Article Posted: "Newborn Babies and Sleep"

I recently posted an interesting sleep-related article by Elizabeth Pantley called "Newborn Babies and Sleep". The article talks about some common misconceptions about newborn sleep and also provides some helpful hints on helping baby develop healthy sleep habits. Having been through this developmental stage with my daughter, I ask the reader to note the following about newborn sleep:

• Newborns sleep often, and mostly for short periods of time. I jokingly refer to it as the 2-hour eat-sleep-poop cycle.
• Breast milk does not stay in baby's belly very long, so they will wake up when they are hungry. Our daughter started sleeping through the night (I mean, really through the night) at about 6 months, when we introduced solids.
• The preemptive nap is key. Learn your child's cycle and put them to sleep before they show signs of tiredness. We found that our child slept more soundly when we prevented her from getting too tired.
  

If you find this article useful, or if you need extra help with newborn sleep, I strongly recommend a book that was a life saver for me and Karla: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth.

-Frank