How is a baby's sleep pattern different than an adult's?

For starters, you don't really want to sleep like a baby. Babies' sleep, especially in the early months, is typically full of interruptions because a baby's sleep cycle is shorter than an adult's. Adults spend about six hours in deep sleep and two hours in light (REM) sleep, usually in one uninterrupted nighttime period. When we're in a light sleep cycle, we may wake up momentarily--but, unlike babies, we know how to go back to sleep. Babies have twice as many light sleep cycles as adults, more light sleep than deep sleep, and their overall sleep cycles are shorter. What does this mean for a household? Often, interrupted sleep for all. Babies are likely to wake up frequently as they move from deep to light sleep in any sleep cycle. In the early months, babies need help falling asleep and getting back to sleep. And often, you'll have to spend a lot of time helping an infant get into a deep enough sleep so you can lay her down. Every new parent has had the frustrating experience of gently rocking or holding a baby until she falls asleep, laying her down and then, the minute her head touches the mattress, watching the baby wake up. The problem? The baby was still in light sleep when you let her go. In these early days of an infant's life, recommends Dr. William Sears, in The Baby Book, you should wait until your baby is in a deep sleep before laying her down. One sure sign of deep, lasting sleep: limp limbs. Gently pick up an arm or leg, and if it flops back down and your baby doesn't jerk it, or jerk awake, you've got a deeply sleeping baby. Lay her down, tiptoe away, and breathe a sigh of relief.

How much do newborns sleep?

Babies sleep a lot, but not usually when you want them to. Most newborns sleep 16 to 18 hours a day, but unforunately, they tend to sleep in two- to three-hour increments, even at night. Then they wake up for a feeding and some socializing. Their circadian--or night and day--rhythms are often completely out of whack, so it will be awhile before they take their most lengthy respite when you do. "Our daughter," says Ron Heckmann of Piedmont, California, "would be wide awake and raring to play at 3 a.m. It wasn't until she was about 9 months old that we were able to put her to bed at 10 and expect to sleep until 7 a.m." As baby grows, her sleep patterns will start to take on a more regular rhythm, but keep in mind that some babies just seem to need more sleep, and some, less.

How will these sleep patterns change?

By three months of age, your child will probably sleep about 15 hours a day--nine hours at night, and the other six hours will be broken into three daytime naps. When your baby reaches six months of age, she may be taking roughly two naps of two hours apiece, and the rest will be nighttime sleep. Around month nine, her naps may decrease by about 30 minutes, for a total sleep of 14 hours. And by that magical first birthday, she should be sleeping a little over 13 1/2 hours a day, 11 of them at night.

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