The baby sleep schedule for a newborn comes quite naturally at first.
Ideal now is to support
her natural newborn
sleep patterns and gently instill a good day-and-night
rhythm for best newborn sleeping skills.
Especially during the first days, sometimes weeks,
most babies are barely awake when not feeding. She will feed, sleep,
feed, sleep, ...
Most babies
Please do not feel
uncomfortable if your baby does not seem to behave like "most babies".
When I mention "most babies" I mean what is typical, on average, for a
baby of that age.
But of course there are always
many
many cases on
either side of the average. And those babies are still very normal!
As
a comfort, remember: "most
babies"
do not
behave like "most babies" ...
Whether feeding
on demand or on a feeding schedule, the
feeding times vary quite a bit in these first weeks. Sleeping simply
folds around feeding ... and you probably find a newborn sleep schedule
to be
far away.
In fact, it is better not to interfere with the
newborn development too much
while she is still fully establishing her newborn
sleep patterns.
But it
is important to give her a feel of day
and night. A baby is not born with the day/night rhythm
well
established. It is the first thing to be learnt about sleep.
Use these steps to help your baby discover
the difference between day and night:
Choose
your day and night times.
No need to be very strict but roughly decide
on a time when the day starts and ends. For example your day could
start around 7am and end at around 7pm. Each feeding in between will be
a night feeding.
Day/Night Cues - Top tip!
Keep lights
dim and activity to the lowest
during these night
feedings. In other words: during the night, keep it
functional: not too many smiles, not much talking, change her diaper
only if
really necessary ...
Leave active feeding and playing sessions
to the day - when I bet you'll feel more like it yourself as well. This
will be a key part of each baby sleep schedule at any age.
Of
course you choose times that suit you well.
And no worries: this is not about deciding
when your baby will go to bed when older. It's just for you to have a
guideline right now. And for baby to get into the rhythm.
Avoid
waking your baby up for a feeding.
If she ususally feeds at a given time but is
fast asleep, it's best to let her sleep. She needs time to find her
sleep/wake pattern and that is best developed naturally.
Observe your
baby.
Look for sleepy
signs, listen to her
breath when she just fell asleep and also when she is in a deep sleep,
how does she wake up (rubbing her eyes, turning her head left-to-right,
...)? This will help you arrange
a good newborn sleep schedule.
No worries if you cannot read and interpret
your newborn baby's signs.
To tell you the truth: most parents find that
very hard to do - even if many books make us believe "good
moms and
dads" should.
Just observe, it is fun to do and somehow you
do learn
from it! Somehow you will get a feel for when she needs to sleep, or
is not tired at all, or overtired. And you will use this as she grows
out of the newborn phase ...
You have taken the first steps towards a good baby
sleep schedule. Continue your reading with newborn
sleeping tips. Remember to stay relaxed about it and
enjoy your
tiny baby as much as you can: she's only a newborn for
such a short time ...
