Why won’t my baby sleep and what can I do!?

Motherhood comes with so much joy and so little sleep. It can feel like your newborn never sleeps.

So why does baby wake up so often? Is it normal?

Yes, it is completely normal and healthy for a newborn to wake up frequently.

Babies are born into the world after spending months inside the warm comforting darkness of their mother’s womb.

They have no concept of day and night, and it will be months or even years before their sleep patterns begin to resemble adult sleep.

How much do babies sleep?

Newborn babies sleep about 16 hours in a 24-hour period. About 8 hours at night and 8 hours during the day, waking frequently between sleep cycles.

A newborn’s sleep cycle is only about 60 minutes, and on top of that, they will wake when hungry to feed.

What about the saying “sleep like a baby”?

It is very common for babies to make a lot of noise while sleeping.

When babies sleep, they spend about half the time in REM sleep, which is very light sleep, and they will not appear to be sleeping soundly. They make all sorts of noises. They moan and groan and even cry out occasionally.

This means that babies sleep quietly and peacefully for only about 8 hours spread out between day and night.

So at night you only get about 4 hours of “sleeping like a baby” spread out in one-hour time blocks…no wonder it feels like babies never sleep!

So how can I deal with the lack of sleep postpartum?

• Feed on demand. It is essential to respond to your newborn and feed them on demand in order for them to grow and thrive.
• Rest when you can. If the baby is quiet or resting, try to do the same and leave the laundry and dishes for someone else or for another time. I find the best hours of rest for mom in the early period postpartum are the early morning hours. Pass the baby off to dad, grandma, or another helper for the hours from 6 am to 8 or 9 am and go back to sleep. Get up use the bathroom, change your pad, close the curtains, and crawl back into the nice warm bed. This can be an excellent time to sleep with no underwear on a towel and free bleeding, allowing your healing perineum to be exposed to the air.
• Eat nourishing meals. Stay well hydrated and eat sufficient calories to nourish your body. If you are running on empty, this will exacerbate the fatigue from lack of sleep.
• Reach out for help. It takes a village to raise a child and this starts in infancy. Reach out to friends and family for help or hire a postpartum doula. Some women believe they shouldn’t need help to raise their baby, but that’s not realistic. Remember, you’ll be running on just 4 hours of fragmented sleep. You need to be focusing on snuggling and feeding your baby. It is a wonderful time to lean on your community for support. If you don’t have family and friends available or need a little extra TLC, reach out to me and schedule a call here. Postpartum support can make a wonderful gift. I would love to support you or your loved one in the transition to motherhood!