10 facts about baby sleep you never knew you knew

Sleep is one of those things. When you become a parent, you suddenly think about it a lot. It becomes a hot topic of conversation and not just between you and your partner. Everyone else wants to know how much sleep you get per night and how easy it was to get it too. As the kids grow older and new babies are introduced, the intensity of sleep chat can vary. Perhaps you grow less concerned and more relaxed? Perhaps you encounter more issues and find you need to seek out different advice with each child? All of this means one thing: you know more about sleep than you realised. To prove it, here are 10 facts about baby sleep you never knew you knew already:

• Sleep deprivation is dangerous. You may joke that you put the car keys in the fridge and the fish food in the toilet due to lack of sleep, but it’s not really a laughing matter. Severe and prolonged sleep deprivation can cause memory lapses, depression, hallucinations and high blood pressure. Find more info here.
• Not all parents tell the truth about their baby’s sleep. Some parents feel the need to embellish upon the length of sleep their baby gives them each night and that’s fine. But the next time you find yourself comparing your baby to everyone else’s, consider whether or not their sleep is all they claim it to be!
• Solid food does not make a baby sleep through the night. Putting aside the fact that ‘sleeping through the night‘ can be described differently depending on who you talk to, one of the first pieces of advice you may be given is to get some solid food on the menu. Some swear by adding rice to the bottle. Some say that three square meals a day will get your baby sleeping better. It just doesn’t work like that. Sorry. Most babies are ableto sleep through by the age of six months (the age that the WHO recommends you introduce solid food) but that doesn’t mean that they all will.
• The better your baby sleeps in the day, the better they sleep in the night. This one occurs to you through trial and error at first. If you’re tempted to drop a nap in the hope that your little one will sleep through, you might want to think again. An over tired baby does not sleep well and you will find that it is much better all round to be well rested.
• Bedtime routines work. They really do. Even very young babies respond well to a nice simple routine- a good wind down period, followed by a bath, story and bed is perfect. Keep it simple, stick to the same order each day and do this for naps too. You know this is true.
• Babies aren’t born knowing how to sleep. Even though newborns sleep for up to 17 hours a day at first, they still need to learn the art of it all. They need you to teach them. They also need you to help them distinguish between night and day. You can do this by making sure day and night surroundings are different- so don’t speak in whispers or ask people not to call the phone during the day. Babies will sleep through the general hum of life at nap time, and when it is dark and quiet hopefully they will know it is night time and time to sleep for longer.
• All babies are different and so all babies sleep differently. Your first born will not set the bar for your middle child. Your child’s temperamenthas so much to answer for when it comes to sleep and you will know already that each of your babies have a different personality. Don’t be surprised if you get one ‘good’ sleeper, one ‘okayish’ sleeper and one ‘bad’ sleeper. Although, who’s to say what is good, bad or okay sleeping?
• Babies don’t let you rest on your laurels. Oh, no! Babies are constantly changing, learning new things, developing new skills, teething, catching colds… you get the idea. Just when you think you have it sussed, babies like to mix it up a bit. Be prepared- be flexible. You’ll never know it all!
• Your instincts know best. You know this makes sense. Don’t like the idea of letting your baby cry? Then don’t do it. Want to co-sleep? Then read up on how to do it safely. You know your baby better than anyone else!
• You have secret weapons. No, really. Think about it. When your baby falls asleep, they do so feeling safe and loved and confident. You made them feel like that. And when they wake, you have secret weapons to get them back to sleep. Your scent, your voice, your arms… however you comfort and soothe your baby when they need it, those are your secret weapons. And when your baby is a little older and ready to learn how to sleep independently, you pass those secret weapons on. You really are amazing!