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Welcome To The Members Area! Forums Baby Sleep Help Minimal Sleep for my Premature Baby Reply To: Minimal Sleep for my Premature Baby

  • Emma H

    Administrator
    June 25, 2024 at 10:09 am

    Hi BriAnne,

    First of all, congratulations on the safe arrival of your little one!

    It’s understandable that you find it a bit confusing when considering adjusted age. The main thing to remember is that when you’re tracking developmental milestones, including sleep, you should use your son’s due date, not his birth date, to determine his adjusted age. You should continue to use his adjusted age until he turns 2 years old. After that, you can use his actual birth date for milestones and development tracking.

    Regarding your question about his sleep, it’s helpful to look at what’s normal for his age in terms of total sleep over 24 hours. Newborns typically sleep between 14-17 hours a day. However, sleeping for 2 hours less (12 hours) or 2 hours more (19 hours) than this average is still considered normal. The fact that your son is sleeping 12-14 hours a day and is content and calm during his awake hours is a positive sign.

    Is 12-14 Hours of Sleep Enough?

    While the average sleep for a newborn is around 14-17 hours, some babies do fine with slightly less. Since your son seems content and is actively engaging during his awake hours, it’s likely he’s getting enough rest for his needs.

    It might also be helpful to note that if you’re breastfeeding, you might notice that your little one closes his eyes and continues to suck. Although he is continuing to suck, he might not be actively feeding at this point and is actually asleep. Often, we miss these little naps and only count the time they’re sleeping while in our arms or lying down in a crib or pram. So if you notice this happening with your little one, he might be getting more than 12-14 hours of sleep a day.

    When to Consult Your Pediatrician

    If you notice any changes in his behavior, such as increased fussiness, difficulty staying awake, or not feeding well, it might be worth discussing with your pediatrician.

    However, at 2 weeks of adjusted age, you might also notice increased fussiness in the afternoons and evenings. This period of fussiness is normal and is called the Period of PURPLE Crying (I have a video on this topic in the course if you’re interested in find out out more and strategies on how to manage it).

    I hope this helps!

    Emma