Newborns and Sleep Part 2: Weeks 7-16

Congratulations! We bet you are amazed at how quickly the first six weeks passed!

Perhaps you are reading this blog because the glow of new parenthood is wearing off, you face going back to work, meals and packages have stopped arriving, and exhaustion is setting in. Or, maybe you are doing okay, but anticipating what’s to come in your baby’s sleep future and want to get started on the right foot.

In addition to understanding how your baby's sleep will change during this time, there are a number of adjustments you can introduce to prevent common sleep problems from developing. This post covers what to expect from your baby's sleep during this time, along with best practices that you can implement during the day and at night.

The science

Your baby's sleep will continue to change and evolve from week 7 to 16. Babies in this age range will often start with a short "night" of 8-10 hours of sleep that extends to 10.5-11 hours by the end of this age range. Naps are typically still erratic and will last a few minutes to several hours, although babies will usually have fewer naps that are more spaced out during this time. See our age-by-stage sleep chart for more on this. Most feedings should be on demand, although some babies will develop sleep associations as they approach 16 weeks of age. Make sure you adjust your expectations if your baby is a preemie.

As your baby grows, you’ll start to see signs that your baby's circadian rhythm is maturing, which will allow for more predictable sleep. This is a welcome change for many parents. These changes include:

• Better tolerance to being awake during the day, with longer wake windows

  • Bonus: This usually also comes with more social smiling during the day!

• Less overnight pooping

• Evening fussiness easing

• Longer nighttime stretches of sleep

Your baby's sleep will become deeper and more predictable in the first half of the night. You may find that your baby starts to sleep 4, 5, or even 8 hours in a row before waking up to eat. The second half  of the night (early morning hours) can be rough though. This is when your baby will begin to develop rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. REM sleep comes with lots of movement, grunts, and even crying out. Because babies make so much noise during REM sleep, it's important to be sure your baby is actually awake before intervening.

As a baby approaches 16 weeks, you may find that sleep gets even more disrupted. Your baby may begin to wake up multiple times overnight looking for comfort or a small feeding to get back to sleep. This occurs as your baby becomes more aware and as mild separation anxiety takes hold. One indicator that your baby may be developing sleep associations is if your baby wakes within an hour of having a feeding. Many people call this the four-month sleep regression, but as described in our blog on the topic, it really just represents a normal and natural change in sleep maturity. The rest of this post provides recommendations for actions you can take to try to minimize sleep disruption resulting from these changes.

Assess your sleep environment

Newborns seem to be able to sleep anywhere. As your baby grows and becomes more aware, s/he'll also become more easily distracted by the world. This makes having a great sleep environment important to establish during this time. Here are the key elements of a great sleep environment:

• Cool (68–72°F)

  • The most important factor in temperature is your baby's microclimate. See our post on dressing your baby appropriately for sleep.

  • Consider a humidifier in the winter or if you live in a dry climate.

• Dark (use blackout curtains)

  • Light is the primary synchronizer of the circadian system, meaning it has a biological impact on your baby's sleep. Keep your baby in a dark environment during sleep to avoid circadian rhythm disruption.

  • Don't use a nightlight unless you need it for safety.

• Quiet (white noise can help block household sounds)

  • Keep the level below 35 decibels and do not put the noise in/near your baby's crib. Place it near the source of disruptive noises (like near the window or door).

  • You don't need white noise if you live in a very quiet place.

Establish a Bedtime Routine

Once bedtime becomes more predictable (typically around 7–10 weeks), you should start a simple bedtime routine including:

• Bath or wipe down

• Dim lights

• Feeding

• Massage (little babies benefit from a parents' calming touch)

• Short book, song, or snuggle

This predictable sequence helps cue your baby’s that sleep is coming. Bedtime routines have been shown to improve sleep on their own. Check out our bedtime routine blog for more ideas.

Be flexible and balanced with naps

It's absolutely okay to have some naps on the go—in a stroller or carrier—especially if you have other kids or need flexibility. Motion naps can also result in your baby taking a nice long nap during the day, which can be very helpful and practical! Don't be afraid to allow your baby to take some naps on-the-go. Just make sure your baby is sleeping in a safe location and try not to rely on having your baby sleep on-the-go.

In order to help your baby become a predictable crib sleeper, it's important to offer consistent opportunities to sleep in a stationary, quiet environment too. Even one or two naps at home per day can make a difference. If your baby seems to startle every time s/he is put down, start with small, achievable goals and build on your effort each day. Try the following:

• Pick a time when you'll be able to offer your baby a nap in the crib/bassinet each day.

  • Aiming to put your baby in a crib/bassinet for the first nap of the day is often easiest from both a sleep and practical standpoint.

  • It's ok to rock/hold/feed your baby to sleep and make the transfer

    • Recent research suggests that walking your baby for five minutes and then holding your baby in a still position for eight minutes can help make the transfer to the crib easier (this 5-8 method is also covered in our 0-6 month class).

  • If your baby wakes after just a few minutes, it's ok to try to soothe your baby in the crib/bassinet, but if your baby won't settle, it's also ok to move on with the day.

