I couldn't fit all this stuff on one chart so you get two instead :) You can also find the averages just by month in the sleep by ages section as well as charts split up by subject.
All charts
below are based on optimal amounts for a well-rested child, not what is
necessarily common (since many children sleep less and wake more frequently
than what I would consider ideal). I realize that these averages vary from what some other sources say-- I'm sorry we can't all agree! I've come up with these averages after working with lots of babies and parents and after much research. Hopefully they will be a source of help and not a source of stress!
Remember, everything is an average and should only be used as a reference point—your child is a unique little person. Also, all averages are done with the assumption that your child is healthy and growing well and was born around his due date (those with children under 2 should use adjusted age). These charts are just suggestions, your pediatrician should always be consulted in all things regarding your child’s health.
Remember, everything is an average and should only be used as a reference point—your child is a unique little person. Also, all averages are done with the assumption that your child is healthy and growing well and was born around his due date (those with children under 2 should use adjusted age). These charts are just suggestions, your pediatrician should always be consulted in all things regarding your child’s health.
You can find the charts (for easy printing) HERE.
Sleep Averages from
Birth to 8 months
Birth-6
weeks
|
2 mths
|
3 mths
|
4 mths
|
5 mths
|
6 mths
|
7 mths
|
8 mths
|
|
Waketime
|
45-60
minutes
|
1
hour
|
1-1.5
hours
|
1.25-1.75
hours
|
1.5-2.25 hours
|
2-2.5
hours
|
2.25-2.75 hours
|
2.25-3 hours
|
Total
Sleep Per 24 hours
|
16-18 hours
|
15.5-18
hours
|
15.5-18
hours
|
14.5-16.5 hours
|
14-16
hours
|
14-15.5
hours
|
14-15.5 hours
|
14-15.5
hours
|
Total
Night Sleep *
|
9-12 hours
|
9-12
hours
|
10-12 hours
|
11-12
hours
|
11-12
hours
|
11-12
hours
|
11-12
hours
|
11-12
hours
|
Total
Daily Sleep
|
4-8 hours
|
4-8 hours
|
4-7 hours
|
3-7 hours
|
3-5 hours
|
3-5 hours
|
3-5 hours
|
3-5 hours
|
Number of Naps
|
4+
|
4+
|
4+
|
3-4
|
3
|
2-3
|
2-3
|
2-3
|
Max
daily sleep*
|
Avoid naps >2 hours
|
Avoid naps >2 hours
|
Avoid naps >2 hours
|
4.5 hours
|
4 hours
|
3.5 hours
|
3.5 hours
|
3.25 hours
|
Naps
Dropped?
|
Varies
|
Varies
|
4
to 3 naps by 3-5 mths
|
4
to 3 naps by 3-5 mths
|
4
to 3 naps by 3-5 mths
|
3
to 2 naps by 6-9 mths
|
3
to 2 naps by 6-9 mths
|
3
to 2 naps by 6-9 mths
|
End
Naps by:
|
Avoid
naps >2-2.5 hours each
|
Avoid
naps >2-2.5 hours each
|
5-5:30
pm
|
4:30-5
pm
|
4:30-5
pm
|
4:30-5
pm
|
4:30-5
pm
|
4 pm
|
Ideal
bedtime?
|
Varies: 7-11 pm
|
Varies: 7-10 pm
|
Varies:
7-10 pm
|
6-8 pm
|
6-8
pm
|
6-8
pm
|
6-8
pm
|
6-8
pm
|
Longest
stretch of night sleep
|
Baby
eats every 2-5 hours
|
5 +
fingers crossed!
