Newborn and Sleep

When a baby is first born, they have a short period of wakefullness, followed by some recovery sleep.  This is one of the many things I did not know when my first son was born.  It is important to use this wakeful time wisely.  Cuddle skin to skin with your newborn, breastfeed, and start your bonding experience. 

Breastfeeding soon after birth is important if you plan on breastfeeding your baby.  When my son was born, I allowed the medical staff to do their newborn assessments with Logan in a bed next to me.  They also took him away for his first bath.  By the time he got back, he was asleep and it was hours before he woke again.  I missed my first opportunity to breastfeed.  I thought it would be fine, but a whole cascade of problems led me to supplement with formula.  Would breastfeeding right away have changed my outcome?  I will never know about the past, but I am better prepared for the future.

So, how long is a newborn's wakeful time?  How long can a newborn be expected to sleep?  Unfortunately, there is no set answer to this.  Just like every baby will have its own personality, every baby will have his or her own sleep cycle.  Some babies sleep more especially if there was an epidural or other medications involved.

 

For my doula clients, I encourage skin to skin and breastfeeding immediately after birth.  If baby is too sleepy, they should try to nurse as much as possible for the first 24 hrs. If baby is sleeping, clients should take advantage of the time and sleep herself. I would try to wake up baby after about 4 hours and encourage nursing.  I don't ascribe a number to it. I say, "once you get to your postpartum room at some point baby will conk out. When baby does, it's time for YOU (and partner) to get some sleep too."  Sleep will come in bits and spurts those first few weeks.  So it can be a hard adjustment for all.