A baby’s sleep is incredibly precious and vital to their development, but making sure a baby isn’t disturbed by outside noises, discomfort or themselves is difficult.
According to a report published in Science Advances, from birth until the age of two and a half babies sleep to help build their brains and create neural connections.
To ensure babies get enough sleep to help their development, here are some top tips to avoid waking them up.
Gradually Create A Day And Night Distinction
Babies at first will sleep a significant amount of the day, from 14 hours to up to 17, depending on the baby, often in little bursts and naps throughout the day.
The NHS has a list of the amount of time children need to sleep, although as long as they are getting enough for them and a baby sleep consultant does not see any concerns with their sleep levels, it does not necessarily have to be in the proportions set by the NHS.
To help your baby, and indeed help yourself as you try to get small amounts of sleep whenever your baby does, try to create a relaxed atmosphere at night. Lower the lights and your voice, and put your baby down to sleep as soon as they have been fed and changed.
Establish a Bedtime Routine
For newborn babies, they will tend to sleep pretty much throughout the day and night.
Once they are around three months, however, you can start to establish a soothing routine to gradually relax them and create a distinction between awake time for play and night time for bathing, dimming the lights and sleeping.