Newborns to 3 months need ALOT of sleep. Here are some typical amounts and routines of newborns to 3 month olds.
Newborns:
Newborn babies usually sleep most of the day and night. They wake for feeds that may well be up to one hour, but time for play is not needed. Nappy change, feed, dewinding then back to bed. This is all the wake time they need.
Most babies will be unsettled and awake for a 2 or 3 hour block during the day. This is known as 'colic time'. I call it 'baby aerobics time' (BAT), sounds a bit more positive than 'colic'. BAT can happen at anytime of day, but its most common in the evening. The good news is that BAT usually goes away about the 3rd month. If your newborn is very unsettled for much longer and/or often than a 3 hour block once a day, you should consider other causes (i.e. pain, hunger, overtired, illness, etc).
The rest of the 24 hours is needed for sleeping. Sleep is crucial for brain development, emotional well being, good digestion, and growth.
The actual amount of sleep will vary in babies but a rough average is about 16 to 17 hours per 24 hours. I never recommend waking a well, healthy sleeping babe.
Some newborns become Jaundiced soon after birth and this may be mild to severe. The baby will be inclined to sleep more and will need to be woken for feeds.
Some common reasons why babies don't sleep or settle well are:
- Not getting enough to eat.
- May have a gut intolerance to Protein.
- If breast fed, it could be some foods Mother is eating which can cause a gut irritation (i.e. orange juice, coffee, chocolate).
- Snack breast feeding.
- Bub has Reflux (heartburn).
- Parents mistake bub's cry, after the first sleep cycle stage, mistaking the cry for a 'help me' cry and pick them up (discussed in next article).
- Position and comfort in the cot.
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