Newborn Sleep Tips: Active Sleep vs Quiet Sleep

Knowing the difference between quiet sleep and active sleep will save you some zzz’s during the newborn stage!

Every time my babies fussed during their sleep I would pick them up. Even though they weren’t crying, I assumed they were frustrated and wanted to be held. Little did I know they were in a state of active sleep and I was waking them up when I did that!

There is a power to the pause when it comes to newborn sleep. If your baby isn’t crying and doesn’t seem to be in distress, give it a minute before picking them up. They may be in an active sleep cycle!

I wish this was something I learned about sooner! My 4th baby sleeps so much better than my other three and I know a lot of that has to do with me not disturbing his sleep when he is in an active cycle!

#momtobe #pregnancy #pregnancytips #newborntips #babysleep #babysleephelp #babysleepingtips #infantcare #newbornsleep #newmom #babyregistry

[chrissyhorton]

I always understood to wait a minute or two before rushing to the baby when they fuss a little, but I never knew a baby fussing in their sleep could be so noisy and ACTIVE! My babies are LOUD active sleepers. They move A LOT and make lots of little noises. When I would hear them do this I assumed they were up, uncomfortable, frustrated, mad, and wanted to be picked up. I never realized they were still asleep and picking them up was actually waking them! How about you??

[fantuckstic]

I'm not a parent amd I know this. Babies move in their sleep. The golden rule "NEVER DISTURB A SLEEPING BABY!!"

[brooklyn]

I was spoiled, my son slept through the night and day. He was chill. I use to check to see if he was dead. No terrible twos . He was chill and he is 15 now and still chill.

[galitwizen]

They alway say : "don't jump and go over to them right away. Let them fall back asleep on their own". Most of the time it works.

[jacquerablack]

Unless they were crying, I didn’t pick them up. And even then, the first few cries, unless they woke up screaming, I’d ignore them to see if they settle down again.

[mm]

When I had my first kid, I turned off the baby monitor because if this. I'm a very light sleeper. Every time my baby moved, I would startle and wake up and then couldn't get back to sleep. She was just across the hall. I knew that if she really needed anything, I'd hear her cry. Never used a baby monitor again.

[HaileyDelaine]

I loved watching my daughter during active sleep she would smile and even coo or frown and quiver her lips. I never felt the need to pick her up unless she was actively awake and crying .

[claudiandlovu]

My baby had a tendency to open his eyes and check if is not alone. In which case I would stop what ever I was doing and close my eyes and he would go right back to sleep. Good old days

[xnrwhuh]

If there was no vocal noises and eyes closed I left my first be. Didn't want to bother their peace. 😂 I guess I unknowingly knew

[stephanietunc]

Unless i heard a cry or eyes were open i wouldnt touch him because every second was valuable.

[Jerseybaby]

Well holding your sleeping newborn while shouting aint a good idea either 😂 you woke my baby up shouting 😂😂

[eboniclarke]

After a few sleepless nights you catch on to that really fast

[angeliqueroux]

Currently 27 weeks pregnant with my first baby, so thank you so much for sharing this, will be very helpful when the little one comes 🌺

[rebekahguilder]

The French do a thing before picking up their babies called “The pause”. They make sure their child is actually awake.

[redbrexit]

I'm not a parent but I knew that... We call it the fairies are visiting part of the sleep. Sometimes they cry, sometimes they laugh in their sleep according to what fairy visits

[heidibookjans]

I had four as well but I was very lucky to have a midwife for a mother. This is one of the first things I remember her telling me! All four of mine were great sleepers!

[WinnieRoe]

Thank you for this!! I’m pregnant with my first baby and will take all the advice I can get!

[kaysplace]

I am 50 and raising our 5 month old granddaughter, and none of my kids did this, but she does. It took me a while to catch on.

[zhuldyzortutay]

YES YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO JUST DISCOVERED IT!!!!

[ImmaPandaRawr]

Time is key. Even with toddlers. My son when he was 1 would wake up in the middle of the night. I learned to just give it time and he would always fall back to sleep eventually. Sometimes it took 5 minutes and sometimes it was 20 minutes. It was better to leave him be. I found he stayed up more and took longer to fall back asleep if I intervened in any way. I learned the hard way after many sleepless nights. I felt so silly watching him fall back asleep so quickly if I just let him be.