When you understand your newborn’s sleep patterns and habits, you can start to establish a little more structure in your daily life and build a little more confidence in your decisions and actions during the baby’s first days.
While newborns can’t stay on a strict sleep or feeding schedule – mostly due to their many growth spurts in these early months – these sample newborn sleep and feeding schedules can guide you through these stages and make sure everyone is getting the sleep and nutrition they need.
Otherwise, you may be soothing a crying baby all day.
A newborn baby cries a lot more when they are over-tired, not sleeping enough, or hungry. In other words, getting him or her on a routine (even if it’s not a strict schedule) can be a life-saver!
Your newborn’s feeding schedule should be age-appropriate, and you should never withhold food from a newborn just to stay on schedule. A newborn sleep schedule is also often based on how long your baby can stay awake (not strictly by the clock), which is usually short in the newborn days.
Keep reading to discover what you can do to get started.
Understanding Newborn Sleep Patterns
A baby is considered a newborn from birth until about 3 months of age.
During this period, your newborn’s sleep patterns will look nothing like yours.
Your baby will sleep in short bursts – anywhere from 30 or 45 minutes to 3 or possibly 4 hours – and then eat between periods of sleep.
In other words, the typical day/night sleep cycle doesn’t really apply to newborns. Some newborns come out of the womb with their days and nights completely mixed up!
This is called day/night confusion, and babies who struggle with it tend to sleep a lot during the day and then wake up frequently at night.
Many newborns also seem extra sleepy in the first week or two after birth and must be woken up to feed or drift off while feeding before getting their fill.
Eventually, though, your newborn will definitely “wake up” within three weeks after birth. This is when you will start to deal with more wakefulness. In fact, you may start to miss the early weeks of having a super-sleepy newborn!
Babies simply cry more often as they get a bit older (depending on temperament), but you will quickly learn how to soothe a crying baby.
Working with Newborn Feeding Schedules
Newborns feed very, very frequently, but this isn’t a problem that needs to be solved.
It’s perfectly natural!
Your newborn’s tummy is quite small. They simply need to fill it up regularly.
Formula-fed newborns may need to eat slightly less often than breastfed newborns because it takes a newborn’s tummy longer to digest and break down formula.
So babies tend to feel fuller for longer periods of time. Breast milk, on the other hand, is digested fairly quickly.
How much breastmilk or formula does your baby need?
Every situation is different, of course, but if your baby is formula-fed, you can use a fairly simple formula to determine approximately how many ounces your baby needs in a day.
Simply multiply your baby’s weight by 2.5.
For example, an 8-pound baby would need about 20 ounces of formula in a 24-hour period.
If your baby is breastfed, the general rule is that most newborns need between 20 and 30 ounces of breastmilk (and between 25-35 ounces once they’re past the newborn stage).
How often should you feed your baby?
In general, if you are exclusively nursing, it’s best to nurse on demand in the first few weeks after birth to ensure that your milk supply becomes well-established. In fact, in order to maintain your supply, you’ll need to nurse every 2 to 3 hours, on average.
Once your baby is past 3 months of age and is in the infant stage, that will slowly stretch into 5-6 hours, and then 7-8, and eventually right up to 10 or 11 hours once your baby is 9 months old or 10 months old.
Newborn Growth Spurts
Believe it or not, a lot is going on with your newborn baby.
So much growth and development is happening in that little body! Your newborn will very likely go through growth spurts at the following times:
- 7-10 days of age
- 2-3 weeks of age
- 4-6 weeks of age
- 3 months of age
During these growth spurts, it will feel like your newborn is feeding almost constantly (and like when she’s not feeding, she’s sleeping). This is 100% normal – feed your newborn as often as she needs it, as the extra nourishment is important during the growth spurt.
How to Create a Newborn Feeding and Sleep Schedule
Your unique newborn’s wake times and total sleep needs may vary from what is recommended below.
These schedules are based on averages, but your baby may need more or less sleep (or shorter/longer wake times) than what is listed here.
Remember, watch your baby’s sleepy cues closely (rubbing eyes, yawning, staring off into space, etc.), and let those guide the sleep schedule.
