Sleep

How many hours of sleep does my baby need each day?

What are the sleep needs of an infant?

Sleep needs for babies vary depending on their age. While newborns do sleep much of the time, their sleep is in very short segments. As a baby grows, the total amount of sleep gradually decreases, but the length of nighttime sleep increases.

Generally, newborns sleep about eight to nine hours in the daytime and about eight hours at night. Most babies do not begin sleeping through the night (six to eight hours) without waking until about 3 months of age, 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 the age of 6 months.

Babies also have different sleep cycles than adults. Babies spend much less time in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (which is dream time sleep) and the cycles are shorter. The following are the usual nighttime and daytime sleep requirements for newborns through age 2 years old:

Age	Total Sleep Hours	Total Hours of Nighttime Sleep	Total Hours of Daytime Sleep
Newborn	16 hours	8 to 9	8
1 month	15.5 hours	8 to 9	7
3 months	15 hours	9 to 10	4 to 5
6 months	14 hours	10	4
9 months	14 hours	11	3
1 year	14 hours	11	3
1.5 years	13.5 hours	11	2.5
2 years	13 hours	11	2

What are the signs of infant sleep problems?
Once a baby begins to regularly sleep through the night, parents are often dismayed when he/she begins to awaken in the night again. This typically happens at about 6 months of age. This is often a normal part of development called separation anxiety, when a baby does not understand that separations are temporary. Babies may also begin to have difficulty going to sleep because of separation anxiety, over-stimulation, or over-tiredness.

Common responses of babies experiencing these night awakenings or difficulty going to sleep may include the following:

awakening and crying one or more times in the night after previously sleeping through the night
crying when you leave the room
refusal to go to sleep without a parent nearby
clinging to the parent at separation

Because sleep problems may also occur with illness, consult your baby's physician if your baby begins having difficulty going to sleep or staying asleep, especially if this is a new pattern.

Comments: Sleep

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juliemurray71@gmail.com - 75 days ago.
Having huge trouble with my 4 year old wanting to get out of bed at 5 in the morning. I used this and it worked like a charm and is now part of our bed time routine, Mr Bear sleep trainer. Very affordable and much better than the sleep clocks.

rm13842 - 400 days ago.
Help!!! My daughter slept through the night for the first 4 months of her life. Now she's up 1-3 times a night. She's 7 months next week! I want my sleep back. We also started the bad habit of giving her a bottle when she wakes up. But how do we know if she's actually hungry or just using it for comfort?

Monika80 - 565 days ago.
my brother's baby daugter had a problem sleeping and he used this: Click Here! try if you need!

mummychell - 830 days ago.
im beginning to wonder what sleep actually is my daughter is now 9 months and still wakes up every hour or so she was drinking 24oz milk over night our health visitor told us to offer her water she would not like that much so should wake less well diddnt work she drinks the water, i dont lift her from her cot se sits up rinks her bottle then will lay back down when she cries and wont settle she isnt comforted but hugs i just dont know what to do im soooo tired from lack of sleep

x.:Joanna:.x - 836 days ago.
mochas4me - we've a 2 n half yr old daughter who doesnt nap durin the day as she wont sleep at night, she goes to bed around 7pm and for a few weeks now just keeps gettin up in the night not wantin anythin but hugs and just cries and screams takes a good hour or more to settle her then she wakes up between 6-7am as fresh as a daisy, cant say the same for me or the hubby tho!! Jus dont no wat to do either, her routine hasnt changed n even if there is one day change it makes no difference!

Rina22 - 949 days ago.
Can I shift my 4 months old into a crib? I am worried about the safety part when I am not around. I was reading this article http://www.allcribmattresses.com/crib-mattress-safety-tips/ and found it quite an eye-opener.

csimonds - 949 days ago.
I'm at the end of my rope! My son is 4 months old, we've always had sleep problems with him but it just seems to be getting worse. We tried everything; a crib, a co-sleeper, a swing, a bouncy chair. We live in a house with 5 other people and we're confined to one room so he can't have his own room, and he sleeps in bed with us. During the day, for naps, he only sleeps for anywhere from 1-3 hours, and he has to be on my husband or myself in the rocking chair. If I try to rock or nurse him to sleep and then put him down, he screams bloody murder. He's been insisting that we put him to sleep at 6-7pm, and if we don't, he screams bloody murder. Not only that, I can't get away from him! I tried to nurse him to sleep, then roll away and go to sleep about a foot away, but unless he's laying up against me, he won't stay asleep. That's messing with my sleep and I'm exhausted every day. It's not like I can drop him in his crib, close the door, walk away and let him scream it out...because of our living situation we have no choice but to let him sleep with us (we literally don't have enough space in our room to even HAVE a crib). HELP.

