I’ve always thought the phrase, “I slept like a baby,” is more like an oxymoron than a statement about sound sleeping habits. It should be followed with, “I’m so sorry to hear that,” as opposed to, “Lucky you!”

As a professional newborn photographer, I get to spend dozens of hours each week with adorable, precious newborns - and their absolutely exhausted and sleep-deprived parents. So, I see firsthand that I’m glad I sleep like an adult - and not like a baby!

Babies vs. Adults: Why don’t they sleep?

I’m a big believer in the idea that the more you know about an unpleasant situation, the better you can tolerate it. Brain imaging and monitoring has illuminated the mysteries of sleep more than ever before, and scientists can now tell us exactly what’s happening when babies sleep (or don’t sleep!) By learning the why’s of your baby’s short sleep bursts and frequent waking may help you weather the storm a bit better.

And remember: as with all things pertaining to developmental phases, “this too shall pass.”

How much sleep do babies need per day, anyway?

Keep in mind that, as with adults, some babies need less sleep than others, much to the distress of their parents. On average, however:

Newborns need around 16 hours of sleep
3-month olds need roughly 15 hours of sleep
6-month olds and up require about 12 hours of sleep

These “average hours” are divided up through the day and night. An infant may be awake and asleep almost proportionally throughout a 24-hour day for the first few weeks or so. By three-months, s/he will probably take at least two- and perhaps three naps per day, and then sleep most of the night - waking up for feedings or for a much-needed change.

By six-months to a year, solid foods help to fill the baby’s tummy for longer, which means you may get as much as five or six hours of sleep at a time. If your baby is waking you up more than that, it may be that s/he is very active and needs the nourishment OR that s/he hasn’t learned how to self-soothe just yet.

Babies are burning lots of liquid calories

First, it’s important to understand that the combination of a very small stomach (about the size of your baby’s fist) and a liquid diet digests rapidly. This is why babies need to consume their daily caloric intake consistently throughout the day and the night. This nourishment is integral to their brain and body development, and this is part of why their sleep cycle varies so much from older children and adults.

Development vs. processing

When babies are sleeping, their bodies are doing some rapid-fire development. When a baby is in the REM phase or the deeper phase of sleep, sleepfoundation.org states s/he is, “...developing, consolidating, and solidifying various cognitive and physical skills.” Because these are all so new, and physical growth is occurring at the same time, this development burns far more calories than your brain does during REM when it processes the day’s events.

They’re growing and changing at unbelievable rates (a fact your newborn photos will attest to when your baby is three-, five-, and nine-months old, and it’s hard to believe s/he started out so small…), and that requires 24/7 nourishment.

Your REM length is longer

REM or the rapid eye movement cycles are when sleep is most effective, and when the aforementioned brain development and processing occurs. While adults spend about 25% of their sleeping time in REM cycles, which is about 1.5 to two-hours per night, babies only spend about 50 minutes there during individual sleep sessions. But, since they only sleep for a couple or hours or so per session, that accounts for as much as 50% of their sleep time.

About every three months or so, for the first year, a baby’s sleep cycle shifts, until the patterns are closer to that of an older child’s and adult’s.

Babies transition more frequently between deep- and light sleep cycles

That said, babies spend more time transitioning between REM (deep sleep) and NREM (lighter sleep) than we do. These transitions almost always cause them to wake up until they learn to self-soothe.

Now, when an infant is developing, they may be ravenous, which makes it impossible to self-soothe until they are fed again. As baby transitions between nine- and twelve-months old, however, s/he’ll start to sleep for longer periods of time.

On a side note, here’s a cute tip: when your newborn transitions from REM to NREM and vice-versa, that’s when s/he smiles! During our sessions, we take special attention to that moment so we can capture adorable smiles of your little one!

Develop Healthy Newborn Sleep Habits ASAP

For the first couple months, the two of you will be living and sleeping to your baby’s feeding rhythms and adjusting to all of the new routines. By month three, it’s a good idea to begin establishing healthy newborn sleep habits. Repeating routines night after night helps your baby’s brain to establish, “Ah, it’s bedtime, this is when we calm down, snuggle, sing, nurse, and lay down in the crib.”

Read Developing Newborn Sleep Habits for tips on how to optimize your baby’s sleep patterns in your favor, and to help him/her learn self-soothing techniques that will help them fall back to sleep on their own.

Is lack of sleep making life seem like a blur? A beautiful series of newborn photos is just the thing to help you remember this once-in-a-lifetime window in your newborn’s life. Contact me here at Lemonshoots, (510) 747-9019, and let’s make it happen.

The Surprising Truth About a Baby’s Sleep Cycle