Reason 4: They grow at the speed of light.
Newborns typically double their birth weight in the first three to six months. To make sense of that – take your current weight. Double it. And imagine what it would take to do that in three to six months! And new babies achieve this incredible amount of growth on a liquid diet with a mini-sized stomach. Frequent feedings are the means to their growth and survival – day and night.
So what’s a parent to do?
As difficult as it may be for parents to respond to a multitude of night-wakings during the newborn months, it’s a reality that newborns will wake up for night-time feedings, and they can’t be trained out of it. However, there is good news!
If you understand that newborns need a massive amount of sleep, day and night, but also that you cannot possibly train them to sleep “through the night,” you can accept that this is normal infant behaviour. And by respecting, instead of fighting your newborn’s sleep needs, you’ll find that your baby sleeps more peacefully, and also, that this sleepless time passes quickly.
For learning more about how newborn babies sleep plus many tips and suggestions for helping your new baby sleep better, check out The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Newborns.
Originally published here.
Elizabeth Pantley is a mother of four, grandmother, and author of the bestselling book, The No-Cry Sleep Solution, plus 8 other books in the No-Cry Solution Series which helps Mums and Dads through all key stages of parenting. Visit her at nocrysolution.com.