deweyswifey - 964 days ago.
I would like to get my 2month old son to sleep in his crib, but everytime i put him in it he wakes right up.. Like its play time! Lol...

aprilbub - 982 days ago.
For those with 12-18 mth olds that are waking through the night for a bottle, start giving them just a bottle of water after a while they dont bother waking anymore, thats the advice i was given an after about 3 weeks she was sleeping through :-)

mochas4me - 1123 days ago.
My 2 year old daughter has been on a regular routine of going to bed close to 7:30 and getting up around 7:30 but this whole last week she is only sleeping from midnight to 6 or 7 a.m. and refusing to take naps. Not surprisingly she is getting sick. I don't know what to do. I have not changed her routine and she just jumps in her crib and cries (and takes off her clothes). I try to leave her in there but go comfort her when she gets really hysterical.

d-kplus2 - 1145 days ago.
hi everyone! My 9 month old seems to be an incredibly light sleeper and wakes up to even the tiniest noise. My problem is getting him back to sleep! He flat out refuses! Last night, he sat up in our bed from 11pm-4am wide awake. When I tried to put him back in his crib, he would scream like he was in severe pain! My other is concern is that I don't think he's getting enough sleep in general. He sleeps about 9 hours at night and only naps for 1 1/2 to 2 hours during the day. Anyone have any advice??

firsttimearound08 - 1222 days ago.
My son is 16 months and still will not sleep through the night! I have tried everything his pediatrician told me to do but he still won't sleep all night! We are expecting baby #2 in july and it would be really good for him to sleep all night! Does anyone have any suggestions on what I might can do?

manda-may - 1317 days ago.
Mumbo my twins went through exactly the same 'not settling to sleep without help' thing from about 7 months till about 9 months (I think). I have had a few friends who have gone through extactly the same thing at around about the same time. Just do what ever you need to do to settle bubs and realise that this is probably just a phase. I was told that they go through a thing where they panic when they are separated from mum/dad when you put them down... that it supposedly goes back to instinctive caveman stuff... who knows! ...but the important thing is that they get through it after about a month or so, or mine did anyway, and so did my friends babies. I had to take a few backwards steps and go back to bouncing them to sleep in their bouncinets... then when they seemed to be over the whole panicky thing I started putting them down and leaving them to cry for 10mins at a time... it took 1 1/2 hours the first time, then 40 mins, then 20, then 10 mins to get them to sleep. Good luck. My boys are 14 months now and once they got to a year, I just let them cry when I put them down... usually doesn't take them long to settle... they are old enough now to know that I am coming back... so stick with it and hopefully all will be well.

Beautiful Bre - 1317 days ago.
mumbo is he teething?? my son did that too. nothing was wrong and he did it from day one tho. sucked bad. he never took naps unless they were 30 minute ones throughout the day even at 6 weeks. was horrible. he still isnt a good sleeper till this day and he is now 2.

rooey - 1339 days ago.
Ladies I need some motherly advice. Does any one have any tips on how to get a three week old to sleep for more than ten minutes! My daughter has taken to staying awake all hours god sends! She actually fights to stay awake, then gets soooo tired, nothing will comfort her, and believe me I have tried most of the tricks. When she does sleep, I dont think it is deep enough, as she will wake up after 10minutes, and it starts all over again. I swear she has insomnia! The past two days have been tough, for the both of us. She is over tired, and I think I am the worst mum in the world for not knowing what to do or what is wrong or how to comfort her. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

traciemac - 1402 days ago.
I've been doing the cry itout with Sydney who is 9 months now and i hate it but it is slowly working a lot better. I will go in and give her a little cuddle every 15 minutes to let her know i am still here but i won't take her out of the room. i give her about a half hour in total then i will take her out and lay with her. I t all depends on the day with me.My finace gets mad when i give in to her but i refuse to let her be upset more than a half hour with 15 minutes to check on her in between. I have to get the sleeping down pat by the time she is a year cause i will have a new baby at that time and i don't want to lose my mind! For the younger babies i would try feeding them a little cereal so they have full tummies. It worked for me and Sydney started sleeping throughthe night emmediately. good luck witht he sleeping ladies!

jenim24 - 1402 days ago.
derpyandbaby - I do the same thing! I will do anything to get sleep!

derpyandbaby - 1417 days ago.
My son will be 1 years old tommorrow and does the same thing, wakes up at least once a night maybe twice for a bottle and I tried everything so now I just keep a botle close by so he finds it by himself....

