SolveYourProblem
eLearning Series:
A Proud Parent's Guide To
Your Newborn Baby's First Year
(
17 pages )
Where
Should Your Baby Sleep
& How Long Should Your Baby
Sleep
When it comes
to babies and sleep, everyone will have an opinion for
you that they are sure will be the answer to your sleepless
nights. This is one of those times that you will
have to be firm and make your own decisions about what
type of sleeping routine and schedule you are
going to have. There are baby experts out there who will
tell you that you should never let your baby cry as he
is trying to fall asleep. The next expert will tell you
that you should never give in to your crying baby once
you have put him to bed. Which method is right and which
is wrong? It all depends on your needs and the needs of
your baby. The guidelines on sleep are
simply these: there are a variety of tips and ideas you
either can or cannot attempt to incorporate into your bedtime
routine.
Before you make
the decision about what to do with a baby that won’t
sleep is where is that baby sleeping.
Some parents insist that your baby sleep in his own crib
in his own room. Still
other parents want their baby in their bedroom. Neither
is right or wrong and there are advantages to both. If
your baby sleeps in his/her room, you will likely get more
rest for yourself since you won’t be disturbed by the snufflings
and other sleeping noises that newborn babies make. Your
baby may wake less often if she is in her own room but
this is not always the case. If your baby is sleeping in
the same room as you are, you might find it less disturbing
and easy to be able to attend to your baby’s needs right
there. If you not only have your baby in the same room
as you but also in the same bed, you should be aware of
some of the dangers of sleeping in the same bed together.
Baby experts are completely divided over the issue of sharing
the same bed with your baby. You will have to research
the safety versus the emotional issues and decide for yourself
if you are going to be bringing your baby into bed with
you.
You will likely
need more sleep than your new baby. New babies most often
are not able to sleep through the night until they have
at least doubled their weight. This usually happens when
your baby is between four and five months old. The following table
shows the amount of sleep that babies should be getting.
Keep in mind that this is just a guideline and don’t be
discouraged if your baby doesn’t fall within the norm.

Once you have
decided how you are going to handle where your baby sleeps
and just how much sleep the charts say she should have,
you will want to think about getting into some sort of
a routine whether or not he/she is going
to sleep any better because of it or not. A sleep routine
can be a soothing
and comforting part of your baby’s nighttime ritual. It
is a way for you and your family to incorporate sleep into
the daily routine without it becoming a battle of mind
over baby. As your baby grows, she will understand that
bedtime comes after bath time and may start to settle down
if he/she is comforted by the bedtime routine.
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