Can I change my baby’s “disaster naps”? Short naps of 30-45 minutes (“disaster” naps or “cat” naps) are quite common in infants younger than 9 months. They are often completely normal, as some young babies are simply short nappers. Infants that are “short” nappers can [...]
When can I stop adjusting my preemie’s age? If your baby is born preterm, most health care professionals recommend continuing to correct her age until she is about 2 ½-years-old. That’s how long we think it takes for preterm infants to catch up with those born at full [...]
How much should my newborn be napping? The amount a newborn naps is guided by the time that a newborn is able to stay asleep in general. Newborns sleep in chunks of time between 2 and 5 hours, with great variability. Every newborn is different! During the course of the day, your newborn will sleep [...]
How do I manage my newborn’s night wakings? It can be tough for parents when newborns wake frequently. However, their wakings are completely normal. In fact, newborns sleep in periods from 2 to 5 hours across a 24-hour period (day and night). At this stage, it’s important to respond to your [...]
How can dream feeds help? Dream feeds are feedings that you give your baby when she is mostly still asleep. The idea is to feed them a bit so that there is a longer stretch of sleep before she wakes up again. This also helps you get more sleep! For example, you might put your little one down for [...]
How much should my newborn be sleeping? Know that every baby is different and there is great variability in newborn sleep. Most newborns sleep in periods of 2 to 5 hours across the day and night (24-hour period), sleeping 12 to 18 hours total per day. As your baby grows, those sleep periods will [...]
He has his days and nights switched. What can I do? Your newborn is awake at night and asleep during the day because they do not have a sense of the difference between daytime and nighttime. This develops over time (several weeks), but there are a few things you can do to help your newborn. During [...]
Where should I nurse my baby at bedtime? Nurse your baby in a comfortable chair in the room that your baby will sleep overnight. Try not to get in the habit of having your baby fall asleep completely while nursing. Instead, feed her until she is drowsy and then transfer her into the crib. It is [...]
Can newborns fall asleep on their own at bedtime? Although all babies are different, your newborn is too young to expect to be able to fall asleep on her own reliably. This is a skill, though, that she will be able to do as she gets a bit older. You can help her along the way by giving her [...]
Should I wake my newborn to eat during the day? There is a really wide range for what is a normal amount of sleep for a newborn. That said, the best way to decide whether your baby is eating enough is to see how often he is feeding and how many wet and dirty diapers he has during the day. A [...]