How can I get my 5 week old boy to sleep for longer hours at night?
Esther Kimani Staff
Newborns usually follow the ‘womb sleep patterns’. You will need to teach them how to fit more in your own patterns. As they are learning, ensure that you do sleep when they do so that you do not become exhausted. Please also to remember that newborn babies have tiny stomachs and grow rapidly. Their
liquid diet digests quickly. It is therefore not realistic for a baby to sleep more than 3-4 hours at a time.
To train your baby to sleep, try and give his bath in the evening to relax him. Ensure that you feed him adequately after this by letting him feed for at least 20-25 minutes on one breast to get the rich hind milk. Switch of the lights in the bedroom as darkness stimulates deeper sleep.Have your baby take naps in a lit room where he can hear the noises of the day and make night sleep dark and quiet. Also avoid allowing the baby to sleep as you hold them rather put them down on their bed as soon as they become sleepy to allow them to self soothe himself to sleep.
