When a baby is born, she knows nothing about night or day or which is which. Even if this is your first child, you most likely (and correctly) are expecting a lot of interrupted sleep for a few months. This is necessary initially as the baby's stomach can only hold a three or four hours worth of nutrition at a time in the early weeks. While you need to respond and fulfill that need, from the beginning you need to keep this time simple and to the point. Don't prolong the time and/or make it a play time at all. Stay very quiet and keep the room dimly lit. (Maybe install a night light and do not turn on any other lights when you go in. ) Keep the time as short as possible and return the baby to her bed as soon as she is finished feeding. It is important that your baby come to realize early on that this is not a social time but simply one of filling her tummy and that she is to promptly go back to sleep. Most likely she will fall asleep while feeding. Just gently return her to her bed.

There are several things you can do to try to work towards having longer sleep sessions at night. Did you know that if your baby learns to be a good sleeper in her early years, she will most likely always be a good sleeper? The converse is also true. Here are a few tips to help you get through this difficult period:

• During the day, when you baby naps, try putting her in a well lit area. She will more likely sleep less so she will be more tired at night.
• Try to feed her as much as she will take during the day. This may help her not to need to feed quiet as frequently at night.
• Carry your baby more, especially in the evenings as this keeps her relaxed which is likely to lead to a more restless transition to sleep.
• Remain flexible. Try different times and places for naps. If a place seems to work particularly well, maybe that should be the baby's sleeping area at least until you get her sleeping through the night.
• Some research shows that babies that are held a lot during the day sleep better at night. Can you work that into your routine? Try to help you baby have a pleasant day. As odd as that may sound a happy baby sleeps better.
• Depending on the baby, sometimes a warm bath and massage may soothe a baby to sleep at night. Some babies may be stimulated by this however, so you would have to experiment to see if this is something you want to do at night or would be better performed early in the day.
• Whether or not the bath exercise helps, cuddling your baby and breast feeding at bedtime should sooth her to sleep.
• What your baby sleeps in could contribute to her comfort. Newborns like a snug feeling, so wrapping in a baby blanket may help. If your baby is prone to allergies, you may need to be sure to use pure cotton sleepwear.
• Try to minimize any possible discomfort. Be sure her diaper is dry and that the air is free of any irritants.
• The room temperature can be important. The best temperature for a baby's room is 70 degrees with 50% humidity.

Where should your baby sleep - her room, your room, her bed, your bed? There are many varying opinions on this one. This is a decision you as parents have to make for yourself. There is no right or wrong answer and there are advantages to each. You should choose to do what works best for you. For the sake of discussion, pros and cons for both will be discussed here.

If your baby sleeps in her own room, you will probably sleep better because you will not be hearing the little sleeping and rustling noises made by the baby. That is unless you are going to be uneasy and can't sleep because of worry about her. Your baby may wake less often if in her own room, although that may not necessarily be the case. If your baby is sleeping in your room, you may find it less disturbing and easier to attend to her needs if you are right there.

If you have your baby in your same bed, while it certainly is more convenient to nurses when the time comes, you must also be aware of the dangers of sleeping together in the same bed. If you think this is something you will want to do, you should research the safety versus the emotional issues and decide for yourself if you are going to bring your baby into bed with you.

You will likely need more sleep than your baby at night. New babies most often are not able to sleep through the night until they have at least doubled their weight. This usually happens when your baby is four or five months old. Below is a table which shows the amount of sleep that babies should be getting. Keep in mind that this is just a guideline, so don't be discouraged if your baby doesn't fall within the norm.

The most important thing to consider if you do decide to have your baby sleep in your room with you, is the difficulty of making that break to eventually putting her into her own room. The weaning process can be difficult, especially if you wait too long to do it. You will not have to go through that if in the beginning the baby understands that she can be with you during the day, but that she is to sleep in her own room at night.



Baby's Age	Hours Sleep Per Day (including naps)
-15 Days	16-22
3 Weeks	16-18
6 Weeks	15-16
4-6 Months	14-16
9 Months	13-16
1 Year	12-15


Once you decide where your baby is going to sleep, you will want to establish a sort of routine. That really works out best for everyone. It can become a soothing and comforting part of your night time ritual without bedtime becoming a battle ground. If your baby comes to expect for example that after a bath and changing, comes feeding and bedtime, she becomes comforted that this is the daily routine and will come to expect it early on.

For this to work, an important part of this routine is for you to be consistent. If you cuddle, play or sing with your baby after she has been put down to sleep, she will come to learn that if she is fussy after being put down, she will get to play more. You are not trying to play a game of control with her or deny her your affection after she has been put to bed. After all, it's normal for her to want to be with you. What you are trying to do is to make her understand
that after the bedtime routine is complete, it is time to sleep.

A quick note on nighttime feedings, which will be discussed in a different article, "Moving from Milk to Solids,"�

if you are feeding your baby during the night, you won't be able to establish that bedtime routine. If your baby is still needing a feeding during the night, you may have to delay a good sleeping pattern until she is ready to stop feeding during the night. Most babies stop feeding during the night around five of six months.

How should your baby sleep? It used to be believed that the best sleeping position for baby was her stomach as it was thought that it would prevent aspiration (food sucked into the windpipe). Recent studies however now indicate that the back is a better position as it is thought to reduce the chances of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). In addition, an infant placed on her back is also able to breathe better.

It is best if you keep anything soft like a pillow or puffy quilt out of a baby's bed.
Otherwise her breathing passages could become obstructed if her face should become pushed into them. A firm mattress is best with no extra bedding. Dress your baby appropriately for sleeping and if necessary a small thin blanket.

Over time you will learn to establish what sleep preparation routines work best for you as your baby's sleep patterns evolve and change. What you have established with baths and/or lullabies are certain characteristics that can be adapted to whatever nighttime routine you come up with to fit to your baby's age and needs. With a lot of patience and love, you will be able to make it through the ever-changing world of baby's sleep.

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