Baby Sleep Patterns and You.

Baby Sleep Patterns and You.

Baby Sleep Patterns can be erratic. On this page you can find information on the evolving sleep patterns of your baby. Help your baby sleep better.

Babies love to sleep, at least most babies.

An average babysleep pattern is for about 14-16 hours a day and most of this sleep will notoccur at night. The human body has an internal clock called the circadianrhythm, this clock tells the brain when to induce sleep and it is influenced bythe day/night cycle. This is the pattern in adults. But babies are not bornwith this; rather they grow in to it. By four to six weeks your baby’s body begins to adapt and develops amore distinct circadian rhythm.

Now yourbaby will sleep less often but when she does it will be for a large chunk oftime. By the time your baby is 1, her sleep hours will fall from 16 to 12 hoursand will sleep long at night and take afew naps during the day.
Here is a basic outline of baby sleep patterns by age. Please note that thereis no strict rule and that average baby chooses exacty the way she wants tosleep, depending on a number of unique factors.

Newborns.
New Born babies sleep for an average of 14 to 16 hours a dayand usually take short naps of 2-4 hoursat intervals.

Six weeks to Sixmonths.
At this stage your baby’s body begins to adhere to stricter sleep cyclesand your baby will sleep more at night. Your baby’s sleep hours will drop to 14hours.

Six Months.
Your baby at this point will sleep much more at night. Yourbaby’s sleep hours will vary between 12-14 hours.

Advice on babies sleep patterns
By the time your baby is 4 months you should be ready tomove her to a cot. Babies sleep betterwhen they areloved, fed, warm and dry.
Between 7-12weeks, most babies now have a regular sleep pattern. Most doze off at 11pm andsleep through until the next feed at 4am.
To ensureyou baby sleeps well always make the environment is conducive. Not too hot ortoo cold.

Some mothers think a baby should always be wrapped in blanket regardlessof the heat. This is wrong. If the central heating is on in the house make sureyour baby’s room is not too hot. If your baby is red in the face or her hair isdamp, just remove the blanket or turn of the radiator. It is essential thatyour baby feels comfy so as to aid sleep.

Recentresearch also has shown that if you feed your baby 11 times during a 24 hourperiod she is less likely to sleep well. Researchers from the University of Londonmade this discovery when they studied 600 babies of 1 to 12 weeks of age to seewhat would influence them to sleep through the night.
During thetest parent were encouraged to put the babies in a cot and not to feed orcuddle the child at night. At the end of the test it was discovered that 82% of babies which had beenmost frequently fed at one week old, so-called “at risk” babies, onthe behavioral programme slept through the night compared with 61% of “atrisk” babies not on the programme, and this is regardless of whether theywere fed by breast or feeding bottles.

Sleep in Children can be monitored and understood overtime. Since each child is unique general rules cannot be applied to every child.

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