|
5-10
hours (some will sleep more)
|
8-12
hours
|
8-12
hours
|
8-12
hours
|
8-12
hours
|
8-12
hours
|
Number
of night feeds*
|
Baby
eats every 2-5 hours
|
1-3 feeds
|
1-2 feeds
|
1 feed
|
0-1 feeds
|
0-1 feeds
|
0-1 feeds
|
0-1 feeds
|
Sleep Averages from 9 months to 4 years
9 mths
|
1 0 mths
|
11 mths
|
12 mths
|
12-18
mths
|
18-24
mths
|
2-3 yrs
|
3-4 yrs
|
|
Waketime
|
2.5-3
hours
|
3-3.5
hours
|
3-4 hours
|
3-4
hours
|
3-4
hrs (2 naps), 4.5-6 hrs before nap (1 nap)
|
5-6 hrs before nap
|
5.5-7
hrs before nap
|
6-8
hrs (before nap)
|
Total
Sleep Per 24 hours
|
14-15
hours
|
14-15
hours
|
14-15
hours
|
13.5-14
hours
|
13.5-14
hours
|
12-14
hours
|
12-14
hours
|
11-14 hours
|
Total
Night Sleep *
|
11-12
hours
|
11-12
hours
|
11-12
hours
|
11-12
hours
|
11-12
hours
|
11-12
hours
|
11-12
hours
|
11-12
hours
|
Total
Daily Sleep
|
2.5-4 hours
|
2.5-4 hours
|
2.5-4 hours
|
2-4 hours
|
1.5-4 hours
|
1.5-3 hours
|
1.5-3 hours
|
0-2 hours
|
Number of Naps
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
1-2
|
1-2
|
0-1 (ideally 1)
|
0-1
|
Max
daily sleep*
|
3 hours
|
3 hours
|
3 hours
|
3 hours
|
3 hours
|
2 hours
|
2 hours
|
0-2 hours
|
Naps
Dropped?
|
3
to 2 naps by 6-9 months
|
Not
usually
|
Not
usually
|
Not
usually
|
2 to 1 nap by 14-18 months
|
2 to 1 nap by 14-18 months
|
Ideally,
1 nap still
|
1
to 0 naps by 3-4 yrs (some keep it longer)
|
End
Naps by:
|
4 pm
|
4 pm
|
4 pm
|
4 pm
|
4 pm
|
4 pm
|
3-4 pm
|
3-4
pm
|
Ideal
bedtime?
|
6-8
pm
|
6-8
pm
|
6-8
pm
|
6-8
pm
|
6-8
pm
|
6-8
pm
|
6-8
pm
|
7-8
pm
|
Longest
stretch of night sleep
|
11-12
hours
|
11-12
hours
|
11-12
hours
|
11-12
hours
|
11-12
hours
|
11-12
hours
|
11-12
hours
|
11-12
hours
|
Number
of night feeds*
|
0 feeds
|
0 feeds
|
0 feeds
|
0 feeds
|
0 feeds
|
0 feeds
|
0 feeds
|
0 feeds
|
Some extra info to help you out with the charts above (especially all the *):
Total Night
Sleep – There may also be feeds during this time
Max Daily
Sleep – Don’t worry too much about this unless you have a newborn of if you
suspect too much day sleep is a cause of night issues.
Day Sleep -
Day sleep is quite variable. I try to aim for naps that last at least 1.5 hours (not including the last nap of the
day if on more than 1 nap) but as most of you know, there are quite a few cat
nappers out there. If you are able to get at least 1 hour naps, that's great. Cat nappers often need more naps, more often and end up with
a bit less day sleep overall (early bedtime anyone?). I generally suggest
keeping naps 2 hours and under after the newborn period unless it is
the only nap of the day. You can find more about naps (including
individual naps) in the nap index.
Naps - The
last nap of the day is often a catnap (super short) before it is dropped for
good. These nap times are averages—your child may drop slightly sooner or keep
a nap slightly longer. Find out more about dropping naps here and here.
End naps
by - To preserve night sleep and allow for an early bedtime hour, you don’t
want naps to go too late. With all things sleep, these averages are just a
guideline. You’ll need to use some trial and error. If your child is struggling
falling asleep at bed or is having night wakings—the timing of this last nap
might be an issue.
Bedtime -
Most young children sleep best if they are on a routine like 7am-7 pm (give or
take a bit, of course). Some children will be OK with a shift in their entire
routine—say 8 am-8 pm. Most (like 90%) will either be overtired with this, have
extra night wakings or wake extra early in the morning.
Night
Wakings/Feeds – Night feeds are from about 7 pm-7 am, not including the
7am/7pm feeds. How many and how long to do night feeds is VERY debatable. Some
people suggest stopping all night feeds by 12 weeks and others suggest keeping
multiple night feeds for years. I’ve come up with this list after working with
hundreds of parents (possibly thousands at this point) over the years and after
talking to some pediatricians. I haven’t met a healthy, well growing baby
yet that can’t happily have all night feeds dropped by 9 months (often before)
so I feel confident drawing the line here. A couple of the pediatricians
thought I was even being too generous with this age :) Learn more
about when to expect a child to sleep through the night (and how I define sttn)
here.
