All parents have issues when a
new baby comes along and one of the biggest concerns is how well
their baby will sleep
When it comes to sleeping habits every
child is different, like adults, they have individual differences
in sleep need and patterns. Parents who are aware of their child?s
individual sleep needs and daily rhythm can build routines around
these patterns and can establish regular bedtimes, wake-time and
naps, that incorporate their child's individual needs. Once regular
routines have been established, your baby, and the whole family
will sleep well.
We have listed some guidelines
below on what you can expect in the first three years:
Newborns 0-2 months
Sleep in infants is comprised of two stages, quiet sleep (similar
to non-REM sleep) and active sleep (similar to REM sleep). During
quiet sleep, a newborn baby will breathe deeply and lie still. However,
during active sleep, which accounts for 50% of sleep time during
the newborn period, is characterized by irregular breathing and
significant movement, including twitches and sudden body jerks A
newborn baby's sleep cycle is disorganized. During the first few
weeks, you can expect your baby' s sleep to be distributed over
24 hours, with each sleep lasting anywhere from 30 minutes to 3
hours, and with frequent waking periods through the night. It will
take around six weeks for a more regular and defined sleep pattern
to emerge.
Infants 2-12 months
Over the first few months
your baby will gradually begin to develop a more predictable sleep
pattern. Between 2 and 4 months, you will notice a regular rhythm
of sleepiness and alertness throughout the day. A sleep/wake cycle
begins to emerge between 4 and 8 weeks. Between 2 and 6 months,
sleep becomes condensed into fewer periods of longer duration, with
a higher probability of wakefulness during the day and sleep at
night. Your baby will naturally cut down on daily naps from 3 to
4 per day, to 1 or 2 per day. Most children will take 2 or 3 naps
at 4 months of age; by 6 months, the majority will take only 2 naps;
by 9 months nearly all children take 1 or 2 naps; and about 15%
of babies will take a single nap by their first birthday.
Toddlers 1-3 years
By around 18 months your
toddler may be finished with morning naptime, and naps will gradually
cease altogether between 2 1/2 and 5 years. At this same time most
toddlers will have learned to sleep though the night, but stressful
events such as illness can temporarily upset this sleep pattern.
Changing from a cot to a bed is another change which can be disruptive
for a toddler, especially if this change happens too early. Although
there is no set time when your child should be moved from a cot
to a bed, most toddlers switch to a bed between the ages of 2 and
4 years.
