Babies and Sleep

learn when and why they need it

How to make it easier for your baby to fall asleep and stay asleep   by Lucy Fitzgerald

An overtired baby is likely to fight sleep when put down at bedtime or naptime.

Babies who sleep poorly in the day often need a lot of parental help to fall asleep and stay asleep through the night.

This is because they have become over stimulated through being awake for too long during the day, or due to poor quality naps (typically 30 minutes or less) when out and about.

Time and again people ask me for advice about their baby's night sleep and when I ask about day time naps they say "she won't nap for more than 15 minutes in the day" or, "he stopped napping before his first birthday".

This can cause problems because these babies are awake for too long a period for their age. As a result they become chronically fatigued, find it harder to fall asleep, and/or stay asleep. Sleep problems then start to arise because parents assist their babies to sleep.

Of course, some babies really do need less sleep than others and can tolerate longer periods of time awake. But if your baby is finding it hard to settle to sleep, doesn't nap well in the day, and/or is waking regularly throughout the night, I suggest you look first at the amount of day sleep she is having and the length of time she is staying awake.

By keeping an eye on your baby and noticing her tired signs you will quickly learn how long she is able to stay awake and remain content. As soon as she starts to fuss, become frustrated, rub her eyes, or show other signs of tiredness, it's time for her to sleep.

The length of time your baby is content while awake will vary but it's probably a lot less time than you think. Some approximate 'contented awake' times are:

0 - 3 weeks (15 - 30 minutes)

3 - 12 weeks (30 - 90 minutes)

3 - 7 months (1 - 2 hours)

7 - 12 months (2 - 3 hours)

1 - 2 years (3 - 5 hours)

2 - 3 years (5 - 8 hours)

All babies are different and these awake times are just a guideline. Interestingly, babies seem to have their shortest, 'contented awake' time in the morning and these then increase as the day goes along. So the longest period of 'contented awake' time is at the end of the day.

For example a seven month old baby may need a nap 1 hour and 45 minutes after waking in the morning. She is likely to then have a further two naps in the day and may be contentedly awake for three hours before her final sleep.

If your baby is staying awake for a longer period of time than is right for her age, she is very likely fighting sleep due to overtiredness. Some very tired babies will fall asleep easily at the end of the day into what I call a "dead" sleep. Unfortunately, they will often then wake many times throughout the night. But she will probably then wake regularly through the night because she was over stimulated before bedtime.

Another reason why your baby may fight sleep is that she isn't given enough time to wind down before she is put down for a sleep. Your seven month old may be playing happily. She's been awake for about two hours and she starts to fuss. First she becomes frustrated with her toys, then she starts to rub her eyes with the back of her hand.

You know she's tired so you pick her up and put her in her cot. She shouts, screams even. In and out you go, trying to settle her, until she is beyond tired. Eventually, you get her up, concluding that she wasn't ready for a nap after all. This is a scenario I often hear about.

When you put your baby down for a nap, it's really important you do it as soon as she's tired because the window of opportunity here is quite small. Taking just ten minutes to finish what you're doing before taking your baby for a nap could mean she ends up overtired and will need a lot more help from you to fall asleep.

As soon as you see your baby is tired, take her to where she sleeps and then spend some time preparing her for her nap. The older your baby, the more time this will be. For example, a 2 year old may have been awake for 4 hours and will need maybe 20 minutes of calming down before a nap. A 4 month old baby may just need a five minute cuddle in a dark room until he is relaxed and ready for sleep. The aim is to help your baby become drowsy and ready to sleep.

At the end of the day, the preparation for bedtime will be longer, probably involving a bath and some music so your baby knows it's night time.

A tired (not over tired) baby, who has been prepared for sleep through a calming routine, will find it much easier to fall asleep without your help for naps. And a well rested baby, who has napped well in the day, will be able to settle herself to sleep at bedtime. Which is essential if you want your baby to sleep through the night without your help.

About the Author

Mum of two and co-founder of Sleepytot, Lucy Fitzgerald is passionate about baby sleep, offering a wealth of friendly advice and support to tired parents at sleepytot.com . Visit us to claim a FREE baby sleep guide written by Sleepytot and the Millpond Child Sleep Clinic.

I never gave a lot of thought about babies and sleep, back when I had them.  I sure knew when they needed it, that parts for sure.  There are two really good times for the baby to take a nap, when the baby needs it or when the mom needs it.  Either way, naps are good, and babies do need plenty of sleep.

Help Your Baby To Sleep   by Ray Ebersole

One of the hardest things for new parents to deal with is a newborn's sleeping habits. Most of us are familiar with the circles about the eyes of new parents along with their complaints concerning lack of sleep. Here are 5 baby nap guidelines, which will with any luck aid both your infant - as well as you - to get a solid night's breather.

One of the most vital things you can accomplish in terms of getting your baby to nap better is to create a schedule, and to stick to it. The more normal your newborn's sleeping hours are, the more probable he or she will be able to sleep soundly all through the night.

As soon as possible, try and create a sleeping blueprint with your baby that mimics the one in the rest of the home - in other words, one in which the majority of the sleeping is done at nighttime. If you discover that your baby is sleeping-in because of being up late at night, stir him or her at the point in time when you usually get up. In doing this it's further probable that your infant will be sleepy and be asleep in the evenings.

On a broad level, there will be no means to steer clear of the fact that your newborn's sleeping routine are going to be unbalanced, also there are, of course, going to be times when the infant just wishes to be up while the rest of the family unit desires to be sleeping. Over time, however, your baby will begin to adjust to your family's customary sleeping routine if you instill in him or her at an early age a sense of routine.

A newborn, principally when he or she is especially youthful, is seriously influenced by these routines. As much as possible, you ought to oppose the temptation to allow the newborn arrange his or her resting habits. The baby, of course, will desire to snooze a lot -- which is okay -- but don't let the baby sleep too late into the morning. By establishing a routine with your newborn from a young age you will make certain that the transition into more normal sleeping habits is both a faster and smoother one.

One of the key factors in your newborn's progress is in creating associations with sleep. It is important, then, to instill a bedtime schedule with your child that includes sleep associations he or she can reproduce for him or herself. The idea is to get your child to a spot where if he awakens in the middle of the night, he can go back to sleep on his own.

Establish a bedtime custom along with your child that includes things like a final changing and feeding, etc. The finest thing you can accomplish is to put your baby to sleep at a point during the day when they feel relatively drowsy, but are in spite of everything alert enough to take in their surroundings and develop their individual sleep associations.

The worst thing you can do is get your child used to falling asleep together with you there. If your child develops sleep associations along with a pacifier or as a result of being rocked, as soon as she wakes up in the middle of the night she won't be capable to recreate her sleeping circumstances on her own - because you won't be there to rock or give food to her.

As an alternative, experiment with getting your newborn to associate with things like a stuffed plaything or blanket. The concept is that if your newborn makes sleep associations together with these items, he can restore the sleep ircumstances on his own as soon as he wakes up in the middle of the night. Instead of waking up and crying for a feeding or to be rocked, the baby will be able to grab his stuffed animal or blanket and re-make on his own a state conducive to slumber.

In this same vein, parents should consider the usage of what is called a "transitional object." This is something you allow your baby access to just before bedtime, and which he can bring to bed. So as your child receives his finishing bedtime tale, allow him to have his blanket or stuffed animal, as well as permit him to keep the object with him as he's put to bed.

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