How much sleep does my baby need?

Once the bliss of having a new baby at home wears off, your life begins to get back to "normal". So how much should my baby be sleeping? Well, in a 24 hour period, newborn babies generally sleep for 16 to 18 hours. By three months of age, with development of the brain, sleep patterns will generally become more predictable with most of the sleep occurring at night, and then two to three naps during the day, or so the literature says. Some babies will not sleep much at all during the day, but the way l see it is if your baby has a great night sleep then why change it! Here is a guide for you to have as a guideline.

Newborns Number of sleeps per day: 4 Average time up during the day between sleeps: 1 hour * Newborns will be asleep 16 to 18 hours per day. * Sleep for 1 to 3 hours at a time. * Anything less than 1 hour is called a catnap or a power nap. * It is expected for baby to wake overnight for a feed.

• 3 to 6 Months

Number of sleeps per day: 2 to 3

Average time up during the day between sleeps: 2 to 3 hours

* Sleeps for 2 to 3 hours at a time.

* Will sleep 6 to 8 hours overnight.

6 to 9 Months Number of sleeps per day: 2 Average time up during the day between sleeps: 2 to 3 hours * Will sleep for 1 to 2 hours at a time. * Will sleep 10 to 12 hours overnight. 9 to 12 Months Number of sleeps per day:1 to 2 Average time up during the day between sleeps: 4 hours * Will sleep for 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the afternoon. * Will sleep 10 to 12 hours overnight.

Check out my other post l wrote on sleeping and SIDS as well as just sleeping!