Thinking about your future sleepless nights or already experiencing a few of them? Stay rest assured, you will learn to adjust with the sleep pattern of your baby. Every baby is different and they have a different sleep pattern altogether. Some may take long naps, some quick ones. This article will help you understand what to generally expect at each stage.
Babies under one are light sleepers. They have more active sleep rather than quiet sleeping. Babies can be easily woken up form active sleep. Their eyelids flutter, they breathe heavily or twitch their arms and legs in active sleep. Quiet sleep is when your babies lie still and breathe deeply. As compared to adults, babies have very little quiet sleep.
Birth to three months
- New-born babies sleep a lot through day and night. They sleep for almost 15-17 hours a day
- The only time he would wake up is for feeds and nappy changes
- Half his sleep is in active sleep
- He still does not understand the difference between day and nights. Once he crosses the 6-week threshold, you can train him about day and night and can help him create a sleeping schedule
- This sleep pattern is generally exhausting for parents but required for babies, so be patient with him
Three to six months
- In this phase, the baby sleeps for almost 14 hours a day
- The active sleep starts to reduce now but he still will wake up often at night
- He would still need 2-3 naps of 2 hours each in the entire day
- They can understand you now. So, start to make a schedule for them and make them follow it
- After the fourth month, the baby’s sleep pattern may change permanently and this is the turning point for you
- Some babies still need a couple of feedings at night
Six to 12 months
- From about 6 months, your baby will start sleeping like you, he now understands the difference between day and night
- He will sleep less in the day and more during the night. Not all babies may learn this and it is okay
- He will be sleeping for 11-12 hours in the entire day and active sleep would now reduce to a great extent
- He will wake up less frequently at night giving you enough time to sleep as well
- You should make a day and night routine for your baby to understand. With the schedule, he will get prepared for what to expect next
After 12 months
- Once your baby has turned one, he will tend to sleep better.
- He will now sleep for 8-10 hours in the entire day and wake up fewer times at night
- His day time naps would reduce to just one nap for an hour or so
- He is already experiencing more of quiet sleep like grown-ups now.
