1 . Sleeping too much during the day will keep baby up at night .
Not likely , except in extreme cases . Unless your little one is sleeping practically all day and up all night , you probably don ’ t need to concern yourself with the length of their naps . Newborns especially need a ton of sleep . In fact , up until about 5 months , it ’ s not recommended to be awake for more than about 2 – 2 1 / 2 hours at a time . For newborns , that number is more around 45 minutes to an hour .
What keeps babies awake at night , more than anything else , is overtiredness . You might think that an exhausted baby is more likely to sack out for a full night than one who slept all day , but it ’ s actually just the opposite . The reason it ’ s referred to as being “ overtired ” is because baby has missed the “ tired ” phase and their bodies start to kick back into gear , which keeps them from falling and staying asleep . A baby who has gotten a decent amount of sleep during the day is far less likely to miss the sleep window .
2 . Sleeping is a natural development and can ’ t be taught .
Sleeping is natural , absolutely . Everybody wakes up and falls back to sleep multiple times a night , regardless of their age . No , you can ’ t teach a child to be sleepy . However , what can be taught is the ability to fall back to sleep independently .
The typical “ bad sleeper ” of a baby isn ’ t less in need of sleep , or more prone to waking up . They ’ ve just learned to depend on outside assistance to get back to sleep when they wake up . Once your little one has figured out how to get to sleep without assistance from outside sources , they start stringing those sleep cycles together , and that ’ s the secret to “ sleeping through the night ” as most parents refer to it .
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