SLEEPING
SOUNDLY
Read on for some great advice
for a happy household
Sleep is essential for the physical and emotional
wellbeing of your baby – particularly because
this is the time when he is growing, developing
and processing all the new information he learns
each day. You will notice that when your baby
doesn’t sleep well, due to over tiredness, illness
or a change in routine, he ends up irritable and
uninterested in feeding or toys.
Sound asleep
In the early months, your newborn slept for
approximately 18 hours in a 24-hour period. This
will usually drop to about 13-14 hours by his first
birthday. When growth spurts hit, however, be
prepared for this to increase.
“I could always tell when the girls were going
through a growth spurt and about to move into
the next clothes size,” says Mary-Louise, mom of
13-month-old twins Lucy and Emma. “They would
have longer naps during the day, fall asleep on car
journeys longer than 15 minutes, and Emma even
dropped off in her highchair during dinner once!”
Create a routine
If you haven’t already, now is a great time to
introduce a bedtime routine. Dinner, bath, bottle
and bed – even a gentle story or lullaby could be
included. The whole pre-bed process should be
calm, without stimulation and designed to let your
baby wind down ready for sleep. He will soon learn
that this nightly routine results in bedtime, and the
consistency each evening will become an enjoyable
part of the day.
“Having a solid bedtime routine of
bath, milk, story and then bed
means that our two have always
dropped off brilliantly at
bedtime,” says Sarah, mom of
Rhea, 3, and Suzie, 14 months.
“We even try to stick to the
For your big parenting adventure