The first thing to make clear is that your baby will have their own pattern of sleeping and chances are, it won’t be the same as any other baby you know so please don’t compare!
Some babies love a good long sleep, others sleep in short bursts, some sleep through the night, some don’t!
But, helping your baby to get healthy sleep by creating the right sleeping environment and getting into a good bedtime routine is super important for their development.
Why is sleep so important for my baby?
Sleep affects development of the brain, body, emotions, and behavior and sets them up for their future growth and development through childhood and teenage years.
The reason babies sleep so much is because they are developing so much at this stage. During sleep their brain is making connections, processing information and helping them to build motor skills.
How much sleep does my baby need?
From newborn to around 7 to 8 months babies need their awake times stretched approximately every month. So, once a month just check to see if they are on the correct routine.
If their sleep has started presenting differently and it’s time for a routine adjustment – start by stretching their awake time by 10 mins for 3 days and see if things improve.
If everything starts falling into place, great. If not, stretch for another 5 to 10 mins and give them a week. They should not need it stretched much more than this and you want to find the balance and avoid overtiredness.
Awake times can apply until around 2 – 2.5 years old; to avoid building sleep debt, stop any night wakings and early morning wake up’s.
How much should my baby sleep throughout the day?
The table below shows how much awake time little ones need, and how many daytime naps they should be having at each stage of their development:
After 2 years old, you little one should be napping for 1 – 2 hours a day, with bedtime at 7pm up until 4 – 5 years old.
For step by step age appropriate routines from Newborn to 3 years old, download my Age Appropriate Routines handout.
If you’re struggling with baby sleep, you can contact me on 07581 410015 to have a chat about how to figure things out together.