Young babies usually sleep in time spans of 2-4 hours at a time, but yet we use the term ‘slept like a baby’ to indicate we have slept well. Oh the irony.

Newborns sleep 14-18 hours a day during their first week of life. In the first month after that, they typically sleep 12 to 16 hours a day. Sounds great, right? You will have time to adjust to your new roll, sleep, and enjoy your baby. Well, not quite. While newborns do need many hours of sleep per day, most babies don’t stay asleep for more than two to four hours at a time, day or night, during the first few weeks of life.

This means plenty of very irregular sleep for your baby, and a tiring new schedule for you (no one said raising kids was easy.. here is your first introduction..). You may find that there is little difference between night and day. Many babies even have a harder time relaxing after night fall, and may be more colicky at night. Feedings are regularly scheduled every 3-4 hours, which means you don’t get much continuous sleep either.

While not always doable, it is recommended to try and sleep when your baby sleeps. Yes, there are other chores you may need / want to accomplish while your baby is asleep, but if you can get help with those, or postpone them to another time (like tomorrow), you will thank yourself! Once rested, you will surely have more energy, and can get more done faster.. It is amazing what a little sleep can do…