jenim24 - 1417 days ago.
I keep checking back here looking for the miracle answer... lol My son turns 14 months old, still hasn't slept through the night. Goes down just fine but wakes up for a bottle at least once or twice each night. Ive read all the books, I've tried all the methods... CIO...I gave up after an hour of crying!! ugh

NatashaMc - 1421 days ago.
o.k.. I notice a lot of questions here but no answers! LOL! Well, here's another one. My LO is pretty good sleeping at night but naps are a nightmare. He almost never falls asleep on his own anymore, he's four months old, sometimes it takes an hour to get him asleep and then he sometimes only naps for 45 min. This is definitely not enough 'cause he's cranky an hour later. I'm thinking of trying a slumber bear or a white noise machine, has anyone had success with these? Any other advice would be great as well!

robbronkim - 1433 days ago.
Any advice, I have been trying to get our youngest child out of our bed but she wakes up the whole house because she doesn't to sleep in her own bed. You would think I was a pro. 8 kids and all. But she is one stubborn cookie. Anyway, I have tried the cry your self to sleep and I just can't do it. She just is to strong will and so far we all have not gotten sleep unless I give in a bring her to our bed. Or I snooze in the rocking chair. Which has been often these last weeks. I think that this stage has been the hardest. I have been though them all. But we always been able to transition them to the big kids room early but I did not her because there are so many choking hazards in the room. Being the girls range from 10-16yrs. I just don't want it to affect the older kids during the school year. So I know that I will give in. Any suggestion, very much needed. please visit me and message. Thanks.

jenim24 - 1443 days ago.
Ugh, it's been a while since I've been on here and it seems we still don't have the answers. My son is now 13 months old... and has NEVER slept through the night. His new thing... if i let him cry it out... after about 7 minutes he vomits. oh yes thats right,,, human puke everywhere. I have to change his sheets, bumper, about 3 times a week. I'm losing my mind.

sleepyem - 1445 days ago.
o man this page is making me feel way better!! my LO was generally sleeping a 6-8hr stretch at night then shorter sleeps til 6 or 7 (even a couple of 9-10hr sleeps!) but has been waking up a lot more lately. it was teething but that seems to have died down a bit now but still waking up. he is bothered by something. he's not quite himself, hardly smiling in day etc. and he used to self-settle fantastically in day and have an hour at a time but now is having real trouble settling or staying asleep longer than 35mins. I suppose he still sleeps quite a lot - in bed at night from about 6pm til 6 or 7am, and prob up to about 4hrs in day. I don't know what's going on...

lovebaby - 1446 days ago.
If anyone has any advice I'd be so appreciative! my MIL is staying with us, in my 12 month old's room. Which she shares with my 6 yo daughter also... It's crowded! And now Gia (12months) has stopped sleeping like at all!!! She goes to bed at around 8, and then is awake again by 9, 11, etc... she is still breastfed 3-4 times in 24 hours but doesnt need BB when she wakes up, til about 5am... But she wants me to pat her or cuddle her. And after I go to bed and MIL is also in bed, I can't let her cry at all cos I feel bad keeping everyone awake, so even worse, she's sleeping in between Hubby and I for most of the night. And still complains and stirs... I am going a bit nuts... Plus getting a cold so not coping... Does anyone have any advice? It's probably the impossible situation lol... Please comment on my page if you have any ideas... Thanks :)

noel - 1451 days ago.
OK moms, I'm looking for advice... Dillon (16 months) has always been a pretty good sleeper. Lately he does NOT want to got to sleep. He can't even keep his eyes open but won't go to sleep, he just screams and rubs his eyes. The Ferber Method doesn't work - he'll scream for an hour or more if we let him. Consoling him doesn't help because as soon as we lay him back down, he starts screaming again! And we can't get him to calm down wihout picking him up. He stays with his grandma's during the day and they lay in the room with him until he goes to sleep, but we won't do that because (a) we never had to before and (b) we know he needs to be able to go to sleep on his own. TonightI thought he was going to hyperventilate from screaming and even when we went in the room, he would not calm down. Hubby finally laid down on the floor with him until he fell asleep. (After about an hour of screaming and consoling, holding, talking, and trying to calm him.) Once he's finally asleep, he usually sleeps through the night, but he acts like we are torturing him when we put him to bed. The doctor recommended giving him Benadryl (basically to knock him out), but we don't want to drug him either. And we've tried it a couple of times out of desperation, but haven't had consistant results with it anyway. Any advice would be appreciated. Please help!