Updated article july 2021

Hello Parents,

Your baby’s sleep is a HOT topic!

It often pains mothers and fathers to hear their baby cry. We want to give the best of ourselves to our child from birth. We hug them and cherish them. We try to meet all their needs as quickly as possible, so their entry into the world goes smoothly. After childbirth, a baby’s sleep is influenced by breastfeeding, light, background sounds, body temperature, his temper and the outside world’s stimuli. When the baby cries, they’re expressing themselves. Over the minutes, days and months to come, parents will learn what their crying means and meet their needs. They try as hard as possible to be there at the right time and do what is best for their physical and psychological development.

In this article:

•    Do you think your baby has difficulty going to sleep by themselves?
•    Sleep cycles
•    How to help our baby’s sleep
•    How to establish a sleep routine

At about 25 weeks of pregnancy, the baby starts its sleep stages in utero. This is what we call the “biological clock.”

I know that this is a difficult part of parenting for couples trying care for their baby. However, they might question their baby’s sleep needs and habits, and wonder how they can deal with them in the right way. Both parents and children need sleep and rest. This is essential for life, just like eating or exercising. Sleep deprivation can have an impact across the board, on family, work, the couple, and social life. Extended deprivation can even cause health problems for both parents and their child since sleep and health are linked.

Children with known health problems will have restless, irregular, less healing sleep. A baby’s health condition needs to be evaluated before trying to solve their sleep problems.

I want to congratulate parents of children that don’t have sleep problems. You have found a satisfactory way of handling it. Continue along this path you think is best for you and your baby.

Now, for those parents who haven’t been able to handle their child’s sleep problems, I would like to try and help. After reading your questions and comments, I know that you can sometimes feel powerless in the face of a crying baby that can’t fall asleep alone. No magic solutions are available for each child and each sleep problem, but I think I can help you clearly understand your reality and better react to it.

What exactly does good sleep mean? What factors maximize the developmental benefits of sleep for an infant? And what are the consequences of not getting enough sleep? These are good questions worth thinking about.

Every child and parent is unique, and many ways to help your baby’s sleep are available.

Therefore, we cannot say that a child “sleeps through the night” all the time at a specific age like a baby does not always walk on its first birthday. In addition, an infant’s sleep needs differ from those of adults.

To orient the discussion today, I will deal with infant sleep, meaning from childbirth to 1 year of age.

Do you think your baby has difficulty going to sleep by themselves?

Parents, if you answer yes to this question, continue reading. If your baby has sleep problems, you’re the best people to help them. If you think to have to change things, the earlier is always better. I’m not saying it will be easy, but it’s possible! The goal is to have them fall asleep alone, not leaving them to cry all night.

Our scientific knowledge about sleep at any age is continually evolving. We don’t have strict rules about a person’s sleep needs, but we know that needs vary depending on age and its development. The younger you are, the more sleep you need. Over time sleep needs diminish.

To continue reading this article, go to Sleep Cycles.