I am a stay at home mom to 4 wild and crazy little boys, ages 7, 5, 4, & 2 and a beautiful 8 month old baby girl. I blog about our crazy life over at www.MySillyMonkeys.com
missjess submitted a way to: Sleep
way to be well created 12.28.10
Newborn Babies Sleep!
|
|
After having 5 newborns in my home I can honestly say each child has it's own personality and sleep habits from the time they are born. However there are somethings that have remained the same.
First you must know that absolutely everyone has an opinion about how you should handle sleep issues with your new baby. So I suggest before you even give birth to read up on different techniques and have in mind what you want, as the parent, then when others pipe in you will be more educated on the subject.
Newborn sleep differs from that of older babies. Newborns do sleep a lot but they also feed a lot and most parents do not prepare themselves for feedings around the clock. You are also trying to recover from the birth of your baby so do try to sleep when the baby is sleeping. If you are like me and have older children this is pretty impossible, if people offer to come help then take them up on it & catch some Zzzs if not then ask for help!
During the early months of life, your baby will sleep a lot. There is a saying "Don't wake a sleeping baby" and I find that to be true. The only time I have ever woke my sleeping babies is when they are not growing along their growth curve, and the Doctor told me to wake them every 2 hours to feed.
Your baby will also go through quite a few growth spurts, during those first few months, where they will wake to eat every 1 to 2 hours around the clock. Don't fret this is completely normal and doesn't last forever.
If your newborn has issues sleeping you can try white noise (I like keeping a small fan in my kids room to help circulate the air as well as create white noise). I know I have said this before but keep a routine, bath, lotion/massage, pjs, story, bottle/nursing then bedtime. During the day keep it bright inside and I keep it pretty loud, even if they are sleeping, then before bed turn the lights low and keep noise level down.
Hopefully you and your newborn will be sleeping like a baby!
First you must know that absolutely everyone has an opinion about how you should handle sleep issues with your new baby. So I suggest before you even give birth to read up on different techniques and have in mind what you want, as the parent, then when others pipe in you will be more educated on the subject.
Newborn sleep differs from that of older babies. Newborns do sleep a lot but they also feed a lot and most parents do not prepare themselves for feedings around the clock. You are also trying to recover from the birth of your baby so do try to sleep when the baby is sleeping. If you are like me and have older children this is pretty impossible, if people offer to come help then take them up on it & catch some Zzzs if not then ask for help!
During the early months of life, your baby will sleep a lot. There is a saying "Don't wake a sleeping baby" and I find that to be true. The only time I have ever woke my sleeping babies is when they are not growing along their growth curve, and the Doctor told me to wake them every 2 hours to feed.
Your baby will also go through quite a few growth spurts, during those first few months, where they will wake to eat every 1 to 2 hours around the clock. Don't fret this is completely normal and doesn't last forever.
If your newborn has issues sleeping you can try white noise (I like keeping a small fan in my kids room to help circulate the air as well as create white noise). I know I have said this before but keep a routine, bath, lotion/massage, pjs, story, bottle/nursing then bedtime. During the day keep it bright inside and I keep it pretty loud, even if they are sleeping, then before bed turn the lights low and keep noise level down.
Hopefully you and your newborn will be sleeping like a baby!
Comments
Be the first to comment.
