Many questions are associated with infant sleep. Children can sleep too much or too little, and both situations are stressful for parents. Sleep is important for a child’s development, but it’s worth knowing that infants in the first months of life do not have a regulated daily sleep and wakefulness clock and will only gradually establish a certain rhythm over time.
Sleep During the First Half-Year of Life
How much an infant sleeps depends on the child’s age. A one-month-old child will sleep from 16 to even 20 hours a day, which means about 8 hours during the day and 8 at night. At the age of three months, a child already sleeps a bit less – about 10 hours at night and about 5 during the day. A six-month-old baby will sleep 11 hours at night and only about 3 hours during the day. A similar state is maintained until the age of 9 months. A one-year-old child should sleep about 14 hours – 12 at night and 2 during the day.
Children Up to 6 Months
The youngest children, up to 6 months of age, usually sleep about 16 hours a day. It doesn’t matter much whether it is day or night, however, the state of sleep and sensation is distributed more or less evenly. The child usually falls into short naps, which is related to the need to feed them every 3-4 hours. The baby often wakes up when hungry and demands feeding. After a few weeks, the infant should be able to sleep up to 5 hours uninterrupted. Around 3 months of age, sleep may occur more often and last longer at night. This is a time when the infant sleeps from 12 to 15 hours a day.
Infant Sleep 6-12 Months
A six-month-old child should sleep about 3 hours during the day and 9-11 hours at night. During this time, parents do not have to rush to the baby as soon as they start crying at night – you can wait until the child calms down by themselves. This teaches them not to cry when they are just bored. A one-year-old child may sleep even 12 hours at night, and during the day, short naps totaling about 2 hours are sufficient. It’s also a good idea to shift meal times so that feeding does not occur at night, but this should be done gradually.
