Newborns sleep 11 to 17 hours a day, and babies aged 4 to 12 months need 12 to 16 hours including naps. But those hours don’t arrive in one long stretch, which is why new parents feel so exhausted despite their baby technically sleeping most of the day. Here’s what to expect at each stage and how sleep patterns shift during the first year.
Sleep Totals by Age
In the first three months, babies sleep anywhere from 11 to 17 hours per day. That wide range is normal. Some newborns are long sleepers from the start, while others hover closer to 11 hours and still thrive. The key detail is that this sleep comes in short bursts of two to three hours, broken up by feeding, both day and night. There’s no real difference between daytime and nighttime sleep for a newborn.
From 4 to 12 months, the recommended total is 12 to 16 hours, including naps. By this stage, babies start consolidating more of their sleep into nighttime hours, which is the shift parents are usually waiting for. A baby at 4 months might still wake twice a night, while a baby at 10 months may sleep a solid 10 to 12 hours overnight with one or two naps during the day.
When Babies Start Sleeping Through the Night
“Sleeping through the night” in infant sleep terms means a stretch of six to eight hours without waking, not the eight-plus hours adults think of. Most babies don’t reach this milestone until at least 3 months of age, or until they weigh 12 to 13 pounds. Some babies don’t get there until closer to their first birthday, and that’s still within the range of normal.
By about 3 months, many babies settle into a pattern of longer wake periods during the day and longer stretches of sleep at night. That first four-to-five-hour continuous block of nighttime sleep can feel like a breakthrough for sleep-deprived parents, even though it’s still far short of a full night. Premature babies typically reach these milestones later. While a full-term baby might sleep six to eight hours straight by 4 months, a preemie may not do so until 6 to 8 months or beyond. Developmental milestones for preemies are generally tracked by corrected age (age from the original due date, not the birth date).
Night Feedings and How They Change
Hunger is the main reason babies wake at night, and how you feed your baby affects the timeline. Newborns from birth to 3 months wake and feed overnight in the same pattern they follow during the day, roughly every two to three hours. There’s no shortcut through this phase.
Around 3 months, many babies naturally stretch to longer overnight sleep and fewer feeds. Bottle-fed babies may drop night feedings entirely by around 6 months. Breastfed babies often continue needing at least one overnight feed until about 12 months, because breast milk digests faster than formula. Neither timeline is better or worse; they’re just different biological realities.
Nap Schedules in the First Year
Young babies (under 6 months) typically take three or more naps a day. The last nap of the day tends to be the shortest and the hardest to get. Between naps, wake windows are around two hours for younger babies, meaning that’s the maximum time they can comfortably stay awake before needing to sleep again.
Between 6.5 and 8 months, most babies transition from three naps to two. Once your baby is consistently on two naps, wake windows stretch to roughly 2.5 to 3.5 hours between sleep periods. This transition can take a few weeks and often looks messy in the middle, with some days on three naps and some on two. The two-nap schedule typically holds until sometime between 12 and 18 months, when most toddlers drop to one nap.
Sleep Regressions
Sleep regressions are periods when a baby who was sleeping reasonably well suddenly starts waking more, fighting naps, or having trouble settling. The most well-known one hits around 4 months, but regressions aren’t strictly tied to specific ages. They’re tied to what your baby is going through developmentally.
Common triggers include growth spurts (which create extra hunger), learning a new physical skill like rolling over or pulling up, illness, changes in routine like starting daycare or traveling, and separation anxiety, which typically peaks between 6 and 9 months. A regression usually lasts one to three weeks. The sleep disruption feels permanent in the moment, but it passes as your baby adjusts to whatever developmental leap caused it.
Signs Your Baby Is Overtired
Babies who stay awake past their natural sleep window don’t just get drowsy. They often become harder to settle, not easier. Learning the early tired cues helps you catch the window before it closes.
In newborns, watch for:
- Pulling at ears
- Clenching fists
- Yawning
- Fluttering eyelids or staring into space
- Jerky arm and leg movements or arching backward
- Frowning or looking worried
- Sucking on fingers (which can also mean they’re trying to self-soothe to sleep)
In older babies and toddlers, tired signs look different: clinginess, clumsiness, crying, demanding attention, losing interest in toys, fussiness with food, or a burst of hyperactivity that looks like the opposite of tiredness. That last one catches many parents off guard. An overtired baby who seems wired is still an overtired baby.
Safe Sleep Environment
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends placing babies on their backs for every sleep, in their own sleep space, on a firm, flat mattress with a fitted sheet and nothing else. That means no loose blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, or crib bumpers. Babies should not sleep on couches, armchairs, or in car seats or swings (unless actively riding in a car). Room-sharing without bed-sharing is the safest arrangement for the first several months. Breastfeeding and avoiding smoking also reduce sleep-related risks.
These guidelines apply to all sleep, including naps, not just nighttime. It can be tempting to let a baby nap in a swing or on your chest, especially when they resist the crib, but the safest surface is always the same flat, firm one.