Sleeping  

In the first days and weeks after the birth, your baby will try to keep up their own individual sleep pattern, waking up whenever it suits them. Your baby will gradually begin to fit in with your lifestyle and by the time your baby is three months old, may be sleeping up to 10 hours a night - even if they wake up every now and again - and another five hours during the day, a couple of hours in the morning and again in the afternoon.

Many women are happiest simply fitting in with their baby's pattern, feeling that sleeping together is best. More information on this approach can be found on the Attachment Parenting website. If you prefer your baby not to dictate your sleep patterns, there are things you can do to create a routine to suit both yourself and your baby.

Sleep patterns  
  Although babies sleep a lot, they often don't sleep for long. Newborn babies have a lot to learn and need to learn it quickly. It's when they're asleep that their brain organises their waking experiences and chemicals in the brain and body renew themselves ready for more waking activity. At the age of 1 week, a baby needs, on average, 8 hours sleep during the day, and 8.5 at night. In the first weeks, your baby will probably have a lot of short naps of differing lengths with no discernable pattern at all. New babies wake frequently - up to 4 or 5 times a night but by the time your baby is 4 weeks old, they may hopefully have started to sleep more at night. By 4 weeks, they will probably need about 7 hours during the day and 9 at night. By 3 or 4 months, many babies will be awake during the day and sleep mainly at night - though possibly continuing to wake. However, there are wide variations between one baby's need for sleep and another's. Some newborn babies sleep for as much as 21 hours a day, while others need only 8 hours' sleep. It doesn't matter where on this range your baby comes, nor if their sleep is erratic. In the first few months, a healthy baby will take as much sleep as they need, whenever they need it.
Music  
  Parents have always used music to help get their babies to sleep. If your little one is having problems nodding off, it might help you make music part of the soothing and settling process - sing your baby a soothing lullaby, play a tape of some relaxing classical or baroque music or place a wind up musical toy by the bed.
Sleeping safely/cot death  
 

Cot death is quite rare, but sadly does happen. No one really knows what causes cot death despite all the research that has taken place and it appears there is no single cause, but a combination of factors that can affect the baby at this vulnerable stage. Research has shown that a few simple precautions can significantly reduce the risk of cot death and help keep your baby safe while asleep.

  • Put your baby on their back to sleep.
  • Place them in the 'feet-to-foot' position in the cot, with their feet a few centimetres from the end of it.
  • Don't allow your baby to get too hot. Use cotton sheets and blankets, rather than duvets or sheepskins. They won't need a pillow or cot bumper. A baby should never sleep with a hot-water bottle or electric blanket; next to a radiator or fire; or in direct warm sunshine. The ideal temperature for a baby's room is about 18° C (65 F). They only need to wear a nappy, vest and sleepsuit.
  • Don't smoke, or let anyone else smoke, near your baby and avoid smoky atmospheres.
  • Keep your baby's cot in your room for the first six months.
  • Don't sleep on a sofa with your baby.
  • Don't let your baby sleep in your bed with you if you smoke, if you've been drinking alcohol or have taken any medication or drugs that make you sleep more heavily. For more information see this web site
Sleeping with your baby  
 

The practice of babies sleeping alone in their own cot is a relatively recent development. For thousands of years, babies slept in a bed with their mothers and many parents still feel this is the best arrangement. Others prefer to put their baby into a cot.

The advantages of 'co-sleeping' are that

  • you can check your baby easily
  • sleeping with your baby stimulates their breathing and regulates their temperature
  • it can make feeding easier
  • the cosy feeling

The disadvantages are that

  • you may feel that your entire life revolves around the baby
  • your sex life may be affected
  • it may take up to a year or more before your baby is ready to sleep alone
  • your baby may wake and want to feed more often
  • your baby's movements during the night may disturb you
  • it may be difficult for you to sleep if you're worried about squashing your baby, (unlikely unless you have drunk too much alcohol or taken medication that makes you sleepy)

If you and your partner both want your baby to sleep in bed with you, take these safety precautions.

  • make sure the bedcovers or pillows don't make cover the baby's head or make your baby too hot. Your baby won't need to wear more than a nappy and vest if they sleep under the duvet. They could also lie on top of the bedclothes, under a baby blanket
  • keep the bedroom well ventilated and unheated.
  • neither partner should smoke
  • neither partner should take anything that makes you drowsy, (eg sleeping tablets or alcohol)

The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (tel: 020 7222 8001) recommends that your baby sleeps in a cot beside your bed, rather than in your bed, for the first six months so a good compromise is to put your baby in a three-sided cot next to your bed.