• Once your baby can reliably transfer, start trying to put your baby down in a somewhat more awake state. You can also use "Happy Crib Time" as described in our sleep class to help your baby get used to his/her sleep space.

• Introduce more naps in the crib as your baby is able to sleep there.

establish a regular bedtime

Many babies can start shifting to a much earlier bedtime at this point—moving from as late as 10–11 p.m. towards a more reasonable 7–9 p.m. Most babies will sleep about 9–11 hours at night (with wake ups for feeding). Some babies will naturally begin to be ready for bedtime earlier and they drop naps and have longer awake stretches during the day. If your baby's bedtime is later than you would like it, you can work to adjust your baby's sleep earlier by doing the following:

• Pick a target bedtime window (about 30 minutes wide) that will regularly work for your family.

• Create a calm, dim environment starting about 30 minutes before your target bedtime.

• Complete your bedtime routine each night.

• Put your baby down at his/her typical later bedtime and shift bedtime earlier by 10-15 minutes every 1-2 nights.

• Adjust your baby's last nap to help pull your baby's bedtime earlier.

  • This might mean waking your baby from the last nap to time bedtime appropriately.

  • Allow about 1–2 hours of awake time after the last nap (closer to 90 minutes for younger babies and about 2+ hours for older ones).

• Cluster feed earlier in the evening if needed, to minimize hunger in the first few hours of the night.

Important Tip: If your baby's bedtime drifts too early, morning wake time will drift earlier too! If your baby is only able to sleep 10-11 hours (which is perfectly normal) make sure you consider how adjusting bedtime will impact your baby's wake time. At this stage, focus on a bedtime that matches your family's schedule and is sustainable on both weekdays and weekends.

consider your response to new nighttime Wake-Ups

Most babies will need to eat during night wakings for the first three months. As sleep begins to change, your baby may start to wake up more often as described above. It's helpful to take a moment to assess whether your baby likely needs to eat during a wake up. Don't overthink this, simply:

👉 First, observe:

• Is your baby actually awake or could your baby be making noise in REM sleep?

  • During early morning waking, babies will often be very noisy. It's ok to monitor your baby for safety without intervening.

👉 Next, consider: 

• Ask yourself, is this a typical time for your baby to be awake?

  • If not, do a wellness check to make sure nothing is wrong

  • If you don't think your baby is hungry, it's ok to rock/comfort your baby to sleep

    • Consider whether your baby could be having a growth spurt by thinking about your baby's recent daytime feeding habits. If your baby has been eating more than usual, your baby might be having a growth spurt, so don't hesitate to offer a feeding.

👉 Finally, pause: 

• If you don't believe your baby is hungry and you don't think your baby needs anything, it's ok to wait a few minutes to see if your baby can get back to sleep on his/her own.

  • If your baby escalates, it's ok to pick your baby up and help your baby fall asleep as needed.

    • If this happens regularly, consider working to teach your baby to fall asleep independently using gentle, hands-on approaches.

      • Strategies like pick-up-put-down and those described in our 0-6 month sleep class are a great place to start.

---

Need more help?

Check out our other blogs on toddler sleep issues. If you also have a baby, check out our 0-6 month and 6-15 month classes. If you just need to talk things through with someone, please feel free to book a one-on-one consultation with us. We are always happy to help.

As working moms who also have formal education in sleep medicine, nursing, and behavior analysis, we always appreciate it when you share our blogs and resources with other parents who could benefit from the information. Please explore our site for other free resources. We have blogs on schedules, travel, and more!

References

De Beritto, T.V., 2020. Newborn sleep: patterns, interventions, and outcomes. Pediatric annals, 49(2), pp.e82-e87.

Tham, E.K., Schneider, N. and Broekman, B.F., 2017. Infant sleep and its relation with cognition and growth: a narrative review. Nature and science of sleep, pp.135-149.

Tikotzky, L., Sadeh, A., Volkovich, E., Manber, R., Meiri, G. and Shahar, G., 2015. VII. Infant sleep development from 3 to 6 months postpartum: Links with maternal sleep and paternal involvement. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 80(1), pp.107-124.

Henderson, J.M., Blampied, N.M. and France, K.G., 2020. Longitudinal study of infant sleep development: Early predictors of sleep regulation across the first year. Nature and Science of Sleep, pp.949-957.

Paavonen, E.J., Saarenpää-Heikkilä, O., Morales-Munoz, I., Virta, M., Häkälä, N., Pölkki, P., Kylliäinen, A., Karlsson, H., Paunio, T. and Karlsson, L., 2020. Normal sleep development in infants: findings from two large birth cohorts. Sleep Medicine, 69, pp.145-154.

Pennestri, M.H., Laganière, C., Bouvette-Turcot, A.A., Pokhvisneva, I., Steiner, M., Meaney, M.J., Gaudreau, H. and Mavan Research Team, 2018. Uninterrupted infant sleep, development, and maternal mood. Pediatrics, 142(6).

Mindell, J.A., Leichman, E.S., Composto, J., Lee, C., Bhullar, B. and Walters, R.M., 2016. Development of infant and toddler sleep patterns: real‐world data from a mobile application. Journal of sleep research, 25(5), pp.508-516.