How To Change A Baby Sleep Pattern From Day To Night

As parents with newborns you’ll be concerned about a lot of questions some of which are, how long should my baby sleep? Why is my baby sleep so much? When will ball start to sleep through the night? And such, Some of those questions are:

How long should my baby sleep daily?

The average time babies spends sleeping depends on their age, babies that are zero to three months old usually sleep for 14-17 hours everyday which are usually broken down into various naps and siestas because of the need to feed. Although, most of the time spent sleeping is at night, it is normal for a newborn baby to wake up at night (it could be for various reasons like, feeding, changing, soothing etc. ). To make time for feeding the nighttime sleep is broken into segments and the time spent sleeping during the day into various naps.

Babies that are four-eleven months old sleep an average of twelve-fifteen hours of sleep daily.

How To Change A Baby Sleep Pattern From Day To Night

Why do babies need so much sleep?

Babies require sleep along with proper nutrition to develop because sleep gives their brain time to develop in other to acquire motor skills, learn think and generally grow bigger.

It’s normal for babies to get a certain portion of their daily sleep during the day, although the time they spend napping decrease as their age increases, typically newborns spend nine-twelve hours sleeping at night and four-six hours napping during the day.

When should my baby start sleeping through the night?

Usually babies start to consolidate or combine the time they spend sleeping at night when they are around 6-7 months old at which time they might start sleeping without waking up at night, although each baby is unique and as such attain milestones at different paces.

How to change a baby’s sleep pattern from day to night

While some babies sleep at night others fall into a routine so many expectant parents dread the “day to night reversal” this is when babies stick to an upside-down routine where they spend more time sleeping during the day and insists on being changed, entertained and fed at night.

Most times the fact that your baby is no longer taking so many short naps but is now learning to sleep for longer indicates chances of a well developed sleep routine in the future.  If your baby tends to be more actively during the night and sleepy during the day, there is no quick way to deal with it instead you can take gradual steps that will bring about acceptable sleeping patterns or habits in the future.

Steps to take to change babies sleep pattern from day to night

1. Try to differentiate day from night: you can do this by carrying out some certain activities that establishes a normal day or night for example you shouldn’t worry too much about background noises during the day but in contrast make background noises on a range of low to none at night. Don’t avoid running errands even though you know your baby will fall asleep along the way. You can also make sure that everywhere is calm and quiet at night. Leaving the lights on during the day and off at night can also help.
2. Don’t take any Kind of stimulant : if you are a breast feeding mom avoid any beverage that is a stimulant like coffee, tea, or chocolate because such “uppers” will disrupt your babies sleep.
3. Take your baby out at daytime: taking your baby out for a dose of sunlight daily will help to reset their circadian rhythm especially if you do it before noon.
4. Limit all night time interactions: make it a point to limit all night time interactions and doing only the necessary things like feeding them, changing them, burping them and soothing them when necessary (it is also more effective when you carry out all these actions in a dark and quite room).
5. Consistent motion and sound: make it point to maintain rhythms during the day, you can do this by swinging, taking long walks, and slinging, singing or softly humming during the day. You can also use white noises while they nap.
6. Avoid activities that will make your baby overly tired during the day: because that’s will make them cranky, so prevent being extremely tired during the day as much as possible so that you nighttime sleep target is on track.
7. Encourage pooping during the day: activities like knees to tummy exercises and belly massages will help your baby to pop during the day thereby preventing nighttime sleep from being disturbed by grunting.

How many hours of sleep does my baby need by age?

Babies spend a lot of their time sleeping because sleep is need for their growth and development, but the amount of time they spend sleeping depends on their age. Normally as their age increases the time they spend sleeping decreases.

Knowing developmental and growth milestones like these will help you to properly monitor your babies growth and notice any potential problem that could arise so as to tackle them on time.

Sleep schedule for a 6 months old baby

Congratulations to you your baby is now six months old which means that the era off sleepless nights have passed and it’s time to create a suitable bedtime routine for your baby.

At six months, your baby is more active, he or she will sit up, roll over, crawl or scoot and then they start teething. Every baby is unique in their own right so a sleep schedule that works for one may not work for another especially as some babies seem to have an internal clock and wake at specific times, in such cases you need to adjust their sleep schedule especially their morning naps.

Sample of a typical six month old sleep schedule

7:00 am-7:30am —– wake your baby, upon waking; bathing, feeding (breastfeed/bottle feed or solids) , changing, dressing.

9:00am or 9:30am —- morning nap (1-2 hours), upon waking; feeding (breastfeed/bottle feed or solids)

12:30pm or 1:00pm—- afternoon nap (1-2 hours), upon waking; feeding (nursing or bottle feeding).

3:30pm-4:00pm—- optional 3^rd nap 45mins-1hour (the time of this nap depends on the times of the previous naps) .

5:00pm or 5:30pm— feeding (nursing, bottle feeding or solids).

6:00pm-6:30pm—- bathing and bedtime preparations, additional feeding session if necessary.

7:00pm–7:30 p.m. bed time

Note

• try to stick to this schedule regularly but be mindful of any cues your baby gives so you can modify the schedule accordingly because sometimes they may want to sleep more or less and they occasionally have growth spurts.
• Encourage self- soothing; babies just like adults Wake up or stir at night, but unlike be adults they may not be able to go back to sleep, you can encourage self-soothing by using toys.

Some factors that affect baby’s sleep

1. Conducive sleep environment: just like you, your baby is unable to sleep in an uncomfortable environment, so ensuring that their room is three right temperature ( not too hot or too cold ), they are properly dressed and have black out shades or curtains, will help to improve their sleep.
2. Illnesses or growth spurts: illnesses like the flu or colds are known for affecting babies sleep because they make babies to sleep erratically or become fussy. Growth spurts are also known to affect babies sleep but they usually don’t last for than a few days, after which your baby will go back to feeding and sleeping normally.
3. Unsuitable diaper changing and feeding schedule: if feeding your baby right before bed is causing them to wake up because of a wet diaper at night or from being overly full them you’ll need to change the schedules. Because although it seems reasonable that you feed your baby right before bed so that they don’t wake up hungry and sleep for longer you should also think about how you feel going to bed right after eating so lot of for, it’s the same way babies feel.

Disclaimer: all information provided on this site are NOT  medical counsel for persons with any specific health condition. Consult your pediatrician or health Care provider for any questions or concerns pertaining to you or your child.

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Melinda Godfrey