Babies change so quickly, and so do their sleeping patterns (thankfully!). A newborn baby generally needs more sleep than a 6 month-old, but there can be a lot of variation in between. Here is a breakdown of typical baby sleep patterns from birth to 12-months old.

NEWBORN:

Newborn babies generally need about 16-17 hours of sleep per day. They usually spend about 8 hours sleeping during the day in intervals, and 8-9 hours at night in intervals. Some newborn babies do not sleep more than 1-2 hours at a time. Babies spend more time in “active sleep” than REM (rapid eye movement), or deep “dreaming” sleep cycles than adults, which are shorter and may be the reason for frequent waking.

1-3 MONTHS OLD:

Growing babies in this phase need about 15 hours of sleep split between the day and night time. By around 3-months old some babies begin sleeping through the night in 6-8 hour stretches, but it takes most a few more months to start sleeping for that long.

3-6 MONTHS OLD:

Babies in this stage are usually more consistent, with 2 naps during the day and about 10 hours of sleep at night, for a total of about 14 hours of sleep each day. Some babies go through a “sleep regression” at this age, possibly because of separation anxiety or trouble self-soothing. A good, consistent bedtime routine each night and placing your baby down to sleep when he/she is sleepy, but not yet asleep, can help restore their normal sleep patterns.

6-9 MONTHS OLD:

At this stage your baby will likely thrive from and expect a consistent sleep routine, continuing with 2 naps per day and sleeping about 14 hours per night. Babies also become very mobile and curious at this age, so ensure that there are no choking or suffocation hazards the baby can access both in and near the crib, although this is important to ensure from birth.

9-12 MONTHS OLD:

It is likely that your baby is pulling up to stand during this phase, and some even begin walking this early. Ensure the crib is lowered so that your standing baby cannot fall out. At this stage, your baby may take shorter naps during the day but continue sleeping 14-hours per night. At this age babies generally sleep well through the night, but can still be woken up from anxiety, teething pain, or the excitement from new physical or cognitive developments (crawling, standing, throwing, etc.).

When did your baby start sleeping through the night?