Why won’t my baby sleep? - Understanding your newborn’s sleep.
Understanding how babies sleep and making some small changes, can transform those early weeks from exhausting and overwhelming into a calmer and more enjoyable experience.
With the right environment and foundations in place, babies can learn gentle, healthy sleep habits whilst still respecting their need for comfort, reassurance and closeness.
In those very early days, your newborn sleeps a lot – 14 – 17 hours per 24-hour period, however, it may not feel like it. This is because baby’s have short sleep cycles – usually of around 30 – 50 minutes. They are ruled by their need for food, comfort and by their immature nervous system.
Newborn babies start their sleep in an active REM phase, where they grunt, twitch and make noise.
Babies don’t know the difference between day and night, their Circadian Rhythm - the internal clock that regulates sleep and wakefulness - is not established at birth and won’t be fully developed until they are between 3 and 6 months old.
However, there are things that you can do to encourage the establishment of longer night-time sleep.
Parents can help support the development of their baby’s Circadian Rhythm by:
Having plenty of natural daylight during the day.
Taking baby out for a walk during the day.
Engaging baby in a calm and purposeful interactions post feed – playing music, talking to baby, singing to baby etc. during the day.
Quiet, dark feeds at night.
Avoiding stimulation at night.
If parents do these things consistently, their baby will gradually learn the difference between day and night.
How to create positive sleep associations:
Babies respond best to repeated and related experiences.
When there is consistency and repetition during the day, babies start to associate these cues with sleep.
Helpful sleep associations –
Swaddling.
Quiet, dark room.
Some people choose a piece of music or a song that they play.
White noise.
Familiar sleep environment.
Consistent bath and bedtime routine.
Over time, babies recognise these cues and associate them with sleep.
Your baby’s sleep environment:
Your baby’s sleep environment plays a big part in whether your baby sleeps well or not.
Ideal sleep environments include:
A quiet, dark, calm room.
A safe sleep environment in a cot or crib/ Moses basket with a firm mattress and lightweight blanket, tucked in at the baby’s feet.
Correct clothing for the room temperature to avoid baby getting too hot or too cold.
Baby sleeping on its back.
A swaddle.
A room with a temperature, ideally, between 18 degrees and 21 degrees centigrade.
Introducing healthy sleep habits does not mean choosing between rigid routines or co-sleeping/contact naps. It is possible to find a gentle middle ground.
With a predictable rhythm in place, positive sleep associations, a calm, safe sleep environment and responsive parents then babies feel secure and settled.
This helps babies naturally develop longer, more restorative stretches of sleep.
Calm babies = Confident parents, confident parents = calm babies.
Those early weeks don’t need to pass in a blur of exhaustion, confusion and anxiety.
When parents understand their new baby’s sleep and learn how create a gentle rhythm with their baby, everything feels calmer and settled.
Parents are confident in their decision making.
Babies are calm, happy and secure.
The whole family finds a rhythm that promotes, rest, recovery and wellbeing.
If you would like to find out more about how I can help you to create a calm, gentle rhythm with your baby, with my “It’s as easy as 1 2 3 method and my 12-week plan – A calm start, then please explore the rest of my website and contact me for your free, no obligation consultation.
Emma Hingston
Founder and creator of the It’s as easy as 1 2 3 method and The 12 week plan.