Sleep Schedule for Newborns

With a newborn baby on the way, you may be thinking to yourself: Will I ever sleep again? I am here to tell you that the answer is YES! No new mom should ever be told horror stories about never getting to sleep because your baby is up all night. I am writing this to tell you that you will sleep, and you'll be able to sleep because I am going to provide you with a sleep schedule.

Don't get discouraged if you feel more exhausted than normal, when taking care of your newborn baby. This is to be expected. The newborn sleep schedule that will be provided below, will help you be able to help your baby sleep better and lead you to success when it comes to their sleep. It definitely takes patience, but coming from a new mom that is expecting, this will be a game changer.

Is your baby getting enough sleep?

Be cautious of overstimulation. Overstimulation happens when children are too tired or they feel really overwhelmed. This can cause your baby to not sleep enough or to not eat. It is necessary for newborn babies to be fed very frequently. If your newborn baby is fussy and harder to put to sleep, then this means that they have become overtired. This can happen when they have been awake too long in between their naps. Therefore, this is when a sleep schedule comes in handy, so that they never miss their naps.

How to learn your baby's sleep cycle

The number one reason your newborn's sleep is unpredictable and always changing is because their sleep cycle is always developing. Your baby's sleep cycle will change around approximately three months and start to look like yours. Around this time, you may notice a more stable and predictable sleeping pattern that will emerge.

How much sleep does your baby really need?

To answer this question short and simple, the answer is that they need a lot of sleep. Your newborn baby will most likely be spending the majority of their new life sleeping, and the rest of their time will most likely be eating. You will probably notice this in the first few weeks of their lives.

As your newborn baby starts to grow and become bigger, and is around six weeks old, they will most likely sleep up to a total of 18 hours for every 24-hour period. It is common that in the first few days of a newborn's life, they sleep even more and may seem like they are sleeping all day.

While your baby grows and becomes bigger, they will need to sleep less and less each day. The newborn sleep schedule that will be provided below, will break it down for you.

Newborn sleep schedules

0-6 Weeks: sleep survival

• Your day should start around...

7 AM

• Total hrs of sleep (in a 24-hr period)

15 to 18 hours

• Naps

3 to 5 naps, each 15 minutes to 3 hours long

• Time awake between sleeps

30 minutes to 1 hour

• Longest stretch of nighttime sleep

2 to 4 hours

• Bedtime should be around...

9:30 to 11 PM

2-3 Months: sleep learning

• Your day should start around...

6 to 6:30 AM

• Total hrs of sleep (in a 24-hr period)

14 to 16 hours

• Naps

3 to 4 naps, each 30 minutes to 3 hours long

• Time awake between sleeps

45 minutes to 2 hours

• Longest stretch of nighttime sleep

3 to 6 hours

• Bedtime should be around...

8 to 10 PM

4-6 Months: establishing healthy sleep habits

• Your day should start around...

7 to 8 AM

• Total hrs of sleep (in a 24-hr period)

12 to 15 hours

• Naps

Usually 3 naps, each 1 to 3 hours long

• Time awake between sleeps

1.5 to 2.5 hours

• Longest stretch of nighttime sleep

4 to 8 hours

• Bedtime should be around...

8:30 to 9:30 PM

6-10 Months: finding sleep success

• Your day should start around...

7 AM

• Total hrs of sleep (in a 24-hr period)

11 to 15 hours

• Naps

2 or 3 naps, each 1 to 3 hours long

• Time awake between sleeps

2 or 3 hours

• Longest stretch of nighttime sleep

5 to 10 hours

• Bedtime should be around...

8 to 9:30 PM

10-12 Months: avoiding sleep setbacks

• Your day should start around...

6 to 7:30 AM

• Total hrs of sleep (in a 24-hr period)

11 to 14 hours

• Naps

1 or 2 naps, each 1 to 2 hours long

• Time awake between sleeps

2.5 to 3.5+ hours

• Longest stretch of nighttime sleep

7 to 12 hours

• Bedtime should be around...

8 to 9 PM

***(Article referenced by and sleep schedule provided by: https://www.nestedbean.com/pages/baby-and-newborn-sleep-schedules-patterns/ )