Infant Sleep Schedule: What to Expect

If you are a parent with a newborn, you will need to pay special attention towards the sleep of the little one. That’s mainly because sleep can create a tremendous impact on the development of your baby. Hence, you need to have a clear understanding about the sleep schedule of your little one throughout the first year. Then you will be able to determine whether your little one is getting enough sleep needed or not. Here is a quick overview of the sleep schedule of your infant during the first year. By reading this schedule, you will also be able to get some important tips for quality sleep. 

First two months

During the first two months, your little one would sleep for about 14 to 18 hours per day. In other words, your baby will spend most of his time sleeping. The day of your newborn will start somewhere around 7am in the morning. However, you need to be ready to let your little one take a lot of naps throughout the day time. These little naps can go all the way up to 8 hours.

During the second month, your baby will be awake for a couple of hours a day. Then your baby will sleep for about 4 hours. Hence, you should expect much shorter naps during the second month. But if your baby tends to sleep more than 3 hours, you can think about waking him up and feeding. Otherwise, your little one will feel hungrier throughout the night.

Two months – Four months

Throughout the two and four months, you should expect the sleep time of the little one to reduce up to 14 hours per day. As a result, the typical day will start a bit earlier. In fact, you would notice that your little one is waking up around 6am in the morning. Throughout the day time, your little one will go through around 2 or 3 naps per day. As a result, your newborn will sleep around 4 to 8 hours during the day time.

Sleep during the night time will start a little bit earlier. In fact, the little one will go to sleep around 9pm in the evening. Moreover, your baby will tend to sleep for a longer period of time. But still, you can think about waking your little one up after about 5 hours to feed. Then you will be able to make sure that your child doesn’t feel hunger when he is sleep. You need to be careful to let your little one sleep no longer than 6 hours continuously during the night time. That’s because you will have to feed your baby at the right time.

Four months – Eight months

During this time period, the total sleep of your little one should be in between 12 to 14 hours per day. Soon after the fourth month, your little one will finish the 4th trimester. As a result, your little one will keep on troubling you throughout the night. However, all the babies are not like that and if your little one doesn’t trouble you, you have got a great little child.

The day of the baby will start around 6am to 8am in the morning. Your baby will also go into a couple of naps during the day time. The typical duration of a nap will range in between 3 hours to 5 hours. On the other hand, you can let your little one experience an uninterrupted sleep for about 7 to 8 hours during the night time.

Eight months – Twelve months

The total sleep time of the baby will further reduce during this period. In fact, you can expect your little one to go for a sleep at least about 12 hours a day. The typical days will start around 6am and 7am in the morning. The napping habits of the little one will continue. In other words, your baby will go for 2 or 3 naps during the day time.

Sleep during the night time will start around 8pm now. In fact, your baby will go to sleep much earlier during the night. On the other hand, your baby will go for longer naps as well. In fact, you can expect the baby to sleep for 8 hours straight. Hence, you will get the opportunity to experience much peaceful night during this time period.

Twelve months

By this time, you will have a clear understanding about the sleeping habits of your little one. You have lived with your baby for 12 months and you know about him better than anyone else.

By the 12th month, you will not be able to experience any surprises in the sleep habits of the little one. Your baby will sleep for around 12 hours per day. The day will start somewhere around 6am and 7am in the morning. However, the night time sleep will start a bit earlier. Hence, you can expect your little one to go to sleep around 7pm in the evening.

As a parent, you will experience a lot more freedom during this time period. That’s because your little one will tend to go for about 8 to 9 hours of sleep per night. As a result, you will be able to remain undisturbed for a longer period of time. You shouldn’t worry about waking up the baby during the night and feeding. You can feed the baby just before he goes to sleep and just after waking up. This will assist you to make sure that your little one is not feeling any hunger.