For a newborn most of the day is spent fast asleep, although this consists of many short spells interrupted by feeds.
Some babies will sleep through the night after only a matter of weeks whilst others can go half a year before giving parents a proper night’s rest. [Baby sleep]
It is imperative to get your child into a reasonable sleep pattern as soon as possible; this will be the basis of everything that follows.
For example, if you insist on rocking your child to sleep eventually he or she will expect it and will not fall asleep any other way. So be careful what you wish for.
As soon as your baby appears sleepy put him down in his cot or moses basket away from household activity, if you wait too long they will be over-tired. Very quickly, you will recognize these signs and your baby’s daily patterns will be a part of your own.
Some babies struggle to distinguish night from day and can be like night owls preferring to sleep during the day and play at nighttime. This can be resolved by retraining their senses for example if they start to fall asleep after a feed wake them up.
Keep noise levels at normal and don’t tip toe around trying not to disturb them if they are asleep.
At night time, don’t play or encourage your baby to be active. Eventually they will get the message and realize just when they are supposed to sleep.
