TThe first year of life is a time of major changes. When your baby is born, for the first few days all she seems to do is sleep. A newborn is usually awake for the first few hours after birth and then will often sleep for up to twenty-four hours after. She will most likely wake only for short periods of time to eat.
Newborns sleep a lot, typically fourteen to eighteen hours a day during the first week and twelve to sixteen hours a day by the time they are a month old. During the early months of your infant’s life, he will sleep when he is tired. An infant cannot be forced to sleep when they do not want to sleep and you can do little to wake them when they are sleeping.
In the beginning, your newborn does not know the difference between day and night. No matter what, your newborn will wake up during the night. Often a newborn will usually sleep anywhere from thirty minutes to four hours at a time. Newborns typically have about seven sleeping and waking periods equally spaced throughout the day and night. Therefore, they will wake up two to three times a night for a feeding. In addition, newborns awaken easily because they spend large amounts of sleep time in active sleep, a light sleep state.
Six Weeks to Three Months
By six weeks of age, your baby will begin to have a clear night/day sleep pattern. From four to eight weeks of age, your baby will sleep an average of fifteen to seventeen hours total. By eight to twelve weeks, your baby will sleep an average of fifteen hours a day. At about six weeks of age, night sleep becomes more organized and your baby may sleep four to six hours at night. He will be sleeping more at night and be more awake during the day. At this age, bed time should start to be established between eight and nine o’clock.
By six to eight weeks, infants can usually only stay awake for one to two hours at a time. Daytime sleep takes longer to be established so napping will continue to be inconsistent. Many naps will be short, about forty minutes, but they should gradually lengthen. Lastly, by six weeks, babies begin to differentiate their cries. Therefore it should be easier to determine why your baby is crying.
By eight to twelve weeks, your baby’s biological clock starts to develop. Infants this age can still usually only stay awake for one to two hours at a time. However, sleep may become more regular and you may even be able to establish a routine.
Three to Four Months
By the third month, your baby should be sleeping an average of eight to ten hours a night. She should be taking three naps a day for a total of five hours. At this point, nap length is variable. This is because the part of the brain that establishes regular naps has not fully developed. It is also at this time that babies’ brains go through a big growth spurt and your baby will become extremely alert and distractible.
At about twelve weeks, the morning nap should become well established with your baby sleeping for about an hour to an hour and a half. A short time later, around sixteen weeks of age, the afternoon nap will become more established as well.
Four to Six Months
At four months, your baby should be able to sleep for eight to ten hours a night without a feeding. By six months of age, your baby should be sleeping ten to twelve hours a night without a feeding. At this time, your baby should not require more than one night feeding unless otherwise advised by your pediatrician. Most infants are able to start sleep longer stretches at night (ten to twelve hours) when they are four months or fourteen pounds.
Six to Nine Months
From six to eight months, your baby should be sleeping an average of eleven hours at night and three and a half hours during the day, broken into two daytime naps. Bedtime should be established between six thirty p.m. and seven thirty p.m. By six months of age, all night feedings should be eliminated. You can now offer your baby a small transitional object.
By six months, the third nap disappears. Your baby should now be taking a morning and an afternoon nap. The morning nap should take place about two and a half hours after wake up time and should last from one and a half to two hours long. There then should be three hours of awake time between the morning and the afternoon nap. The afternoon nap should last from one and a half to two hours. If your baby has napped poorly (less than an hour), she may need an additional brief third nap. This is considered an “emergency nap” and can be induced by a carriage or car ride, if necessary. Make sure that this nap is not too close to bedtime. Your baby needs at least two and a half to three hours of awake time before bedtime.
If you are experiencing difficulty with getting your baby to go down by himself for naps or bedtime, your baby is now old enough for sleep coaching.
Nine to Twelve Months
By the ninth month of age, your baby should be sleeping for eleven hours at night and for about three hours during the day. Your baby should still be taking two naps a day, a morning and an afternoon nap. Around nine months of age, the morning and afternoon nap should each last for about one to two hours.
As your baby approaches his first birthday, the length of these naps will decrease. Wake up time should be between six and seven thirty, and three hours of awake time should pass before the morning nap. In addition, there should be a three and a half hour time span between the morning nap and the afternoon nap. Your baby’s bedtime should continue to be between six thirty and seven thirty. If your baby’s second nap lasts later into the afternoon, bedtime can be moved to eight o’clock.
Twelve to Eighteen Months
From twelve to eighteen months, your baby should be sleeping an average of eleven and a quarter hours a night with two naps during the day. The morning nap should be scheduled three to four hours after wake up time and the afternoon nap should be scheduled three to four hours after the morning nap. Each nap should be an average of one and a half hours long.
By eighteen months, most toddlers transition to one mid afternoon nap lasting two to two and a half hours long, approximately five to six hours after wake up time. Bedtime should be around seven o’clock but no later than eight o’clock depending on the wake up time from the afternoon nap. You do not want your baby to be awake longer than five to six hours between the afternoon nap and bedtime.
One and a Half to Two Years Old
By two years of age, your toddler should be sleeping an average of eleven hours at night, and taking one nap a day for about two hours. Your toddler will most likely wake up between six thirty and seven thirty in the morning. The nap should be scheduled six to seven hours after wake up time. Bedtime should be around seven and no later than eight o’clock. Once again, bedtime should be based on the afternoon nap. You do not want more than six to seven hours of awake time to elapse between the afternoon nap and bedtime.
Two to Five Years Old
Between the ages of two and three, your toddler should be sleeping an average of eleven hours at night, with a one and a half hour nap in the afternoon. You should also transition your child to a bed between the ages of two and a half to three. (I recommend waiting until your child is three years old.)
In addition, the afternoon nap disappears somewhere between three and four years of age. As the afternoon nap is phased out, children may nap some days and not others. This is okay, as long as the nap does not interfere with bedtime. A child of this age, if she is continuing to take a nap, should not be sleeping past two-thirty/three p.m. in order to preserve her bedtime. By age four, your toddler should be sleeping an average of eleven and a half hours at night.
By age five, your child should be sleeping an average of eleven hours at night. Bedtimes throughout these years should still continue to be between seven and eight o’clock with a wake up time between six and seven o’clock. After the age of four, children usually no longer require a nap. However, it is important that you still set aside a time of the day, usually after lunch where your child has some quiet time. Quiet time could consist of reading books or watching a video, as long as your child is resting during this activity. Quiet time should last for at least forty-five minutes to an hour. This will also provide you with some quiet time for yourself.