When your newborn’s active at night (and depriving you of sleep)
I’m a new mother. I was told by my friends who are mothers that newborn babies sleep through the night. But my newborn baby doesn’t! She’s a party animal. She is most active around 3am to 5am. It really makes me very tired. Is this normal?

Sleep patterns may vary from baby to baby.

But generally, they do sleep for most of both the day and night.

They usually sleep for a total of eight to nine hours during the day and around eight hours during the night.

Babies need this amount of sleep to grow and thrive, so you should not wake them.

They wake up only for feedings every few hours.

They do this because they have small stomachs and they must wake up every few hours to feed.

Unfortunately, when these few waking hours are can be a complete mystery; there is no proper schedule at all.

You see, newborns don’t know when is night or day.

So sometimes, they wake up at night and sleep during the day.

In adults, there is a proper sleep-wake cycle called the circadian rhythm, but a baby has not developed this yet.

Do I have to move to the United States then just to fit her clock? I am so sleep deprived and I dread having to go back to work.

Haha! You don’t have to move across the world just to adjust to your baby.

Your baby will adjust to you in due time.

But most babies only start sleeping through the night when they are three months of age.

It isn’t exactly throughout the night either.

They may sleep for six to eight hours at night, but still wake up to feed every three hours.

By six months of age, babies will reduce their sleeping hours from 18 hours a day to around 13 hours.

They will start to sleep for longer and longer durations of time as their stomachs grow bigger, and they will start to develop their circadian rhythm.

However, some babies wouldn’t sleep throughout the night until they are one year old.

Should I be worried that my baby is not sleeping through the night? My sister’s baby sleeps through the night and doesn’t disturb her at all. I am so envious!

You should not worry at all if your baby is still under one year of age.

And even after they turn one year old, it is still common for them to wake up at least once a night.

Do babies dream? I can see that sometimes, my baby makes strange noises during her sleep.

Newborn babies experience two sleep stages, while the usual four sleep stages will have developed by three months of age.

The two stages of sleep experienced by newborns are called REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and non-REM (NREM) sleep.

Babies spend roughly equal amounts of time in these two stages.

During REM sleep, the baby can make movements, especially around their closed eyes.

They can twitch and jerk, and make small noises.

This is called active sleep; it is perfectly normal.

During NREM sleep, the baby will be still. This is called quiet sleep.

Once the baby reaches three months of age, they begin to enter the same sleep stages an adult does.

There are three stages of NREM sleep, characterised by different sorts of brain wave activity.

The first two stages of NREM sleep are light, when the baby can be awakened easily.

The third stage is deep sleep.

And there is REM sleep, when dreams occur.

Roughly 20% of sleep is spent in REM.

Do babies cry immediately when they wake?

Right after a newborn wakes up, there is a quiet alert phase where the baby is still and taking in their environment.

The baby may look at objects and respond to sounds.

This phase will then give way to the active alert phase, where the baby will be attentive.

It is usually best to feed a baby during this phase.

Right after this active alert phase, the baby will move on to the crying phase.

You should pay attention to your baby at this stage and try to calm him down by holding him or wrapping him in a blanket.

It can be difficult to feed the baby when he is crying.

In a newborn, crying is usually a sign of hunger.

This is the most important question of all: how do I help my baby to go back to sleep?

There are some universal signs of baby sleep readiness. You will learn what they are.

Usually, they consist of yawning, looking away, making a fuss and rubbing eyes.

Some babies even fall asleep while breastfeeding.

The best way is to have a routine at bedtime.

You may not want to allow them to fall asleep in your arms or while they are eating/drinking.

Otherwise, it will be the only way they can fall asleep and you will be doomed!

When your baby becomes sleepy, it is OK to hold her in your arms.

But before she falls asleep, put her back in her bed.

This teaches the baby to sleep on their own.

A good bedtime routine would be to bathe her in warm water, change her into fresh clothes, stroke/massage her in your arms while singing a gentle song, and then putting her into bed.

Dr YLM graduated as a medical doctor, and has been writing for many years on various subjects such as medicine, health, computers and entertainment. For further information, email starhealth@thestar.com.my. The information provided is for educational and communication purposes only, and it should not be construed as personal medical advice. Neither The Star nor the author gives any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to such information. The Star and the author disclaim all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.
Tell Me About,Newborn,sleep,parenting
Understanding the sleep patterns of newborns and how to cope with them.