Sleep is essential for all animals except on a few special occasions. When it comes to human beings, their sleeping patterns, hours, and sleeping requirements change over age. This article aims to answer satisfactorily the question that is often raised “How Much Do Babies Sleep?”. 

Newborn babies have special needs in feeding and sleeping. Their stomachs are not big enough to hold enough breast milk, and they often wake up searching for milk. Therefore, they need to be aware of the difference between day and night. Whenever they are hungry, they wake up and later fall asleep.

How Much Do Babies Sleep? – The Number of Hours

Not all babies are equal and behave the same way. Therefore, parents can hardly expect their babies to sleep at the same time each day. However, during the first weeks after birth, newborn babies get 14 – 17 hours of sleep. This period seems quite long and alarming to new parents, yet it is ordinary and necessary for the growth of newborns. 

Besides, there are also instances where some newborn babies continue to sleep for 18 – 19 hours per day. No matter how long they sleep, there are breaks in the middle as they wake up every couple hours to eat. 

The frequency of their wake-up times changes according to the method they are fed. For example, breastfed babies often wake up every 2 – 3 hours, while bottle-fed babies wake up every 3 – 4 hours. 

If the baby is sleeping long hours, not bothering to wake up and eat, parents should wake him/her up to feed. Such a practice is necessary to ensure that he or she shows good weight gain during the first couple weeks. Once the baby reaches the required level of weight gain, it is okay to let your baby sleep for longer stretches of time at night.

How Much Do Babies Sleep? –Helping Your Baby to Sleep 

The first few months are the most challenging and tiresome period that each parent encounters with their babies’ random wake-ups day and night due to their inability to differentiate between day and night together with the failure of their stomachs to hold enough milk cause these random wake-ups throughout the night. 

Hence, newborn babies follow their schedules until they settle into a routine over time. Even though there is no method to speed up the process, you can encourage them to fall asleep quickly by using dim lights and less noise when they wake up at night. Resisting playing and talking to the baby during these times enhances the chances of falling asleep quickly. 

How Much Do Babies Sleep in Day and at Night?

Some parents try to keep their baby awake during the day, thinking that he/she will get a sound sleep at night. But this trick only sometimes works. Because a tired baby is difficult to put to bed rather than helping a baby who slept during the day to sleep at night, some babies start to sleep through the night around 5 – 6 hours by 2 – 3 months of age.

Therefore, we cannot separately predict the hours of sleep they get during the day and night. But a crying baby throughout the night may require some cuddling, wrapping a cloth around them to keep themselves cozy and comfortable.

Even though parents love to keep the baby in the same bed they sleep in, health experts disapprove of that for reasons like the tendency to die. You can read more about SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) rising due to bed sharing. However, you can opt for room-sharing instead of bed-sharing, quickly getting access to feed, monitor and comfort your baby.

Doctor’s Advice on “How Much Do Babies Sleep?”

Basically, the new parents and parents of newborns are generally advised by doctors regarding babies’ eating, sleeping and caring patterns. There they educate parents on how much babies sleep on average. Therefore, parents rarely worry about the long stretches that their newborn babies sleep. However, parents who notice unnecessary hours of sleep during the day and night can consult a doctor for the baby’s health. 

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