Related Posts:
When will my child start sleeping
through the night?
Very helpful, thanks! My daughter is almost 7 months and still cannot stay up for 2 hours at a time (except for the late evening waketime.). Guess she'll get there eventually!
ReplyDeleteIf sleep is going well, no need to worry about her being a bit behind with waketimes Diana :)
DeleteHi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI've just discovered your website and have spent the last week pouring over your posts! I have a 16wk old little boy who started sleeping 10hours at night at around 8 weeks then went back to 4 hour blocks at 12weeks and has been ever since! He's also picked up a cat napping habit - thanks to your extending cat naps page I've managed to pull out some 1.5-2 hour naps this week and am so grateful! I'm trying to get him into an EWS routine but it makes it difficult with small 40min naps thrown in there!
He wakes from his last catnap at around 4-430pm and goes to bed at 7pm. He has started waking at 745, 830, 9pm before actually going down for the night - should I try and squeeze another nap in before his bedtime routine? This would take it past the recommended latest nap time?
Elizabeth Wade,
DeleteIf there's an option to squeeze an extra nap in or do a slightly earlier bedtime, I almost always go for an earlier bedtime. Most kids do better with this, and night sleep is also more restorative than naps (but you still need both for a happy baby). Those night wakings sometimes happen around this age and after looking over some possibilities, if they're still happening, not responding (or doing whatever st you do) will usually help them go away in a few days to week. yippy for getting some of those short naps lengthened!
Thank you for sharing at the hop xo
ReplyDeleteRachel,
ReplyDeleteI have been pouring over your blogs for the last 24 hours and I think you are a genius. My baby is 13 weeks old and we have the following problems:
1) Morning wake up times vary from 4:45am-6:30am (though yesterday she slept until 8)
2) Naps are either very long (I wake her after 3 hours) or very short (20-30 min)
3) She will sleep in her crib at night but if you try to put her down for a nap she will either wake up immediately or take a 20 minute nap (even if this would normally be her 3 hour nap). This was not a huge problem until recently but now she is getting more sensitive to sound and I am afraid that the quality of her naps are deteriorating.
I imagine many of these problems are interrelated but I don’t know which one to correct first.
We started a night time routine (bath, massage, nurse) about two weeks ago and it is going well. We begin the routine at 6pm and she is usually asleep around 7pm. Her doctors have advised us to keep her upright for 20 minutes after eating due to her acid reflux so even if she doesn’t nurse to sleep, by the end of the 20 minutes she is asleep.
She wakes up periodically throughout the night, and she almost always wakes about 45-60 min after going to bed but she is able to sooth herself back to sleep without any assistance from us. She also wakes once during the night to eat. This feeding is typically sometime between 12:30am and 3am. The earlier the feeding, the earlier the morning wake up. If she wakes up before 6 she tends to take a 45 minute nap about 1.5-2 hours after waking up and then a 2 hour nap next time. If she wakes up after 6 she will nap from 8-11 and I have to wake her up to eat; her next nap will be around 12:45 and last about 45 minutes. In both scenarios, she will take 1-2 naps later in the day for 20-30 minutes.
The first two naps are usually only accomplished by putting her in the baby carrier, she tends to nurse to sleep later in the day (which I am not proud of). I would really like to get her to sleep in other ways.
Her sleep cues aren’t strong. Sometimes I try to lull her to sleep too early and it takes 40 minutes for her to sleep, other times too late and she will cry before falling asleep. I hardly ever hit that sweet spot of tired but not too tired. Often she appears tired but happy shorty after waking up (eye rubbing and smiles).
Which problem do you suggest I address first? Any input you can provide would be really appreciated.
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteThings are rapidly deteriorating. We have lost the 45 minute nap and are now down to a few 15-30 minute afternoon naps. Yesterday she had one 25 minute and one 17 minute nap...she was exhausted. I also wanted to mention that during the 3 hour nap she is typically pretty active for the first hour or two and then settles in to a deep sleep right about the 3 hour mark...and that is when I wake her :(