Tag: normal infant sleep

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A Guide to Normal Infant Sleep and Safety for Expecting Parents

Congratulations! You’re about to start one of life’s most incredible journeys: parenthood. As you wait for your little one to arrive, it helps to prepare for the reality of broken nights that come with a new baby. Understanding normal infant sleep and how to keep your baby safe while they sleep is important for your baby’s wellbeing and your own peace of mind.

Normal infant sleep

Babies’ sleep patterns can seem puzzling at first, but it is completely normal for them to wake often during the night because their tiny tummies need regular feeds. Newborns typically sleep for around 14–17 hours a day, usually in short stretches of 2–3 hours. Over the following months, their sleep gradually changes and longer stretches start to appear.

Safer sleep tips from the Lullaby Trust

The Lullaby Trust gives clear guidance to help your baby sleep safely:

  1. Always place your baby on their back to sleep, for every sleep, day or night.
  2. Keep your baby in a cot or Moses basket in the same room as you for at least the first six months.
  3. Use a firm, flat, waterproof mattress in good condition, and a cot that meets current safety standards.
  4. Keep the cot clear: no pillows, duvets, cot bumpers, toys or loose bedding.
  5. Keep the room at a comfortable temperature, ideally 16–20°C, so your baby doesn’t overheat.
  6. Keep your baby’s head uncovered. A well-fitting baby sleeping bag is a safe alternative to blankets.
  7. Keep your baby smoke-free during pregnancy and after birth.
  8. Breastfeeding, if you can, lowers the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome).
  9. Never fall asleep with your baby on a sofa or armchair.
  10. If you do bring your baby into your bed, make the space as safe as possible. Do not share a bed with your baby if you or anyone in the bed smokes, has drunk alcohol, has taken drugs or medication that makes you drowsy, or is extremely tired, or if your baby was born prematurely or at a low birth weight.

Coping with less sleep

  1. Prioritise sleep: let go of non-essential jobs and rest as much as you can.
  2. Share the load: take turns with your partner, family or friends, for example with night feeds or early mornings.
  3. Start a simple bedtime routine: as your baby grows, a calm, consistent routine can help signal that it’s time to sleep.
  4. Accept help: say yes to offers of support, whether it’s a home-cooked meal or an hour of babysitting.
  5. Eat well and drink plenty of water to help fight tiredness.
  6. Lower your expectations: embrace the chaos and let go of perfection.
  7. Find your people: connect with other parents going through the same thing, in person or online.
  8. Be kind to yourself: it’s okay to feel tired and overwhelmed at times.
  9. Rest or nap when your baby naps, if you can, and forget about the chores.
  10. Remember, this phase is temporary. It may feel never-ending, but the sleepless nights will pass.

You can find out more about normal infant sleep at BASIS (Baby Sleep Info Source), which shares research-based information about baby sleep, development and safety.

Keep these tips in mind as you prepare to welcome your baby, and you’ll be better equipped for the early days. Cherish those precious newborn moments, and remember that looking after yourself helps you look after your baby.

Birth workers: my safer sleep paper doll activity and baby 24-hour clock are hands-on ways to explore baby sleep with expectant parents.

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  • written information
  • infographics and other imagery
  • printable handouts
  • printable workbook/journal
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Teaching about Safer Sleep

To mark Safer Sleep Week, here are my ideas for teaching expectant parents about safer sleep for their newborn babies.

Greater awareness of safer sleep leads to fewer babies dying.

Sadly, around 210 babies still die from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) in the UK every year – about four a week (The Lullaby Trust). If every parent knew the safer sleep advice and practices, many lives could be saved. For the most up-to-date research and recommendations, I point parents to The Lullaby Trust and BASIS.

How can you build safer sleep into your classes?

Many parents are worried or unsure about clothing layers and safer sleep, so I usually start with my “Dressing your baby” activity. Each family has a baby doll or makes their own towel baby. I spread out a selection of baby clothes and accessories on a table or the floor (or, when social distancing was needed, I gave each family a washbag) containing:

  • a sleepsuit/babygrow
  • a long-sleeved vest
  • short-sleeved vests
  • scratch mittens
  • a hat
  • socks/booties
  • a cardigan
  • a blanket

Each family then gets a random weather/temperature scenario card. They discuss the scenario, choose a suitable outfit and dress their doll. Then each family presents their choices and explains how they decided. This usually leads into a discussion about layers, overheating, and how to tell if a baby is too hot or cold (and why hats aren’t worn for sleep indoors). I hand out my baby clothing layers guide, and my Dressing your baby paper doll activity works well too.

Next, we discuss sleeping arrangements and what might be practical for each family, using my size comparison chart.

Moses basket to cot bed size comparison

After that, we look at The Lullaby Trust’s safer sleep advice and put our babies safely to bed (I use a sheet of flipchart paper to represent the cot mattress). If I have the equipment at the venue, I show this video before parents put their doll to bed:

If I don’t have the equipment, I ask parents to download the BASIS Infant Sleep Info app and watch the video above before the session. My Safer Infant Sleep paper doll activity is another great hands-on option.

Alternative safer sleep teaching ideas

I have also used The Lullaby Trust’s free “Make a room” and “Spot the risks” activities. However, I’ve stopped using them because I now focus on reinforcing safe, positive practice, so I’ve removed images showing less safe or unsafe set-ups. This approach comes from my hypnobirthing practice and my early years work with “Empowering Parents, Empowering Communities” (EPEC). I’ve also updated all my true-or-false quizzes so they only contain true statements, to reinforce the right messages.

Teaching about safer sleep online

Online, I use a digital version of the dressing your baby activity. Each family goes into their own Zoom breakout room and works on their own Google Slide (breakout room 1 on slide 1, and so on). Each slide has a different scenario as the background, and families drag the clothes onto the baby.

For the other tasks, I ask families to bring along some baby clothes if they have any, or simply describe how and where their baby would sleep most safely.

Sources and further reading