Example 4 Week Old Sleep Schedule
When you first bring your baby home, you realize you are in for a wild ride because although babies sleep a lot, they’re awake a lot too – and often at inconvenient times! But don’t worry; there’s good news. Once they’ve gotten used to the world after a few weeks, you can begin putting them on a schedule. Many babies will thrive on a schedule (and you will, too!).
Creating a sleep schedule for your four-week-old is all about timing. You also need to pay attention to their wake windows so that they don’t get overtired, causing them to refuse sleep. If this happens, you can find yourself in a vicious cycle of little to no sleep. Continue reading to learn more about how babies sleep and a sample schedule for a one month old baby.
How Much Sleep Does My One-Month-Old Need?
When babies are first born, they need a lot of sleep. After all, they’re growing at enormous rates!
One-month-olds take naps, but not in the traditional sense that an older baby or a toddler would. These small babies take frequent naps throughout the day, usually six or seven in total! Between frequent naps and nighttime sleep, your baby should be asleep approximately 14-17 hours during a 24-hour period.
At this age, there are really no hard and fast rules. Your baby can take a long nap and then a shorter one the next. The best schedule is the one tailored to you and your baby’s specific needs!
Why Don’t One-Month-Olds Sleep Through The Night?
Especially after a few weeks of no sleep, you’re longing for a full night’s rest. And you deserve it! But unfortunately, when babies are this young, they are unable to sleep a full night without waking up a few times.
They are unable to sleep a full night for a few different reasons, of those being that their circadian rhythm hasn’t matured yet. The circadian rhythm is responsible for your body’s physical, mental, and behavioral changes that occur within a 24-hour time period. This doesn’t last forever, though! Around four months old, your baby will begin sleeping more at night, and their daytime wake windows will lengthen.
Another reason that your baby cannot sleep through the night at this age is that they need to wake up to eat! When they are young, their stomachs are tiny. At birth, their stomachs are one to two teaspoons big and become the size of chicken eggs around one-month-old. Because of their small size, they need to eat frequently to replenish their stomachs. This will help them grow at a healthy rate!
Sample Nap Schedule for a One-Month Old
How To Make It Through the One-Month Sleep Deprivation Stage
Sure, we understand why our babies can’t sleep through the night, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t wish they could!
Thankfully, there are some helpful tips that you can do to catch some extra shut-eye.
Plan ahead. You finally get your baby to sleep, and all you want to do is hit your head on the pillow and join them. As tempting as this is, you should get the supplies you need together ahead of time! This should be diapers, wipes, bottles, and a boppy pillow if you nurse. If you bottle feed, some mothers have found the hack to put warm water in a thermos overnight so that it will still be warm enough to heat their baby’s bottles throughout the night!
Sleep when they sleep. We’ve all heard this advice before. Cook when the baby cooks, sweep when the baby sweeps, etc. Don’t feel like you have to sleep every single time your baby does, but if you are feeling run down, skip the dishes a little longer and get some rest!
Allow someone to help you. This is easier said than done as you want to be superhuman and cater to not only your baby’s every need but also keep up with the housework. If you have a family member or close friend that wants to help you (whether it be entertaining the baby or cleaning your house), don’t be afraid to reach out for help!
Keep Track of Your Baby’s Sleep Schedule with Baby Connect
If your baby is awake, so are you. Unfortunately, this means that you most likely will lose out on a lot of sleep in the first few months. Setting a schedule and helping your baby fall into this routine will benefit not only your baby but you too.
Forgetfulness can come hand in hand when you are struggling to catch some shuteye. When you are working on getting your baby on a schedule, you can easily forget some details. “Did I put them down to sleep at 9:30? 9:45? It might have even been 10.”
Baby Connect is an app that was designed for you to input all the information you need to monitor your baby’s milestones and needs. This will help you keep your baby on track and on schedule for you both to enjoy some much-deserved shut-eye!
