Newborn States of Alertness & Sleep
Your baby goes through different stages of alertness, which are variations of being asleep and awake. You’ll be better able to respond appropriately to your baby’s needs when you know what state they’re in.
Quiet alert:
This is the first state is quiet alert: baby’s eyes are bright and open, they’re looking at you, and their body is relaxed. Newborns are in this state for short periods of time at first, but increase with age.
Active alert:
Fussy and awake is a state where baby is awake but squirming and making noises. They may be on the verge of crying. If they start looking away from you, arching their back, holding their hands up or fussing, that’s them telling you that they’re overstimulated, don’t want to play or may be ready for something else, like feeding or sleeping.
Drowsy:
This is a transitional state that occurs while your baby is waking up or falling asleep - they may yawn and have glassy eyes.
Active Sleep:
This occurs when your baby is in a light sleep (a.k.a. REM, rapid eye movement). You can see their eyes move behind the lids, and they may startle suddenly (the Moro Reflex) and/or make small crying sounds and baby can be very, very noisy! No worries- this is how babies sleep in their first 4 months of development.
Light sleep:
This means the brain is active, and baby may easily wake while in this state.
Quiet or deep sleep:
This occurs when baby’s body is very still and nothing seems to wake them. Wait until they’re in this state to move them from one place to another, or they may wake up.
