separated from the sleep. If your girl wakes at 2 and goes to sleep at 4, feed at 3 or 3:15. By 3:30 to 3:45 feeding should be done and your daughter should still be awake. Change a diaper and sing a song and put her in the crib. It is ok to allow her to fuss for 2-3 minutes before picking her up. During this time, be out of sight and quiet so she can learn to quiet herself and put herself to sleep. After 2-3 minutes of crying, pick her up, calm her for 1 minute and put her back in the crib. Always place her on her back for sleeping to decrease the possibility of CRIB death (SIDS). She is likely to fuss or cry again. Again you may let her cry for 2-3 minutes and pick her up and calm again for only 1 minute. Place her back in the crib for a third time for 2-3 minutes of crying.After three times, pick her up for 5-10 minutes and repeat. Use this method day and night. By the end of the first month of life you can slowly add minutes of crying from 2-3 minutes to 3-4 minutes to 5-7 minutes. Try to arrange the feeding schedule to separate the end of the feed and beginning of sleep by at least a few minutes. Try not to "feed to sleep", this is a bad habit for your baby to get into. As an adult you do not eat and jump into bed. You eat and hours later when digestion is nearly done you go to sleep. When you eat, your metabolism increases and when you sleep your metabolism decreases. So when you eat and immediately go to sleep these two functions are fighting each other. The same concepts are true in infancy. The problem is that a baby's cycle time of eating and sleeping is so short, maybe only 1-3 hours. However, try to separate feeding from the sleeping time for now, even a few minutes is useful. Sleep habits are just that, habits. And whatever your baby gets used to often continues. So if a parent's feeding or rocking is needed to go to sleep, you can bet your baby will need you to go back to sleep. Infants (and older) sleep in sleep cycles lasting about 45-60 minutes and "sleeping through the night" is really 6 cycles of sleep, awakening, going back to sleep without intervention 5-6 times and finally waking up after 6 hours. You can expect this by around 6 weeks of age. However, if your son is still being rocked to sleep, fed to sleep, being put into a swing to sleep, going for a drive to sleep, etc. you may not be "teaching" your baby to put himself. So try our suggestions. They will work. Do not give up after a few days of trying. The habits you began with can be altered. Your child is smarter than you think. He can learn to be an independent sleeper. And so can you.
Top reasons to have a good sleeper in the house:
Good sleepers:
1. Are less likely to get sick from infectious diseases. Your immune system is hard at work during sleep. This means fewer trips to see the doctor too!
2. Are much less cranky and much more pleasant to be around. You will not mind the compliments of how cute she is either.
3. Are smarter. When you are sleep deprived, you do not learn as quickly nor are you interested in learning.
4. Are less likely to have a cranky mom or dad!
1-2 Months of age:
During this age newborns grow in many ways. They eat more, gain weight, stretch in length and begin to smile socially too. Another developmental milestone is sleeping through the night without a parent intervening for feeding, rocking, etc. This means that they need good habits which you may have already begun. If not, now is a fine time to begin habits that will reward your family for the years to come. When we say sleep through the night, we mean 6-8 hours without needing a parent to be with them. The reality is that with 45-60 minute cycles of sleep, they wake up and put themselves back to sleep 5 times during that 6 hour period! And here is the problem. If you are needed to go to sleep, you will likely be needed for your baby to go back to sleep. It is okay to allow your baby to fuss or cry for 2-5 minutes at bed time or nap time. After 2-5 minutes, pick him up and calm for just 1 minute and return him to the crib. Then he can be allowed to cry for 2-5 minutes again. Then calm for a minute and return him to the crib. After 3 episodes of crying, pick him up for 5-10 minutes. Now try again. With each day you can increase the time you allow him to cry to 5-7 minutes and to 7-10 minutes. Most babies learn quickly and by one week will be sleeping better and this means independently. When you hear him on an intercom beginning to fuss, stay away, turn the volume down so you do not have to hear this every hour. Oftentimes, the fussy sounds are your baby waking up from a sleep cycle, and attempting to put himself back to sleep. You really are not always needed. Allowing your child to learn to sleep is one of the most important lessons of life.
Sleep training after 2 months of age:
Use the same recommendations as above. Consistency is the most important part. If a mom and dad differ and do not agree, the child gets mixed messages and may not have a clue what you want to do. Being consistent day to day and caregiver to caregiver is critical. When the adults are both ready to work on this, it happens quickly. Begin with 3-5 minutes of fussing or crying and increase on each day by a couple of minutes. By a week, all will be better sleepers.
Nightmares and Night Terrors
Many children will get one or both of these as they sleep. Understanding them helps you to know what you may need to do. A Nightmare is a simple thing. Whether the "Boogie Man" is chasing them or what is in their dreams, the stress and upset is over quickly when they are reassured by a parent. They may not want to return to the crib in fear of seeing their dream again. Reassurance and being firm that it is only a dream is all that is needed for an older child who can understand the difference between real and pretend, in other words, between a dream and reality.
A Night Terror is slightly different. Rather than the child being awake and taking comfort from a parent, the stimulation of sound, light and touch add to the anxiety of the child. They often are arching and trying to get out of your arms, they may look really weird, drugged or in a trance. Reassurance seems to make the child more upset rather than less. So, be quiet, do not touch, turn out the light. The Night Terrors will burn themselves out in a few minutes usually. Some may last 20 minutes or more. Stress of the , changes in schedules often cause Night Terrrors, as can illnesses like a cold, ear infection, or even a new tooth. Being over tired at bedtime can be stressful too. Treatment is often directed to parents to understand these are common problems. Children may remember Nightmares the next day, but they never seem to remember Night Terrors. While no newborn can answer the question about memory, it does seem that they can have Nightmares or Night Terrors even at a very early age. This review of sleep is intended to round out any discussion you may have had with your pediatrician. For further help, give us a call during regular work hours to discuss your child's sleep.
Please see our section on Recommended Books for additional information and help with this issue.