Birth - 12 M - Sleeping Guide

Here is a sleeping guide that we used to see if our baby had enough hours of sleep. All babies are different and sleep at different times, but all babies must sleep certain amount of hours at different stages of their infant lives.

1. Birth - two months old = 18 hours daily. This was very true for us! Some days she would get only 15 hours of sleep, but she would catch up on her sleep later that week. There are babies that do not average 18 zzz hours a day due to colic pain.   

2. Three - four months old = 16 to 18 hours. By the time she was 3 months old, she was sleeping 5 to 6 hours at night and take long and short naps throughout the day. Our average our daughter slept 17 hours daily. 

3. Five - six months old = 16 hours a day. At this point majority of babies already can sleep up to 8 hours at night. Many mothers I know struggle to keep up with 16 hours sleeping pattern due to pain associated with teething. Usually babies sleep and eat much less at their worst teething days. 

4. Seven - nine months old - 15 hours daily. Our daughter was very active (still is!) We averaged 15 hours a day because we worked her out! We made her crawl, play, roll, etc! Unfortunately for us she took only one nap instead of two. She slept 12 hours at night and took one long 3 hour nap after lunch. 

5. Ten - Twelve months old - 13 hours. Our daughter was sleeping around 10 hours at night and took 2 to 4 hour nap after lunch. Some days she slept less, some more. Teething pain was bothering her a lot, but she still had her 14 hours of daily zzz time. 

Note: Al babies are different, but I strongly believe you should aim for theses numbers. Babies develop and grow the most in their sleep. Try to find ways to put your baby to sleep, get her tired, feed her well, play with her, etc.

I think it is extremely important for you to be aware how much your baby sleeps and need to sleep. Babies just like adults get fussy and frustrated due to lack of sleeping.

Note: Address your concerns to your pediatrician if you infant does not get enough sleep.