At the end of each sleep cycle, newborns wake up for a little while, and may cry or grizzle, and you might need to help them settle for the next cycle.īabies have growth spurts at two, four and six weeks, so you may find them waking to feed more often during those times. Each newborn sleep cycle has both light sleep and deep sleep, and takes about 40 minutes. Once baby’s (finally) asleep, they go through sleep cycles. Or this may not work for you and your baby at all! All babies are different. Your baby should be ready to be put down now, and you might be able to sneak away and get some well-deserved rest. Their fists should unfold and their limbs dangle weightlessly. Your baby’s face should relax, they should stop twitching and start breathing shallow, regular breaths, and their muscles should completely relax. Try your ritual again, but continue it for a bit longer (about 20 minutes longer). They’re less likely to wake while in deep sleep. During deep sleep, they hardly move, and their breathing is deep and regular.They can be woken easily while in light sleep. They might twitch, have irregular breathing, smile, or make sucking motions with their mouth. During light sleep, they might move around a lot and make noises.Newborns have two kinds of sleep – light and deep sleep. You gently put them down in their safe sleep space and start to creep away – and then they wake up and cry loudly! That’s because they weren’t fully asleep when you put them down – they were just in light sleep. They twitch, smile and make the cutest sucking motions in their sleep. Their eyelids droop and then close, but gently flutter. You’re walking around with your new baby in your arms, gently rocking them to try to get them to sleep. Overtired babies often wake more frequently. At this stage, let them sleep when they’re tired, and feed them when they’re hungry. Keeping newborns awake during the day won’t make them sleep more at night. Very young babies tend to sleep on and off through the day and the night, and the length of those sleeps can vary. But still, at this age, there isn’t much time for play. This seemingly never-ending feed-sleep cycle starts to change after three to four weeks, when your baby start s to take in their surroundings, and be a little more interactive with you. This means when they’re awake, they’re usually feeding, and after feeding, they’ll probably want to go back to sleep. Newborns sleep a lot - around 16 out of every 24 hours – and they need eight to 12 feeds a day so they get enough food for growth and development. For these first few weeks, i t’s a good idea just to let them nap when they’re tired, and to feed on demand when they’re hungry. Do what works best for you and your baby.Īll babies are different, and their sleep patterns can vary a lot. It’s also okay if your baby sometimes falls asleep while they’re feeding. If your baby’s unsettled, it’s fine to cuddle or rock them to sleep. Try a regular routine before bed, like a:īut remember, the most important things in these early months are responding to your baby and being flexible.
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