Teaching Your Infant Healthy Sleep Habits

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Today we are going to discuss “Teaching Your Infant Healthy Sleep Habits”. While in the womb, your infant tends to sleep while you are awake. The motion of your movements as you go about your day is soothing to your little one, similar to the sensation of being in a rocking chair. When you fall asleep at night, and your body is still, your baby often awakes to entertain herself.

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New mothers can recognize the irony in this predicament, as suddenly they are faced with a baby who sleeps throughout the day and is wide awake all night long. This becomes particularly difficult when there are older siblings who must be attended to during the daytime and a little one awake at night.

So how can you teach your newborn healthy sleep habits that she can take into her toddler years and beyond? Learn more here about the sleeping hacks for your babies.

Know How Much Sleep Your Baby Needs

Children require different amounts of sleep based on how old they are. Use the guide below to determine how much sleep your child needs.

Age	Hours of sleep	Additional information
Newborn (birth to two months)	16 to 20	Awake for 1 to 2 hours between periods of sleep
Infants (two months to one year)	13 to 15	Includes morning and afternoon naps
Toddlers (one to four years)	12	Includes an afternoon nap

Tips For A Good Night’s Sleep

1. Make sure that your baby is dry and comfortable. Change his diaper and feed your baby before putting him down for the night. This won’t guarantee a full night’s sleep, but it will be a great start.
2. Do not be tempted to rock your child to sleep or hold him until he’s sleeping and transfer him to his crib once he’s asleep. Try placing your baby in his bed when he’s sleepy, but still awake. This will allow him to learn to fall asleep on his own. You’ll be thankful for this skill as he grows. Remember to place your child on his back to sleep.
3. Determine a nighttime routine and follow it at the same time nightly. This may include a bath, a clean diaper, feeding, a bedtime story, or whatever ritual you choose. However, it’s important to stick to the same schedule so that your baby associates these steps with bedtime and becomes accustomed to falling asleep upon completion of the routine.
4. Limit your child’s nap time and do not allow late naps, if possible. Depending on the age of your child, try to limit naps to no more than three hours and do not allow toddlers to nap past 4:00 in the afternoon. Children who take long or late afternoon naps may not be ready to go to sleep at their bedtime. Certainly, each child is different, so determine what is best for your baby and work from there.
5. Do not let your child fall asleep while feeding. Sleeping with milk or juice in the mouth can lead to cavities and tooth decay, even on unformed teeth. If your child insists on a drink, offer him water instead.

Pacifiers And SIDS

Research within the past five years has shown that pacifier use is actually beneficial for your child. A study by Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC showed using a pacifier at sleep times resulted in a “consistently reduced risk” of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). In fact, the study showed that infants who used pacifiers had a decreased risk of SIDS even when sleeping on the side or prone, when bed-sharing, or when soft bedding was present.

Nationwide Children’s Hospital recommends in their Safe Sleep Practices for Babies that parents offer pacifiers at nap and bedtimes to reduce the risk of SIDS. Breastfeeding newborns should be well-established in nursing prior to exposure to a pacifier, usually around three or four weeks of age.

Sweet Dreams

Teaching your child healthy sleep habits while she is still an infant will be helpful for both parents and child as she grows older. Maintain a simple routine and avoid altering it, even during times of change, such as a move, a new sibling, or starting preschool.