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In the early months baby sleeps most of the time.  Baby usually wakes to be fed and after feeding and a nappy change baby is usually quite happy to nod off back to sleep.  Night feeds can be a bit draining for mum, especially if baby is on demand feed as baby can wake several times during the course of the night and mum gets very little time to sleep between feedings.

At around three months baby sleep pattern tends to change and baby sleeps less.

It’s not until baby is six months that baby’s sleep pattern is closer to those of a grown up – which means less waking at night.

Obviously as time passes baby’s sleep pattern changes and by eight months more than 50% of babies are able to self soothe themselves back to sleep without the parent’s help.  Unfortunately some will continue to wake especially if they are conditioned by their parents in expecting to be fed through the night.

When baby begins to be attracted to lots of new activities and discovers their new ability it is much more interesting to stay awake than go to sleep.  The combination of being able to do exciting thing and stay awake may mean that your baby might wake more often during the night and may not be so willing to go back to sleep.

By the time babies are six months old they do not physically need to be fed during the night.  This is a good age to teach your baby to go back to sleep without a feed.

The affect baby sleep patterns have on parents

Most parents of babies under six months of age are still on night duty to some degree.  For some parents persistent night time disturbance can have a serious impact on them and their family life.

It is important that to understand that the strength of your relationship with your baby and the quality of your interaction during the day, can affect both the quality and quantity of your baby’s sleep.

And it is also true that the quality of your sleep can affect your health and your mood.

Being exhausted can make it hard to give your baby positive attention during the day. If you find that you are not getting enough night sleep it will be beneficial if you can schedule an afternoon nap when your baby takes a nap.  Even if it is difficult to fall asleep during the day, lying down and resting can recharge your batteries.

It might be worth cutting out caffeine and other stimulants if you can. A study found there is a strong association between sleep problems in infants and symptoms of depression in mothers.   The relationship did not hold true when mothers of infants with sleep problems were getting adequate sleep.