Healthy Newborn Baby Sleep Patterns

How do parents help their newborns learn to breathe normally? They don't, right? Actions like breathing and sleeping are automatic—part of our autonomic system. So there is actually little parents can do to control baby's sleep.

That said, the first issue when trying to raise a healthy sleeper is to figure out what is normal sleep for the whole family. In fact, many parents who ask this question are anxious because they had or have sleep issues themselves. An infant's health history with regard to sleep doesn't begin at birth—it begins with the parents' health and sleep patterns before mom was even pregnant! Parents who want to encourage healthy sleep in their newborns need to look at their own sleep patterns first and seek help if necessary. Babies and kids will usually adapt to whatever sleep patterns their parents or caretakers expose them to—whether healthy or unhealthy.

One other thing parents must keep in mind is to stay calm when putting baby to sleep. In order for humans to fall asleep, they must be in a sleep-deprived, monotonous state: They must be sleepy and relaxed. If you are stressed out, your baby senses it and responds to that.

Beyond the influence of their parents, babies tend to regulate their sleep to light exposure, feeding times and social interactions. At birth, your baby will sleep at intervals that seem random. But by 3 months, your baby will probably take three naps during the day with the bulk of sleep occurring at night.