Your baby's sleeping and waking patterns
All babies have different sleep patterns, but your baby was likely asleep or less alert for more of the day than they were awake at first. They will have gradually developed a more predictable pattern of being awake and asleep, and you might notice that they are awake and alert for longer periods now.
Sleep patterns vary from baby to baby
Sleep patterns vary between individual babies, with different babies needing different amounts of sleep and families having varying approaches and patterns of sleep according to their family life. Sleep patterns mature during the first years of life, and it might take some time for your baby to establish a consistent pattern of sleep.[1]
As your baby develops their circadian rhythms, they will begin to have a pattern with more sleep at night than during the day. Night waking is not unusual for babies, and this might continue for some time.[2]
In spite of the myths, breastfed and bottle-fed babies may sleep for similar amounts of time
It is interesting to know that, despite what is often said, research suggests that breastfed and bottle-fed babies sleep for similar amounts of time. It seems that breastfed babies are awake for shorter periods when they wake in the night, so although a bottle-fed baby might wake less frequently, some studies suggest they are awake for longer each time.[1]
Your baby's brain is active during sleep
Sleep is important for your baby's cognitive development as during part of their sleep cycle their brain is active and sleep supports memory, and attention.[3]
How sleep links to your baby's daytime activity
As your baby develops a pattern in which more of their sleep is at night, you might also notice that they have longer periods during the day when they are awake and alert. Your baby’s increase in awake periods might coincide with the development of the ability to reach, hold and explore objects, so as your baby is awake for longer they have more opportunity to find out about the world.
Your baby’s vision will also be developing, and now they will be able to see objects more clearly and focus on people and objects that are a little further away. You might notice that they start to watch objects as they move, with their eyes at first and then moving their head.
As they get more active, will this affect their sleep?
Your baby will continue to develop their pattern of sleep, with increasing periods of time awake during the day which will provide opportunities for interaction with you and exploration of objects. They will develop their physical skills, and begin to be able to reach for, or move towards objects that they would like to explore. You might notice that their sleep pattern changes as they develop new skills; some studies suggest that babies wake more frequently at night when they begin to crawl or move.[4]
References:
[1] Ball, H. (2014) ‘Reframing what we tell parents about normal infant sleep and how we support them.’ Breastfeeding Review. 22(3) pp. 11-12.
[2] Lullaby Trust (undated) Coping with sleep deprivation as a new parent. [Online] Available at: Coping with sleep deprivation as a new parent - The Lullaby Trust (Accessed on 22nd September 2021).
[3] Bennet, L., Walker, D.W., Horne, R.S.C. (2018) Waking up too early-the consequences of preterm birth on sleep development. The journal of physiology. 596(23) pp. 5687-5708.
[4] Scher, A. (2005) ‘Crawling in and out of sleep.’ Infant & Child Development. 14(5) pp491-500.