Normal Newborn Sleep : Weeks 0-4 💤☀️🌑
We get the absolute pleasure of connecting with dozens of parents each week. Many of them being first time parents!
There’s a saying that is often true, being… you don’t know what you don’t know. Doing our intake calls, I hear often that new parents feel like the first four weeks is the hardest time of having a newborn and after they’ll be all good and baby will be sleeping 4 hour stretches - life will be magical.
Yes, the first four weeks are the hardest. This is true. But each stage of the first 12-16 weeks has it’s own quirks, and most new parents aren’t feeling adjusted, confident and rested with a four week old baby.
In the first four weeks - it doesn’t matter if you’re breastfeeding or bottle feeding. You should be feeding your newborn on demand. Don’t come for me… I am NOT the crunchy queen. This is what science says, I promise. GOOD NEWS: you can feed on demand AND have a schedule. There is a balance. This means that baby will be eating anywhere from every 30 minutes to 3 hours during the first four weeks, and if you’re a lucky duck you may see a four hour stretch overnight as a part of the range of normal experience. I will say, some people do get absolute unicorn babies that do longer stretches from day one, but this is the exception not the rule.
Contact Sleep is NORMAL SLEEP.
In the first few weeks, baby may need a bit more snuggles to settle on in to a deep sleep. You cannot spoil a baby, this is true. They need physical contact, they need to be close to other humans. There is balance within this as some babies do develop preferences early on, so balancing independent sleep time with contact sleep is so important.
By the 4-6 week mark, we’re hoping to see some kind of pattern develop with eat, sleep, play and all other essential functions. If you have not yet, this is a great time to start a routine during the day and at bedtime as well. Most babies won’t just put themselves into a stable routine or schedule and it’s so helpful to have a routine so you can effectively meet your baby’s needs.
SO WHAT MIGHT THE DAY / NIGHT LOOK LIKE?
I gotchu! Say no more… This can vary, but here’s a great rundown for what a typical newborn day can look like for a breastfed or bottle fed baby.
☀️Daytime☀️
6:35 am Baby is up - it’s time to eat
7:00 am Diaper Change
7:25 am Sleepy and Snoozing
8:20 am Feeding!
9:00 am Nap in Crib
11:00am Feeding!
11:25 am Snoozing on Mom
1:00 pm Feeding!
1:28 pm Tummy Time - Hanging with Family
2:38 pm Feeding!
3:00 pm Naptime
5:30 pm Feeding!
6:00 pm Dinner and Napping in Living Room
7:30 pm Feeding + Bedtime Routine
💤 Overnight 💤
8:00 pm B E D T I M E
10:00 pm Feeding!
10:40 pm Baby is Sleeping
12:00 am Poop! Diaper Change 💩
12:15 am Trying to get baby to sleep
1:23 am Feeding!
2:10 am Baby is back to sleep
4:30 am Feeding!
5:00 am Baby is back to sleep
6:30 am Baby is up and moving ☀️
This can obviously vary and be different every night, but it’s a great example of a normal and honestly pretty decent newborn pattern over the course of 24 hours. Between 4-6 weeks we start to see 4 hour sleep stretches, which is magical!
Harmony Baby Concierge is a full service Newborn Care + Postpartum Support Agency based in Dallas, Austin and Houston, Texas.. We have a well-rounded team of Newborn Care Specialists, Night Nurses, Postpartum Doulas, Newborn Night Nannies and Baby Nurses. We provide lactation support, newborn care, night nursing, gentle sleep training and parent education to families of newborns. We serve all families with love, warmth and care. Serving: Dallas, Austin, Houston, Highland Park, University Park, Kessler Park, Lake Highlands, Lakewood, Plano, Frisco, Celina, Prosper, Fort Worth, Southlake, Westlake, Irving, Preston Hollow, Park Cities, Grand Prairie, Carrollton, Houston, Manvel, Galveston, West University, Austin, Barton Creek, Round Rock, Houston, Denver, New York City, Greenwich CT, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Englewood Colorado, Cherry Hills Village CO, and Surrounding Areas.
