Many new parents worry about their newborn's sleep patterns. How much time can a healthy baby reasonably be expected to need during those first few months of life? Is there a point at which a parent should worry about the baby sleeping too much? The fact is that babies sleep and it is perfectly normal. Here are some facts about babies and sleep that can help put new parents at ease.
The reality is that newborns sleep. In fact, newborns sleep a lot. While a baby's sleep pattern may not match her parent's sleep pattern, there is no cause for alarm if the baby sleeps most of the night and still sleeps a lot during the day. Even if the baby sleeps up to twenty hours a day, with brief periods of wakefulness scattered over time, there is no cause for alarm.
One of the reasons behind what appears to be excessive sleeping in babies is the fact that the baby is still adjusting to a new environment and experiencing rapid growth at the same time. Getting plenty of sleep for babies early on is a good thing. Proper development requires that babies get a lot of sleep. Growth hormones are secreted by the pituitary gland at a much faster rate while babies sleep.
As any experienced parent can attest, the first five months of a baby's life are marked by rapid growth. It is not unusual for babies to double their body weight by the time the child is five months old. After that point, growth will continue at a steady pace, but will start to slow down a bit in the coming months. Newborn sleep that is interrupted upon waking to seek food and attention from time to time is perfectly normal during this time, and should be considered a sign of normal infant health.
There are new parents who are concerned that their babies' excessive sleep indicates some deficiency in parenting skills. This is not the case at all. As long as parents make sure that the baby is in a comfortable environment, is well fed, kept clean, and kept close during those intermittent periods of wakefulness, there is no deficiency. Babies sleep because they need to, not to escape inattentive or inadequate parents in any way. Of course, as the child ages, parents will take a more active role in helping the child develop sleep patterns that are in line with the rest of the household. But that will come in time and should not be taken as a sign that a parent is not doing a good job.
Babies sleep a lot because that's part of the natural order of things. Don't worry if your child is waking up in the middle of the night because he slept too much during the day. Babies have their own internal clocks that don't work according to the conventions of society. Let babies sleep through those critical early months for normal development and don't worry if your baby sleeps too much. In this case, the baby tastes better.