Sleep is import for everyone, it allows are bodies to recharge so that we have the energy to stay healthy and go about our day. For growing babies, getting the proper amount of sleep is essential that your child will go on big and strong. Although it may seem like a lot of babies love sleeping, every parent knows that this is not always the case. Babies can be very sensitive to loud sound or environmental changes, such as heat or cold. Their level of comfort alone can greatly impact the quality of sleep that they will experience.
How Much can Babies Hear?
You may even notice that as your baby gets older, they become more sensitive to these changes -especially sound. As a baby gets older, how they process sensory inputs, such as sound changes. As a baby gets older, their hearing improves. This doesn’t mean that a newborn can’t hear, in fact, they can hear in the womb!
This just means that their hearing is not exactly perfect yet. They have a long way to go, and you may even notice that their tolerance for sound have gone down as well. However, many parents find themselves not so lucky. Babies are capable of hearing and it is not uncommon to find a baby that wakes up to literally everything. Every child is an individual.
With this in mind, learning about what your baby needs from medical recommendations can give you the knowledge to help your baby sleep through the night.
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How Much Sleep do Babies Need?
0-3 months
Your newborn baby is going to want to sleep a lot. You can expect that a majority of their first few months should be spent in slumber. Although every baby is different, the average 0 to 3 month old should be sleeping anywhere between 15 and 18 hours a day. This includes how much they should sleep during the night and day. At night, they should spend around 7 to 8 hours sleeping. An additional 9 to 10 hours during the day should be spent napping.
3-6 months
As your baby gets a little older, you can expect that they will spend more time during the night asleep and more time during the day awake. During this time, you will notice that the change in your baby’s sleeping schedule has less to do with how much they are sleeping in general and more to do with how this sleep is separated. Infants 3 to 6 months should spend around 14 to 16 hours sleeping during a 24 hour span. Between 9 and 10 hour these hours will take place at night, with the remaining time spent during the day.
6-12 months
Now you will really see the shift in your baby’s sleeping schedule. A baby 6 to 12 months should still be sleeping about the same, 14 to 15 hours a day. This time, they are going to be spending anywhere between 10 and 12 hours sleeping during the night. This means they should only be sleeping 2 to four hours a day taking naps. As they get older you can expect them to need less and less sleep during the day.
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10 Tips to Give your Baby the Rest they Need
1. Soundproof your home:
While some parents get lucky with babies who will sleep through pretty much anything, not everyone is so lucky. Just like many adults, many babies have problems sleeping in a noisy home. This can especially be a huge problem during the day when you may be trying to go on with your lives while the baby sleeps. Soundproofing your home may be the perfect thing to give your child a room that won’t deal with the noise of the outside world. You can accomplish a lot of simple home improvements to soundproof the walls, doors, and windows of your child’s nursery. You don’t even have to have proffessional help with a lot of soundproofing doable by yourelf, check out Soundproof Panda for tips.
2. Avoid the electronics
You don’t need to do some home improvements to limit the sounds your baby will experience while trying to sleep. It can be a simple thing that’s easy to forget, but remembering to shut off electronics while your child is sleeping can make a world of difference. Don’t forget to silence your cell phone -or your house phone as well. Silencing a tiny little tablet notification may be the difference between a pleasant nap and a cranky baby. It may even be a great idea to put up a sign on your door to let people know not to ring your bell.
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3. Stick to a Schedule
Everybody needs a little structure in their lives, and babies are no different. If you go to bed around the same time every single day, then it starts to train your body to expect sleep around the same time every single day. Putting your baby on any kind of schedule can be a great way to get their life on track. Once you start putting your baby down and waking them up at the same time everyday, you will begin to notice that they will start to fall asleep and wake up on their own.
4. Relax Before Naps
Any time you are planning on putting your baby down for some sleep, it is important that you start to prepare them for a sleepy mindset. We all like to have fun with out children, but sometimes we need to do less exciting things and do our part to get your baby to calm down. Some good idea for relaxing activities could be a little massage or even a bath. You can even go the classic route and read your child a story.
5. Make Sure Your Child Feels Safe
While this may seem a lot easier to do when the child is able to speak for themselves, paying attention to your child’s behavior can help you learn what to do and what not to do. If you notice that your child seems a little uneasy with any toy or decoration, it would be wise to put that away when it is time for them to sleep. If you notice that your child is having issues falling asleep, maybe try to change around their mobiles or try a night light. Maybe a comforter will put them at ease.
6. Put them to bed when they’re tired, not when they’re asleep
It is very important that you teach your baby to associate their bed with a place of sleep. If you always wait for your child to completely fall asleep before you put them in their crib, it may disrupt this association. Wait until your child starts to nod off and then try placing them into their cribs, If this proves difficult at first, try weaning your way in by making them at least fall asleep in their room.
7. Use Nighttime Nappies
Your baby will be jolted awake if they feel that their Nappy is wet and they get uncomfortable. This can be fixed by investing in high quality nighttime nappies and trying to limit the amount of changes they get. A baby does not need a nappy change every time they wet themselves. With these night nappies, they will stay comfortable and dry and be less likely to wake up crying because they need a change in the middle of their sleep.
8. Limit the Light
Also as with adults, many babies find it difficult to sleep when there is a lot of light. It is safe to say that closing down the lights in a baby’s room (sparing a nightlight if necessary) is a great way for you to do this. There are further things that you can do to try to make the room star as dark as possible, even during the middle of the day. Black-out curtains and positioning a crib outside of the path of sunlight are also ways to limit light exposure during sleep time.
9. Stay Active
Of course a newborn infant cant be doing so much moving around, it is a great idea to keep your child as active as possible when it is their “wake time,” Even social bonding is an energy expending activity, and you will find that if you tire your baby during the day it will make them much more likely to be tired once it comes around to bed time.
10. Don’t give up
Getting your child is follow a nice sleeping schedule is often not an easy task. Do not be discouraged if it takes some time or your baby suddenly stops following routine. Like many others before them, your baby too will make it. It is just a matter of time, discipline, and a lot of patience.
Getting your child to sleep can be a difficult task, but with proper determination, and a lot of patience, you will find your baby adopting a great sleeping schedule in no time. There are many different ways to approach this so that you can achieve the perfect sleep cycle for your baby. Limiting noise, shutting out late, and following schedules will be the foundation of your child’s sleeping habits for the rest of their lives. Try not to be discouraged, remember, every parent will have to face these challenges during parenthood. With proper knowledge, you’ll have your baby following a proper sleep schedule in no time.
