In the early days your baby’s routine will be about eating and sleeping. They need to be fed at least every two or three hours, so even though they sleep for 16 to 18 hours a day, they’ll wake up often for feeds – day and night.
In those first few weeks it’s normal for your baby to feed eight to 12 times every 24 hours, so it can be a challenge for you to get a decent sleep at this time. It’s normal to feel exhausted. Just remember your baby will feed less often and sleep for longer as they grow.
There are plenty of things you can do to help teach your baby good sleeping habits too; here are a few useful ones.
- Self settling - let your baby learn to settle his or her self. You can do this by putting them down in their bassinet or cot when they’re drowsy, but not asleep.
- Ignore the racket – it can be a good idea to let your baby to get used to sleeping through noise. The house doesn’t need to be completely silent when they are asleep.
- Be a sponge – everyone is different, you’ll find plenty of tips that have worked for other people in parenting books and magazines. You can also talk to your health professional – just be aware that we’re all different and the same tips can work differently for each of us.
