Health

Understanding Baby Sleep

All parents need to have a clear understanding of the baby sleep patterns for 7 months to 12 months old babies. Sleep needs and patterns vary from one baby to another. Furthermore, it varies from age to age. It is observed that newborns tend to sleep much more.

And at the same time, their sleep patterns and time frames are of short segments. As soon as the baby starts to grow, then the total and average amount of sleep duration starts to get decreased as well.

Sleeping duration of newborns

Most importantly, newborns sleep approximately 8 to 9 hours time frame in the daytime. However, their night sleep duration reaches up to 8 hours. At one single time, they only sleep for one to two hours duration.

Moreover, two-thirds of babies sleep through the whole night on a daily and regular basis until and unless they are 6 months old. Most of the babies tend to show different sleep cycles. They often spend less time when it comes to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. And their sleeping cycles are also shorter.

How baby sleep pattern changes from 7 to 12 months?

When babies hit and reach this specific age time frame, then they often and commonly sleep less during the daytime. Most noteworthy, they remain to stay awake for an extended and longer duration between their naps time.

Babies of this age prefer to take longer night-time nights of sleep. And at the same time, they wake less during nights

Sleep pattern for 3-6 months old babies

It is during this age that babies need and require 15-16 hours of sleep. It is observed that babies who fall in this age bracket, they opt a specific sleep pattern and get 2 to 3 daytime period of sleep of two hours each.

However, night-time sleeps tend to become longer during this age frame.

Sleep pattern for 6-12 months old babies

Moving to the sleep patterns of 6 to 12 months old babies, these babies comparatively sleepless. As an example, if your baby is one year old, then it is commonly seen and noticed that he needs 14-15 hours sleep. Upon reaching the age frame of six months, these babes get the longest periods of sleep at night time.

It is in between the timings of 6 pm and 8 pm that 6-month-old babies get ready and prepared for sleep.

Less than 30 minutes are needed to sleep a 6-month-old baby. It is by eight months that babies start to learn as to how to settle themselves during sleep.

Why 7-12 months old babies face disturbed sleeping patterns?

It is especially during this age that babies who are 8 to 10 months old, they experience 8-month sleep regression. Their sleep patterns are affected and they wake up in the night because their senses become more alert.

It is difficult for the parents to sleep their 8 to 10 months old babies in the room which has lots of light and also noise. Moreover, your baby starts to change his sleep habits when he learns how to move around and walk.

Babies of this age become the easy target of separation anxiety. They get upset when they do not see their mom or dad around them. Thus, waking up with such anxiety disturbs their sleep patterns too.

If your baby is having a sleep problem, then this same problem affects mom and dad health too. There are a strong link and connection between baby sleep problems and also symptoms of postnatal depression in women.

Conclusion

If you are about to become parents, then do take some time out and understand the baby sleeping patterns of different ages and genders.

Disturbed and inconsistent sleeping patterns experienced by your baby will eventually affect sleep patterns of parents.

You can share with us what specific sleep patterns you have normally observed in a baby, share your views over here.