Sleep Patterns for your baby at different ages
By the age of around three months, your baby should be beginning to establish a sleep pattern and distinguishing between longer night-time sleeps and shorter daytime naps.
As a rough guide (and it’s important to remember that these timings are approximate, as different babies need more or less sleep than others), your baby will need these amounts of sleep depending on his age:
• Before around three months Your baby will sleep for longer during a 24-hour period but will wake more frequently and sleep less than you might like at night. For example, he might have three two-and-a-half-hour naps in the day and seven to eight hours at night; perhaps decreasing to three one and a half hour naps during the day and 10 hours at night by the age of three months.
• From six months Your baby will be sleeping less during the day, usually between two and three and a quarter hours split into two or three naps, and 11 to 12 hours at night.
• By 12 months Your baby should be sleeping for 11 to 12 hours at night, but only having one daytime nap, typically lasting for about two hours.
As you can see, the correlation between night and sleep gets stronger for your baby as he grows, so the early months are, in most cases, the toughest – meaning it gets easier as he gets older! Good news for you.
Why not chat to other moms about this, or other topics, by leaving a message on our chat forum. Alternately, if you want to meet other moms in your area with similar age babies, visit our people section to find out what’s happening in your area. If you have any unanswered questions, use our questions page to gain wisdom from other moms or our resident experts for all those pregnancy or baby-related niggles. Have a look at our kit section where we list our favorite baby gear.
The information in this feature is intended for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your health, the health of your child or the health of someone you know, please consult with a doctor or other healthcare professional.
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Last Modified: 19/06/2007
Related Chat 16
My son is 8months old and wakens every hour during the night and will only settle if I offer him a breastfeed he doesn`t need a feed just the comfort. I have tried everything from formula milk, cool boiled water, walking around with him to letting him cry for a while( not for long as I have older child who I dont want to disturb too much)and also controlled crying technique. He is so content during the day but only has two 20 minute sleeps during the day. He is on solids and drinks juice along with meals he also has two breastfeeds during the day. Maybe he just doesn`t need a lot of sleep but it would be good if he did as I am exhausted and have to return to work in two weeks time. If anyone has any ideas they would be most welcome thanks.
I would recommend reading Gina Ford's book. It's called "The new contented little baby book" I think, or something along those lines. It's really helped my LO. Although I don't follow it to the letter, it has made me aware of how much sleep he needs and when. Good luck!
My son is 8months old and wakens every hour during the night and will only settle if I offer him a breastfeed he doesn`t need a feed just the comfort. I have tried everything from formula milk, cool boiled water, walking around with him to letting him cry for a while( not for long as I have older child who I dont want to disturb too much)and also controlled crying technique. He is so content during the day but only has two 20 minute sleeps during the day. He is on solids and drinks juice along with meals he also has two breastfeeds during the day. Maybe he just doesn`t need a lot of sleep but it would be good if he did as I am exhausted and have to return to work in two weeks time. If anyone has any ideas they would be most welcome thanks.
can anyone help me my son is 10 mth old and wakes up every 4hrs i have 3 older girls so i dont want to leave him to long befor i go to him becouse i dont want to wake them up i am still breast feeding him at night and i am fealing very tired now please help
Hi there, my son is 8 months old and has only just started sleeping through. Like yourself i have breastfed and was finding him waking every 3 hours for a feed through the night exhausting. I spoke to my health care advisor and she recommeded trying the controled crying technique. The first night i tried it it was really difficult and he was crying for about an hour on two occasions through the night, but i didnt give in. the 2nd night he only cried once for half an hour gave up and slept through till 7. After the second night he slept from 8 to 7 in the morning, and has done since. the controlled crying technique works like this:
1)make your baby comfortable, gently and calmly
2)say 2-3 comforting words
3)stroke or pat your baby 2-3 times
4)leave the room
re enter every 5-10 mins and repeat the steps again.
you have to be ready and strong as its hard to listen to them crying wanting that comfort.
i hope this has helped and good luck!
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