How Much Sleep a Newborn Baby Takes?

December 2, 2007 – 11:04 am

The life of newborn babies is mostly all about feeding and sleeping. After all, he/she is in the inertia of the long cozy sleep inside the mother’s body. Parents do need to know how much a newborn baby normally sleeps in 24 hours. 

While newborn babies do not follow a set routine for sleep, for most babies, the sleeping time is up to 18 hours daily (in 24 hours). But the sleep is often intermittent and the baby wakes every 2 to 3 hours to be fed. Also, most babies will sleep for 3 to 5 hours maximum at a stretch. Following are some common sleep patterns for newborn babies of varying ages: 

Up to 3 Months

Newborn babies, ranging in age from their natal day up to 3 months, usually take 16 to 18 hours of sleep daily. The sleep is divided into 2-3 hours sessions. Their sleep does not have to do much with night or day and they will sleep almost equally at day as they do at night. The day-night awareness appears in the baby at an age of around 6 to 8 weeks. By the age of 2 to 3 months, a sleep pattern is developed by the child. The parent can then anticipate when the child is going to sleep and how long the sleep is going to continue at a particular time. 

3 to 6 Months

The total daily sleep of the baby at this age is about 14 to 16 hours. It is usually 8 hours of sleep at night and 6 hours at day (divided in three stretches of 2 hours each). The child gets asleep more readily and does not wake in the absence of much disturbance. Some babies at this age may not wake at all during the night. However, most would wake once to be fed. By the age of 6 months, the daytime sleep drops to 2 naps, each lasting about 2 hours. 

6 to 12 Months

During the 6 months to one year, the total daily sleep of a baby is 12 to 14 hours. Most babies take a daily nap of about 2 to 3 hours each. A 6 month sold baby is able to sleep well through the night, without waking at all. But many kids do wake once. Before the baby’s first birthday, a long stretch of sleep (about 11 hours or more) is less likely to occur.

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  1. 3 Responses to “How Much Sleep a Newborn Baby Takes?”

  2. My baby does sleep well but she, 3months old sleeps almost 20hours a day.
    Is it fine to let her sleep 90% of one-day?

    By Linda on Jan 14, 2008

  3. Well I think it’s ok so far as she appears to enjoy a natural, restoring sleep. One reason of excessive sleep might be lack of activity or poor sitmulation of the child’s perceptual fields (seeing and hearing). Try to get her some nice toys with musical sounds and colors and let her play. Play with her and talk to her (also sing to her). Make the environment a little more stimulating for her and she may soon get used to more waking.

    By Ernest on Jan 26, 2008

  4. My child who is now 18-months old has enough sleep a day. However, she is usually awake in the early morning (1 - 6 am) then sleeps until 2 pm, then gets another 2 hours nap later in the evening. Can you give me a suggestion as to how I can change this?

    By Christine on Apr 28, 2008

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