Sleeping
Your new bundle of joy has made its way from your uterus into the world and you can now hold your baby in your arms, cuddle it and be amazed at the fact that your baby is finally here in front of your eyes in flesh and blood.
In the first 24 hours your baby will sleep a lot. Will be difficult to rouse and even if the baby awakens and you feed the baby she will fall asleep in a few minutes. This phase is also called a recovery phase. The baby has made the transition from the womb to the outside world and is over whelmed by all she sees. This tires and exhausts her and hence the baby goes through a recovery phase. Most new parents will be pleasantly surprised to find their new born sleeping so well.
In the first few weeks the baby will be used to being awake at night and will sleep during the day as this is the cycle that the baby followed in the womb. It will take a while to change this around and for the baby to adapt to life outside the womb.
After 8 weeks your baby should be able to sleep for 4-5 hours at a stretch in the night. By 6 months this can extend to about 6 hours and maybe more. 2-6 months your infant will need 3 naps during the day as well and post six months this will reduce to about 2 naps. By the time the baby is one year old the baby will be able to sleep for 8-10 hours in the night at a stretch and will be comfortable with one nap during the day.
Crying
Once the baby has completed his recovery sleep after the first 24 hours, he begins noticing a whole new world. He feels over whelmed and anxious and hence can tend to cry much more. The only thing that seems to comfort him is being in his mother’s arms because he can hear her voice and her heart beat.
Slowly the baby settles into a routine. In the first two weeks you can expect that your new born will cry for about 2 hours every day. This is intermittent and spread over the whole day.
Between two to six weeks crying peaks and your baby may cry for almost six hours every day. This is fairly normal. This is also the time that colic peaks and most babies will cry more during the evening hours or in the second half of the day.
Your baby thrives on routines and it is important that you set routines for the baby and follow them. A good sleeping is what you can try and set in the first few months. A baby will generally be happy and playful if well rested and well fed and if the baby is tired, sleepy then will tend to be more cranky and difficult to manage.