Every baby is different and his or her sleeping habits will change often during the first months of life.
Most newborns sleep 16-17 hours, day and night. During the first weeks, the baby‘s staying awake periods will last between 1 and 4 hours. The baby cannot understand when it is day and night, so you need to help him or her begin to distinguish them.
In the day you must have enough light in the room and at night try not to play with the baby and keep quiet.
Eating and sleeping are the most important things for the baby. Most babies eat every 2-3 hours.
At the end of the first month, your baby will probably have something like a diet and sleeping arrangements, but the real system will be established only after several months.
Try to feed your baby more slowly. It is natural for the baby to fall asleep while sucking from breast or bottle. If the baby falls asleep every time when he or she eats, then it probably associates sucking with falling asleep and may not be able to sleep in another way.
In case your baby always falls asleep, while nursing, don’t worry. It’s the most natural thing for a newborn.
In case you want to indulge this nice habit, consider how you will break it when the baby grows up.
You can also try another option and let the baby suck until it begins to gets sleepy, but not fully asleep. Remove him from the breast gently and let the baby sleep naturally.
If you take your baby from the breast, he/she may start crying or become nervous. This is why you should try to pull the baby gently, when you feel it is ready to fall asleep. If you do this often enough, your child will learn to sleep without sucking from the breast or the bottle.