Remember, too, that if your baby is already fussing, he or she is already overtired. Try to get your child down for his or her nap earlier next time, before the fussing starts.
2-8 Week Old Newborn, Breast Feeding
This schedule is best for babies who consume average amounts of breast milk and for moms who have average breast milk production and storage amounts.
9:00 AM | Wake and Feed* |
10:00 AM | Nap (30-60 minutes) |
11:00 AM | Wake and Feed |
12:30 PM | Nap (30-60 minutes) |
1:30 PM | Wake and Feed |
3:30 PM | Nap (30 – 60 minutes) |
4:30 PM | Wake and Feed |
6:00 PM | Nap (30 – 60 minutes) |
6:30 PM | Wake and Feed |
7:30 PM | Catnap (20 – 30 minutes) |
8:00 PM | Wake and Feed |
9:30 PM | Catnap (20 – 30 minutes) |
10:00 PM | Wake and Feed |
11:30 PM | Feed and Bedtime* |
3:30 AM | Feed and Right back to sleep |
6:30 AM | Feed and Right back to sleep |
* – We recommend you make these fixed points in your baby’s schedule. You can read more about this in our article on fixed points in a baby schedule.
Babies who eat smaller amounts, babies with reflux, and moms who produce and store smaller amounts of breastmilk will need a different schedule. So will babies who eat larger amounts per feeding and moms who produce/store greater amounts of breast milk.
Schedules for those scenarios, as well as schedules for older, breastfed newborns, are available in our newborn book, Essential Keys To Your Newborn’s Sleep.
2-8 Week Old Newborn, Formula Feeding
This schedule recommends longer naps and fewer feedings than the breastfeeding schedule above, simply because formula is more difficult for baby to digest. So, babies tend to feel fuller longer and therefore need slightly fewer feedings.
9:00 AM | Wake and Feed* |
10:00 AM | Nap (60 – 90 minutes) |
11:30 AM | Wake |
12:30 PM | Feed and Nap (30 – 60 minutes) |
1:30 PM | Wake |
3:00 PM | Feed and Nap (60 – 90 minutes) |
4:30 PM | Wake and Feed |
6:00 PM | Nap (30 – 60 minutes) |
6:30 PM | Wake |
7:30 PM | Feed and Nap (30 – 60 minutes) |
8:30 PM | Wake |
9:30 PM | Nap (30 – 60 minutes) |
10:00 PM | Wake and Feed |
11:30 PM | Feed and Bedtime* |
4:30 AM | Feed and Right back to sleep |
7:30 AM | Feed and Right back to sleep |
* – We recommend you make these fixed points in your baby’s schedule. You can read more about this in our article on fixed points in a baby schedule.
For formula-feeding schedules for older newborns, see our newborn book, Essential Keys To Your Newborn’s Sleep.
Additional Newborn Sleep Articles
Want more newborn sleep tips? Check out our other newborn sleep articles:
- 7 Gentle, Natural Ways To Help Your Newborn Sleep Better
- Establishing Healthy Sleep Habits In Your Newborn (Members Area tele-seminar)
- 10 Tips To Help Your Newborn Sleep
- What You Should Know About Newborn Sleep Patterns
- Essential Keys to Your Newborn’s Sleep (Members Area digital book)
- Why Newborns Are Fussy In The Evening (Besides Colic)
- Your Top 5 Breastfeeding + Sleep Questions Answered by an Expert (Members Area article)
Want FREE sleep help that you can put to use right away? Download a copy of our free guide, 5 Ways To Help Your Child Sleep Through The Night! The guide is available to download instantly, which means you can start using the techniques in it as early as tonight. So download now, and learn why your baby is waking at night – and what you can do about it.
Click here to learn more about how to get your free guide.
A better night’s sleep could be just a few clicks away. So don’t wait – download now, and start your journey to better sleep tonight!
surbhi jain says
hello ,my baby is 22 days old..in starting 3-4 days wasn’t able to feed her;now feeding takes 1 hour..milk is enough or not i cannot understand..please help me out
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Surbhi – Thank you for writing! We’re sorry to hear that you are having trouble with your newborn’s feeds! Please to consult with your healthcare provider if you’re worried about her milk intake or feeding issues! Good luck and hang in there!
