Establishing good sleep habits: newborn to three months

What will my baby's sleep pattern be?

Newborn babies sleep a lot. Expect your baby to be asleep for up to 18 hours over the course of 24 hours in his first few weeks. But he won't sleep for more than three hours or four hours at a time, day or night. This unfortunately means that you and your partner can expect some sleepless nights, especially at first.

This is a necessary phase for your baby and it won't last long, though it may seem like an eternity while you're sleep-deprived.

Your baby’s sleep cycles are far shorter than yours. He'll spend more time in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, which is a light, easily disturbed sleep. This is necessary for the changes that are happening in his brain.

Once he is between six weeks and eight weeks your baby will probably sleep for shorter spells during the day and longer periods at night. But he'll still wake up to feed during the night. He'll have more deep, non-REM sleep and less light sleep.

It's possible that your baby may sleep through the night at eight weeks old. But it's more likely that your nights will be interrupted for at least the first few months. If your aim is to get your baby to sleep through the night, encouraging clear habits from the start will help.

Source from: http://www.babycentre.co.uk/a7654/establishing-good-sleep-habits-newborn-to-three-months#ixzz3VMPBcdAB