Fall is here and with it longer nights.  For mommies with brand new babies, this may not make a significant difference but, for mommies with infants who are ready to snooze through the night, get ready to fall into longer periods of sleep.

All mommy wants is some sleeeeeeep.
After many sleepless, restless nights, new parents look forward to when their babies will drift on to longer sleep patterns. Infant development simply prevents babies from falling into long periods of rest early on, as their nutritional requirements call for nursing or bottle feeding every two to three hours, around the clock.

The first four weeks of your newborn’s life can feel like an enormously long time, particularly since you are sleep deprived and understandably stressed out. As your infant matures and grows, she will consume more at each feeding and consequently rest longer.  Other parents who can relate to your exhaustion and may offer up “tricks” to help you achieve longer periods of rest, like putting cereal into your baby’s bottle, but only follow the advice of your baby’s pediatrician. Your new infant’s normal development requires feeding through the night hours, and there is no way around it.

Your baby will get there.  So, you can relax.
Somewhere between three to six months old, your baby will gradually increase her nighttime sleep, dropping one then two feedings. As young as four months, your baby may be ready to sleep for six to eight hours at night, and at six months she could sleep as long as 12 hours.  Woohoo!

If you are lucky, this milestone will coincide with fall and winter, when nights are longer.
Research shows babies who are put to bed earlier in the evening will not necessarily rise earlier in the morning.  Sleep begets sleep, begets more sleep for mommy!  If your baby is eating heartily and sleeping longer, try adjusting her bedtime back with sundown and see if she responds by dozing longer.  You will know it was successful when you awake feeling rested for the first time since before you were expecting!