Your Baby's Sleep

It is developmentally normal for newborns to have unpredictable sleep patterns in the first few months. 

Most babies don’t fall into any kind of routine or sleep pattern until closer to 4 months of age for some babies this might be later than 4 months, which means they may rely on a parent to support and assist them to sleep and there is nothing wrong with that if its working for your family. 

It is very common for newborns to want to sleep on or near a parent, rather than in their sleep space. 

Common Newborn Sleep: 

• Irregular sleep patterns 
• They do not know day from night some newborns may sleep lot’s during the day and be wakeful overnight, some babies seem to figure it out right away, every baby is unique, but your baby isn’t broken if they are more wakeful overnight to begin with 
• Later bedtimes, their circadian rhythm will kick in, in due course, and bedtime will naturally wind back earlier, you don’t need to worry about forcing early bedtimes with newborns (even up to 6 months of age) if it makes the entire household unhappy 
• Wake regularly for feeding, this is not only important for weight gain, but for establishing & maintaining milk supply and also to know they have a caregiver close that cares and responds to their needs 
• Sleep more soundly when a caregiver is close by & they may wake when you put them down. This is more likely to happen as the baby gets out of those initially sleepy first 6ish weeks. 

We spend a lot of our time supporting our baby’s to get some sleep, whether that’s assisting them with a pram, carrier or car nap on the go or supporting them in their cots. In the early days your baby will likely need a lot of support both settling to sleep. For some babies around 4 months old their day sleep may become a bit more predictable with the timings of naps and you may be looking to support them more at home in their usual sleep space. For some babies their sleep may still be unpredictable at this age. 

Our children’s night sleep is often a reflection of their day sleep and vice versa. As a newborn it is very common for your baby to catnap (a short 20-30 minute day sleep). Your day will likely be filled with lots of short sleeps and a majority of them on or near you. Some babies will fall into a natural routine around 4 months while other babies still catnap. 

For some babies they will have 3 naps a day which will each serve their own purpose. For other babies the amount of naps they have in a day will vary depending on their sleep pressures on that day. 

The 8 month progression usually occurs between 7-9m. A lot is happening in your child’s world; they’ve likely started to drop the third nap if they haven’t already, they may have mastered a new skill like crawling, their solid food intake has probably increased, teeth are coming thick and fast and they have developed a strong attachment to loved one’s causing some separation anxiety when you are apart. 

What can impact the 8 month regression? 

• around this age your little one will drop their third nap (between 4-5pm) and need an earlier bedtime to combat over-tiredness 
• they might have learnt to bum shuffle, commando crawl or crawl on all fours. Or maybe they are now pulling up on furniture and standing 
• there could be a big change in their speech and you’ll find them babbling for hours in the middle of the night 
• separation anxiety from loved ones and fear of strangers emerges (object permanence has developed)
• at this age you may be introducing a third solid meal and increasing their protein intake which can all affect their sleep. 
• teeth can start to pop through, causing a few days of unsettledness for some babies 

 

What does the 8 month regression look like? 

• you might notice that your baby is waking for long periods overnight and practising their new skill such as rocking on all fours or standing up and down in the cot 
• you might find that they are having shorter naps and waking more overnight 
• games such as hide and seek, peek a boo and any fun activity where you pop out of sight but reappear will show you little one that you are never far away