Sarah says
My 9 week old baby has really struggled to get into any sort of schedule. He has colic and reflux as well as tongue ties that had to be cut. He was sleeping ok at night, going down at 7pm, feeding around 11pm, 2:30 and 5:30am. He would then be up for the day at 7am. Over the past two weeks though he’s awake up to 7 times a night and he’s extremely hard to get back to sleep. I’m trying to follow your schedules above, I’m hoping this will help, but any other advice you have would be very much appreciated.
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Sarah, thanks for writing to us. I’m so sorry to hear your son is struggling with colic, reflux, and that in addition to that you had to sort out his tongue ties (hopefully his recovery wasn’t too bad). It is hard in these early weeks. Here is a link to a free guide with tips for new parents when they are where you are – in survival mode – which may help: https://www.babysleepsite.com/15-free-baby-sleep-facts-new-parents-must-know/
If you need more help we also have an ebook all about newborn sleep (and it goes through the first year) that may help give you some other gentle techniques you can try in these early weeks to get more sleep. Here is a link to read more: https://www.babysleepsite.com/essential-keys-to-your-newborns-sleep/
I hope this helps. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need more help. You can email us anytime at [email protected]
AJ says
Are there any samples schedules for 10-13 week olds. Our baby was doing reasonably well in the 8-9 week mark (sleeping up to 5 hours consecutively) but then got her vaccines at 10 weeks and around that time started waking several times a night. I have read this experience is common – and we are following the tips provided here (thanks).
Danielle says
Hi AJ,
Thank you for using The Baby Sleep Site as a resource! I’m sorry to hear you’re dealing with more night waking, though you’re right, it is common around this age! We don’t have any sample schedules until 3 months, since most younger babies are still all over the place, but we do have an article with some 2 month-old tips that I hope will help here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/newborns/2-month-old-baby-sleep-tips/
And our 3 month old sample schedule is here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/3-month-old-baby-sleep-and-feeding-schedule/
Please let us know if we can help further, and good luck!
Carolina says
This sounds like a good schedule, but with the feed and go right back to sleep part btw 11:30pm and 6:30am, where is there a time for changing a wet/ poopied diaper?
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Carolina – Thanks for writing and for using us as a resource for sleep! Feel free to make the suggested schedule your own, and defintely take a few minutes to change a diaper when needed! You can squeeze that right into the schedule at anytime!
Good luck!
Yesenia Flores says
My 4 week old is not really having long wake times before 4pm. She’s falling asleep right after having her bottle which is sometimes resulting in 30 min naps & is feeding every 2 hours. After 4-5pm, she’s very awake for 2-3 hours & is very difficult to get down for naps. I try to start her bedtime routine around 9:30 especially if she’s been up since 7:30. Most times she goes right to sleep, but sometimes it takes 1-2 hours to put her to sleep. If she doesn’t take a catnap before 8pm & falls asleep sometime after 8-8:30, it takes so long to get her down for bedtime. Granted she does sleep 4-6 hour stretches at night, but the late afternoons are exhausting. Does this sound pretty normal?
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Yesenia Flores, congratulations on your new baby! This does sound pretty normal to me, yes. It sounds like you are trying your best to keep her wake times to a minimum – the goal would be that they aren’t awake longer than 1.5-2 hours but it sounds like you’re trying to get her to sleep in the evening. It’s normal for newborns to be fussing in the evening as well so as crazy as it can make you, it sounds like you are doing your best and it will hopefully pass soon! Here is a link to download a free guide with tips for new parents: https://www.babysleepsite.com/15-free-baby-sleep-facts-new-parents-must-know/ You may also be interested to know that we have an ebook available for new parents that covers sleep through the first year and helps you learn how to establish healthy sleep habits in your baby from the start. Here is a link to read more about our ebook if you’re interested: https://www.babysleepsite.com/essential-keys-to-your-newborns-sleep/
I hope this helps and you enjoy lots of precious newborn cuddles! Such a wonderful time.
