At2-3months,babiesstartdevelopingnightanddaysleeppatterns.Thismeanstheytendtostartsleepingmoreduringthenight.
Around3months
Babieskeepdevelopingnightanddaysleeppatterns.Mostbabiesstillsleepfor14-17hoursinevery24hours.
Sleepcyclesalsogetlonger,whichmightmeanlesswakingandresettlingduringsleep.Atthisage,somebabiesmightregularlybehavinglongersleepsatnight–forexample,4-5hours.
Theirsleepcyclesconsistof:
lightsleep,whenbabywakeseasily
deepsleep,whenbabyissoundasleepandverystill
dreamsleep,whenbabyisdreaming.
3-6months
Atthisage,mostbabiessleepfor12-15hoursevery24hours.
Babiesmightstartmovingtowardsapatternof2-3daytimesleepsofuptotwohourseach.
Andnight-timesleepsgetlongeratthisage.Forexample,somebabiesmightbehavinglongsleepsofsixhoursatnightbythetimethey’resixmonthsold.Butyoucanexpectthatyourbabywillstillwakeatleastonceeachnight.
6-12months:whattoexpectfrombabysleep
Babiessleeplessastheygetolder.Bythetimeyourbabyisoneyearold,babywillprobablysleepfor11-14hoursevery24hours.
Fromaboutsixmonths,mostbabieshavetheirlongestsleepsatnight.Mostbabiesarereadyforbedbetween6pmand10pm.Theyusuallytakelessthan40minutestogettosleep,butsomebabiestakelonger.
Atthisage,babysleepcyclesareclosertothoseofgrown-upsleep–whichmeanslesswakingatnight.Soyourbabymightnotwakeyouduringthenight,orwakingmighthappenlessoften.Butmanybabiesdowakeduringthenightandneedanadulttosettlethembacktosleep.Somebabiesdothis3-4timesanight.
Atthisage,mostbabiesarestillhaving2-3daytimenapsthatlastforbetween30minutesand2hours.
6-12months:otherdevelopmentsthataffectsleep
Fromaroundsixmonths,babiesdevelopmanynewabilitiesthatcanaffecttheirsleepormakethemmoredifficulttosettle:
Babieslearntokeepthemselvesawake,especiallyifsomethinginterestingishappening,orthey’reinaplacewithalotoflightandnoise.
Settlingdifficultiescanhappenatthesametimeascrawling.Youmightnoticeyourbaby’ssleephabitschangingwhenbabystartsmovingaroundmore.
Babieslearnthatthingsexist,evenwhenthey’reoutofsight.Nowthatyourbabyknowsyouexistwhenyouleavethebedroom,babymightcallorcryoutforyou.
Separationanxietyiswhenbabiesgetupsetbecauseyou’renotaround.Itmightmeanyourbabydoesn’twanttogotosleepandwakesupmoreofteninthenight.Asbabiesmaturetheygraduallyovercomethisworry.
6-12months:night-timefeeding
Fromaroundsixmonthsofage,ifyourbabyisdevelopingwell,it’sOKtothinkaboutnightweaningandphasingoutnightfeeds.Butifyou’recomfortablewithfeedingyourbabyduringthenight,there’snohurrytophaseoutnightfeeds.Youcanchoosewhatworksbestforyouandyourbaby.
Arolloverfeedisalatefeedsomewherebetween10pmandmidnight.Someparentsfindthatrolloverfeedshelpbabiessleeplongertowardsmorning.Ifthisworksforyouandyourbaby,it’sfinetogivebabyarolloverfeed.
Concernsaboutbabysleep
Ifyou’reconcernedaboutyourbaby’ssleep,itcanbeagoodideatotrackyourbaby’ssleepforaweekorso.Thiscanhelpyougetaclearpictureofwhat’sgoingon.
Youcandothisbydrawingupasimplechartwithcolumnsforeachdayoftheweek.Dividethedaysintohourlyblocks,andcolourtheintervalswhenyourbabyisasleep.Keepyourchartfor5-7days.
Oncecompleted,thechartwilltellyouthingslike:
whenandhowmuchsleepyourbabyisgetting
howmanytimesyourbabyiswakingduringthenight
howlongyourbabyistakingtosettleafterwaking.
Youcanalsorecordhowyoutriedtoresettleyourbabyandwhatworkedordidn’twork.
Thenyoucancomparetheinformationinyourchartwiththegeneralinformationaboutbabysleepneedsabove:
Howdoesyourchildcomparetootherbabiesthesameage?Ifyourbabyiswakefulandgrizzlyandgettingmuchlesssleepthanothers,yourbabymightneedmoreopportunitiesforsleep.
Howmanytimesisyourbabyoversixmonthsoldwakingupduringthenight?Ifit’s3-4timesanightormore,youmightbefeelingverytired.Youmightwanttothinkaboutphasingoutsomeofyourbaby’ssleephabits.
Ifyoudecideyouneedtoseeaprofessionalforhelpwithyourbaby’ssleep,takeyourchartwithyou.
作者：澳大利亚墨尔本大学医学院儿科博士

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