When you have a baby, especially for the first time ever, the learning curve is steep. New parents can all too often feel incredibly overwhelmed by the weight of the task in front of them. After all, they are now fully responsible for keeping an entire human being alive. They must feed this child, bathe them, keep them safe and warm. And, of course, they must get them to sleep.
As many a baby sleep trainer will be able to attest to, the mystery of getting one’s child to sleep on a regular basis and in a consistent way is a problem that has alluded parents since children have been born. Understanding the normal patterns for infant sleep is a must for any parent, and is knowledge that a baby sleep trainer can help to impart. After all, adjusting to a new normal with as drastic of a change as this one can certainly be hugely difficult – but is a transition process that can be eased with the help of a professional such as a baby sleep trainer or baby sleep coach.
It’s important to understand that it’s normal for your child’s sleep patterns to be somewhat erratic at first. Newborns are just adjusting to life outside of the womb and are still getting their bearings in it. Adjusting to the normal cycle of sleep takes some time and most babies will not be able to differentiate between day and night and develop their circadian rhythm until about two months of age. In addition to this, it is also hugely normal for newborns to wake up every few hours, as this is essential for their growth. Young babies eat near constantly, and making sure they are fed regularly helps to keep them nourished and happy. Eventually, as their stomachs grow along with their bodies, they will no longer need to wake during the night for sustenance, though many still will out of habit and comfort.
And babies need a lot of sleep for a good deal of time. In fact, your newborn baby will spend more hours asleep than awake, something that holds true for the first few months. Fortunately, babies begin to grow out of this stage around three months of age, when they really begin to become much more aware of the world all around them. Even still, however, babies that fall between the ages of six months and a year will need a number of naps – at least two – throughout the day. The time range for these naps can vary, with some babies napping for just an hour while others will sleep for a full two to three hours.
Even as they get older, older babies and toddlers still need a good deal of sleep. Ideally they’ll be getting at least twelve hours of it every day, if not as many as 14 full hours. Again, every child is different and no two child’s sleep needs will be exactly alike, something that just about any baby sleep trainer will easily be able to attest to. But how do you make this happen? How do you get your child to sleep through the night on a consistent basis without resorting to methods like crying it out?
Getting them on a good schedule is always a good start. For so many aspects of parenting, routine is key. And so too is it a critical part of training your baby to sleep, as any baby sleep trainer can tell you. Baby sleep training can actually start quite early on, with the typical baby sleep trainer recommending a bedtime routine starting at only just a couple months of age. Even though babies typically aren’t biologically and physically ready to sleep through the night until about the six month mark, getting them started with a good routine early on can certainly make the process of teaching them to sleep well easier once they are actually ready to do it.
Getting your child to sleep – and sleep well – can be difficult. It is certainly one that requires a great deal of patience. Fortunately, however, a baby sleep trainer can help get you on the right path to sleeping well.
