There will be many questions you will ask when you become a parent for the first time. ‘How much should new born babies sleep?’ will be one of these questions. All babies are different, but the average sleeping time for newborn babies is about 16 hours a day. A baby may sleep less some days and more on other days. A newborn baby will usually sleep for most of the day, waking to feed and then going back to sleep. Allow your baby to sleep as much or as little as he likes, as long as he is waking to feed and wetting at least 8 nappies a day.

Be prepared to experience interrupted sleeping patterns for you and your baby. A baby’s brain takes 3-6 months to mature enough to be able to create a sleeping pattern. You should wait until this time to try sleep training. You should never wake a sleeping baby during the night. There are a few exceptions to this, such as an extra calorie requirement.
At around 4-6 months, your baby might start developing a more regular sleeping pattern. At this stage, he may even sleep through the night. Remember that a full night sleep for a baby is about 5 hours. Your baby might be 1 or even 2 before he starts sleeping through, what an adult would call, a full night sleep. There will be more sleep during growth spurts, which usually occur at night.

Once the baby has matured enough to be able to create a sleeping pattern, try to teach your baby that day time is for having fun and night time is for sleeping. To do this, play with your baby in the day time and keep him stimulated. This might prove hard to do, but try to keep him awake after feeds. When it comes to evening time, try not to entertain your baby. Keep light and noise to a minimum. Feed him in a semi darkened room. This will teach your baby that night time is sleep time and day time is play time.

It’s natural for a baby to fall asleep sucking a bottle, breast or pacifier. If a baby always falls asleep this way, it will be very hard for them to fall asleep any other way because they associate sucking with falling asleep. Try to get your baby to fall asleep on his own. This will be to your benefit if your baby awakens in the middle of the night. If he is used to going to sleep on his own, he won’t need you to come in during the night to rock or soothe him to sleep, he will be able to fall asleep on his own. This will allow you much needed sleep!