Bedtime habits

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YOUR NEW BABY (LESS THAN 2 MONTHS) AND SLEEP

At first, your new baby is on a 24-hour feeding and sleep-wake cycle. Newborns may sleep between 10 and 18 hours a day, staying awake only 1 to 3 hours at a time.

Signs that your baby is becoming sleepy include:

• Crying
• Eye rubbing
• Fussiness

Try putting your baby to bed sleepy, but not yet asleep.

To encourage your newborn to sleep more at night rather than during the day:

• Expose your newborn to light and noise during the daytime
• As evening or bedtime approaches, dim the lights, keep things quiet, and reduce the amount of activity around your baby
• When your baby wakes up at night to eat, keep the room dark and quiet during these feedings.

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Sleeping with a baby younger than 12 months may increase the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

YOUR INFANT (3 - 12 MONTHS) AND SLEEP

By age 4 months, your child might sleep for up to 6 to 8 hours at a time. Between ages 6 and 9 months, most children will sleep for 10 to 12 hours. During the first year of life, it is common for babies to take one to four naps a day, each lasting 30 minutes to 2 hours.

When putting an infant to bed, make the bedtime routine consistent and pleasant.

• Give the last nighttime feeding shortly before putting the baby to bed. Never put the baby to bed with a bottle, as it can cause tooth decay. (See: Baby bottle tooth decay)
• Spend quiet time with your child by rocking, walking, or simple cuddling.
• Put the child in bed before he is deeply asleep. This will teach your child to go to sleep on his own.

Your baby may cry when you lay him in his bed, because he fears being away from you. This is called separation anxiety. Simply go in, speak in a calm voice, and rub the baby's back or head. Do not take the baby out of the bed. Once he has calmed down, leave the room. Your child will soon learn that you are simply in another room.

If your baby awakens in the night for feeding, do not turn on the lights.

• Keep the room dark and quiet. Use night lights, if needed.
• Keep the feeding as brief and low-key as possible. Do not entertain the baby.
• When the baby has been fed, burped, and calmed, return him to bed. If you maintain this routine, your baby will become used to it and go to sleep on his own.