Isabella says
Thank you for your great article. I need some advice. I have a 2 weeks old baby and four days ago she started sleeping very long times (day and night 5-6 hours) and being awake in between also for 5-6 hours. The problem is that she starts drinking in this awake times and after twenty minutes i notice she is full. but i feel like she thinks she has to “pre-drink” for her long sleeping times and she then starts wanting to drink but gets in a crisis and cries and doesnt really drink. this can go on for up to four hours where she is just screeming as soon as i want to feed her, but makes hunger signs and stares in the air when i dont feed her. and i am completely exhausted. i m not even sure if i m right about my theory, do you have any experience with such a behavior? and do you think i should give the schedule a try? i live in a country where i cant ask a professional to come by and help me so the internet is my only solution. thank you so much from a very sleepy mom:)
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Isabella, thanks for writing to us and congratulations on your new baby girl! We would love to help. First off, here is a link to download our free guide with tips for parents of newborns: https://www.babysleepsite.com/15-free-baby-sleep-facts-new-parents-must-know/
With a newborn you’ll want to try to keep her wake times to a minimum between 1-2 hours so she doesn’t get overtired, but I am glad to hear she’s been doing some longer stretches at night! If you find the long sleeps during the day are keeping her up at night you may try going through the schedule and waking her after a couple hours to make sure her days and nights even out. I hope this helps!
Janna Rodgers says
I tried this exact schedule sample for my 6 week old….and it worked the very first day. I was having the hardest time at night getting her to go to sleep, we would be up till 3 am. I think it was because she was napping to long in the day or not enough and I didnt really have a schedule I did what I thought she wanted….I love you for posting this it works perfect for us…thank you so much! I hope it continues to work 🙂
Neosha says
@Janna – Thank you for your comment and congratulations on your new addition! We’re so glad the schedule’s working so well for you! Just be ready to tweak it as she grows – we have sample schedules for each month available for you. 🙂
adrienne says
If we were looking to try this schedule, do you recommend waking babies up from naps if they go longer than 30-60 minutes? Our 4 week old can go sometimes 3 hours if he is comfortable and in the rock n play or with one of us.
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Adrienne, thank you for visiting the Baby Sleep Site and congratulations on your new baby! If you find your baby has his days and nights flipped, you may decide you want to wake him, and it is important to follow your baby’s doctor’s recommendations on the frequency of feeding based on what they need for his current weight. Newborns can be so so sleepy!! Here is a link to download a free guide with tips for parents with newborns: https://www.babysleepsite.com/15-free-baby-sleep-facts-new-parents-must-know/
I hope this helps! Thanks for reading and we hope we can be here to help through all the growing your sweet one will be doing!
Sarah says
My daughter is 11 days old. Do you think she is to young to start this schedule? I know that it says 2 -8 week olds. Thank you!!!!
Sarah
Neosha says
@Sarah – Thank you for reading and congratulations on your new baby! 🙂 We generally tell parents that it’s never too soon to start laying a healthy foundation for your baby’s sleep. So long as you work within her needs and keep your expectations super realistic and flexible as she’s a newborn who needs lots of sleep and lots of feedings at this stage, this should be perfectly fine. Best of luck to you!
Sharika says
My 3 months old baby is sleeping too much in the night.. in day time she is very active and less in sleep…bt every one hour I feed her bt its only for 10 or 15mnts…bt exact problem in the night…when ever I woke up her for feeding she will never open her mouth I tried a lot and fed up…bt after 5 or 6 hrs of continuous sleeping she woke up and ready for feed…then also it is only oru 10mnts…now her weight is 6 kg…I worried that may be she is having some issues…pls help me…
Neosha says
@Sharika – Thank you for reading and for sharing. I know how exhausting and confusing this type of behavior can be – who would ever have thought that your baby sleeping for long stretches at night would be cause for worry! Babies her age are becoming much more alert during the day which can cause them to sleep a bit more in the night, for sure. Your daughter’s healthcare provider would be better able to let you know how she’s doing with her feeding and health overall depending on if she’s growing well from birth. This article goes over a 3-month old’s sleep in a bit more detail, which you may find helpful as you work through her sleep vs feeding needs: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/3-month-old-baby-sleep-and-feeding-schedule/ If you find you need more support, please consider connecting with one of our consultants -https://www.babysleepsite.com/about Hang in there, Sharika!