Sleep Swell Baby

An adult’s utmost desire is a baby’s all-time luxury: Sleep. But it’s often a task for mums to lull babies into uninterrupted sleep. Read on to know what you can do to help yourself and your baby settle into a cycle of peaceful sleep...

Newborn babies sleep and they sleep a lot. But this may seem surreal to you due to the endless sleepless nights that you have experienced in the first few weeks after delivery. “An infant’s sleeping pattern keeps changing and the onus is on parents to adjust to it. Babies might sleep up to 18 to 20 hours in a day, but not at a stretch. They might, at the most, sleep for two or three hours at a time, both during day and night. And this erratic sleeping pattern might make it tedious and tiring for parents,” says Dr Ajit Gajendragadkar, consultant pediatrician, PD Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai. “If his sleep extends up to five to six hours, which eventually will as he grows up, catch on the bonus hours to make up for your sleepless nights. But the good news is that this phase won’t last for long, though it might seem like an eternity at times. As your baby grows, he will settle into a routine and he might sleep longer during the night and lesser during the day,” explains Dr Gajendragadkar. But when and how this will happen is a million-dollar question. Because each baby is different and will take his own time to settle into a good night’s sleep. Some babies will sleep for longer spells during the night when they are between six and eight weeks and for some it might take even up to five to six months, though they will still wake up for feeds regularly. But whatever may be the case with your baby, be ready to cope with sleepless nights because it is not uptil a year or even more when your baby actually sleeps like a log through the night! Relax, and don’t feel helpless about it. You can help yourself and your newborn to get through the stress and strain of being a night owl. But before you get down to work on a sleep routine or analyze your baby’s sleep troubles, know the science behind an infant’s sleep pattern.