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Once a baby arrives, the most common issue all new mothers face is the baby’s sleep pattern. A newborn sleeps during the day and stays awake at night. This is because babies are not born with the circadian rhythm. A circadian rhythm is our body’s internal, natural process that regulates a person’s daily sleep-wake cycle. And exposure to light plays a major role in it (1).
It is often suggested that you can find out if your baby will be a day person or a night owl based on your baby’s activity in the womb. This can be done by noting the time your baby seems to be most active at – day or night. However, even this cycle can get disrupted after birth. Once your baby is exposed to the external environment, a lot of things change. Sleep, being just one of them. Therefore, you’ll need to work toward developing your baby’s circadian rhythm.
To begin with, accept a few facts. On average, most newborns require approximately 14 to 17 hours of sleep in a 24-hour day (2). But then, your baby has other needs too apart from sleep – namely feeding and peeing/pooping. So, even if your baby sleeps more, you might constantly wake up for feeding and diaper changes for a while. But with some patience and planning, you can develop a regular sleep-wake pattern for your baby.
Patience Is The Key
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Don’t expect your baby to fall in line the minute you draw a plan. Rather, try to gently coax your baby into a routine. Most babies will start taking the cue a month after their birth. But this will, again, be a gradual process. So be extremely patient.
Stick To The Time
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Once you decide the wake-up time for your baby during the day, then try and stick to it as much as possible. Ditto for bedtime at night. For instance, if you plan on waking up your baby at 10 am, you can go with half an hour before or after too. But make sure it doesn’t go up to 11 am.
Cut Down On Daytime Naps
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It is quite tempting to want your baby to doze off so you might get some time for yourself. But no matter how tempting it is, try to reduce your baby’s snooze time during the day. This will, in turn, increase your baby’s sleep duration at night. You might still wake up to feed, but the sleep duration in-between the feedings will also increase.
Do Not Engage With The Baby At Night
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Parents, especially dads, often find time to play with their little ones only at night. However, limit this time to the evenings and avoid playing with your baby during the night. This sort of engaging makes babies active at night. Thus, increasing their wake-time at odd hours.
Bright Days….
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When your baby is awake during the day, make ample use of the bright daylight. Move aside those curtains, play some peppy music or engage in some fun conversation with your baby. This is also the right time to play ‘peek-a-boo’ sort of games with your little darling. You can also switch on the TV, turn on that noisy fan, or let your phone ring a bit louder and longer. In short, let the place be generally noisy. In the evening, turn on the bright lights.
….And Dim Nights
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Once it is time for bed, do the opposite of what you did during the day. Dim the lights at least an hour before the scheduled sleep time. Cuddle your baby softly in your arms or give warm hugs. Burp your baby well after the feed. Reduce all sorts of loud noises. If need be, you can also play soft music or sing softly to your baby. Change into a fresh diaper just before you put him/her into the cradle.
While these suggestions will surely help you in the long run, remember that nothing might be constant. You may still encounter bad nights and days. However, as your baby’s nervous system grows and develops, so will their sleeping habits. And then, it’ll only be a matter of time before everything falls into a neat routine.
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