While we might hear, anecdotally, that big babies are less fussy, hit milestones earlier and sleep better because they don't feed as frequently as smaller infants do, our experts agree that there is no scientific evidence to support these claims.
Most babies don't start sleeping through the night (6 to 8 hours) without waking until they are about 3 months old, or until they weigh 12 to 13 pounds. About two-thirds of babies are able to sleep through the night on a regular basis by age 6 months.
According to pediatricians and health experts, there have been some stats that suggest bigger babies sleep better – and longer – throughout the night.
However, the influence of genetic factors should not be underestimated since sleep duration and night wakings are strongly influenced by genetics. In summary, some children are good sleepers and others have trouble sleeping – but all healthy babies have the ability to sleep well with appropriate support when needed.
Long term, babies born large for gestational age have an increased risk various poorer health outcomes such as diabetes, obesity etc. The good news is that breastfeeding can help reverse these risks.
Giving birth to a large baby
Labour may take longer and be more likely to involve complications. There's an increased risk of having a forceps or vacuum-assisted delivery or a caesarean, and of birth injury to the mother or baby. There is a link between fetal macrosomia and shoulder dystocia.
Babies may be called large for gestational age if they weigh more than 9 in 10 babies of the same gestational age. In the U.S., this means babies born at 40 weeks' gestation who weigh more than 8 pounds, 13 ounces (4,000 grams) or 9 pounds, 11 ounces (4,400 grams) at birth.
According to new research, babies and children who are smarter or more gifted tend to need fewer hours of sleep to operate than other children.
Sleep-deprived parents rejoice, there is new evidence to suggest that babies who wake up through the night are associated with higher levels of intelligence and better mental health.
Simple luck of the draw and/or luck of genetics (sleep has a strong genetic factor). Some babies are just easier than others. By that I mean that they don't need as much physical comfort, or as much night-feeding. Some just find sleep easier than others.
Some babies never wear newborn size at all, or wear it only for the hospital. The longest a baby usually wears newborn is about 1-2 weeks after their due date (even if born early- by the due date they are usually in newborn size).
Babies who sleep and eat well are often happier, more content and less irritable. Babies are born with no circadian rhythms, which means they don't know the difference between night and day.
Genetic factors and maternal conditions such as obesity or diabetes can cause fetal macrosomia. Rarely, a baby might have a medical condition that makes him or her grow faster and larger. Sometimes it's unknown what causes a baby to be larger than average.
By the time your baby is one year old, baby will probably sleep for 11-14 hours every 24 hours. From about six months, most babies have their longest sleeps at night. Most babies are ready for bed between 6 pm and 10 pm. They usually take less than 40 minutes to get to sleep, but some babies take longer.
In the current study, researchers observed 298 newborns and found that for every hourly increase in nighttime sleep, measured between 7 p.m. and 8 a.m., the infants were 26% less likely to become overweight. Likewise, for each reduction in nighttime awakening, they were 16% less likely to become overweight.
Baby sleep
Babies vary a lot in the amount of sleep they need. Between the age of 3 and 6 months, some babies have 2 or 3 longish sleeps during the day, while others just have short naps. A few sleep 12 hours at night without interruption, some manage 8 hours while many others wake fairly regularly for feeds.
Busy Brains
Gifted kids seem to be able to function quite well with less sleep than their age mates, but they can sometimes have a difficult time getting to sleep. Many kids describe it as being unable to shut off their brains.
However, one of the signs of an intelligent child is that they can focus on a task for long periods at a very early age, usually before six months old. For example, you might see your highly intelligent five-month-old focussing intently on playing with wooden blocks without getting distracted.
The report analyzes data from over 5,000 parents. It found that, over the course of a month, baby girls get an extra 4.5 hours of sleep on average. Plus, at 6 months, baby girls get an average 10 minutes of sleep more than baby boys per night. They also tend to wake up less frequently and sleep longer into the morning.
Unfortunately, many parents find that their baby's development has an impact on their sleep, and that certain milestones can lead to their baby fighting sleep or waking more frequently through the night. This can often be because many babies want to spend more time practicing this skill when they should be sleeping!
Our babies' brains develop at an amazing rate—they fully double in size from birth until one. And a baby's brain has around 1,000 trillion synapses (or a quadrillion, for all you math majors), which is twice as many as a typical adult has.
Autistic children can have particular sleep and settling problems, including: irregular sleeping and waking patterns – for example, lying awake until very late or waking very early in the morning. sleeping much less than expected for their age, or being awake for more than an hour during the night.
If there's any doubt — especially if baby looks like he or she will be over 10 pounds at birth — your doctor will probably recommend a c-section over a vaginal delivery. But there are also other factors that come into play when determining whether you'll be able to deliver vaginally or through a c-section.
We also know that the length of a baby is associated with its eventual height and weight. In other words, heavy babies tend to grow up fat and long babies tend to grow up tall. Studies have also shown that bigger parents have bigger babies, which in turn end up as bigger adults.
If your baby tops the length charts, you might expect them to tower above their classmates one day. But a long infant won't necessarily become a tall adult—just like short babies don't always turn into small-statured people. In fact, a fetus' size is largely determined by the placenta's health.