How Much Sleep Do Newborns Need?

Newborns sleep a total of 16 hours a day in various length fragments. Most newborns will only sleep 8-10 hours at night but in 2-3-hour chunks and need to eat every 2-3 hours. For this reason, most newborn babies will need a late bedtime until they increase their nighttime sleep.

And, while some naps during the day might be 1-2 hours, some naps will be short 30-45 minutes. Most newborns can’t stay awake very long during the day so they have to sleep frequently. But, every nap can’t be long and luxurious, otherwise, they would be up half the night! No one wants that, of course.

You May Also Be Interested In…

• Newborn Day/Night Confusion Explained
• Newborn Sleep Patterns Guide
• Newborn Sleep and Feeding Schedules by Week
• 15 Baby Sleep Facts New Parents Must Know: a FREE e-Book

How Much Sleep Do Babies Need?

For babies between 3 and 5 months old, they need 10-12 hours of sleep at night and 3-4 hours during the day, on average. And, babies 6+ months old typically need 10-12 hours of sleep at night and 2-3 hours during the day.

Keep in mind that because these are averages, some babies will naturally fall above this number and some will fall below. Those who fall below average in the amount of sleep they need tend to be more active and observant babies though not always. These schedules are usually the most challenging and it will be harder to follow the “textbook” schedules out there. If you aren’t sure if your baby falls above or below the averages, you may want to log your baby’s sleep for 1-2 weeks. The total amount will stay relatively constant unless you have other sleep problems.

You May Also Be Interested In…

• Baby Nap Chart: How Many Naps and How Long?
• FREE Sample Sleep and Feeding Schedules for All Ages
• Baby Bedtimes by Age: Chart

How Much Sleep Do Babies Need: Chart By Age

How Did We Make This Sleep Needs Chart?

The above chart is derived from over 10 years of experience as a sleep consultant, with thousands of families, in conjunction with the following two books:

Solve Your Child’s Sleep Problems by Dr. Richard Ferber
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth M.D.

While you can obviously read multiple 200+ page books, we strive to bring you practical information at your fingertips that you can put to use right away.

Need Sleep Help For Your Baby or Toddler? The Baby Sleep Site^® Is Here For You!

If you are looking for a more customized solution for your unique situation, and want plenty of support along the way, please consider one-on-one baby and toddler sleep consultations. Your consultation package will provide you with the chance to interact one-on-one with a trained sleep consultant, who will create a Personalized Sleep Plan™ for your family and then work to help you implement it at home.

Our VIP Members Area is packed with exclusive content and resources: e-Books, assessments, detailed case studies, expert advice, peer support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately! As a VIP member, you’ll also enjoy a weekly chat with an expert sleep consultant.

Essential Keys to Your Newborn’s Sleep is THE newborn sleep book that will help you to not only improve your newborn’s sleep using gentle, sleep-inducing routines – it will also answer your feeding and newborn care questions. You can even buy a bundle package that includes the e-book AND a Personalized Sleep Plan™ PLUS a follow-up email to use for further support!

If you’re looking for ways to get your baby or toddler into a healthy sleeping routine during the day, I encourage you to explore Mastering Naps and Schedules, a comprehensive guide to napping routines, nap transitions, and all the other important “how-tos” of good baby sleep. With over 45 sample sleep schedules and planning worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style.”

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It’s no secret that we at The Baby Sleep Site are dedicated to helping parents help their children to gently fall asleep independently, and take long restorative naps. If your little one is waking up in the night or mid-way through their nap, chances are they need to let go of sleep associations or adjust their schedules to combat over-tiredness.

Learning to sleep independently and having an ideal sleep schedule are two of the most important factors to helping your child get the sleep they need. But, what happens when your little one is sleeping on their own and already has an age-appropriate schedule, but still isn’t sleeping well!!? Here’s a look at some of the surprising reasons you may have missed.

Lower Sleep Needs

From 6 to 18 months, most babies will need about 13 to 15 hours of total sleep in a day. These are just averages, but the “typical” child – if there is such a thing! – will fall somewhere in that range. Every so often, however, we have found little ones who may need less or even sometimes more than that. What happens when a baby who needs less sleep has a “typical” schedule?

The clues may show up in a few different ways – That child might wake super early, have very short naps, or they will often have a hard time consolidating their night sleep, meaning they may stay awake for long periods during the night. It is important to remember that this is a conclusion we arrive at only after we have eliminated other options. The reason is that many of these clues could have other explanations as well.

So, before concluding that your little one simply needs less sleep, it’s important to be sure they have the opportunity to sleep independently before getting overtired, and keep a comprehensive sleep log for one to two weeks in order to confirm that their sleep needs may actually be lower than their peers.

Nap Transition

Another less-obvious reason your little one may not be sleeping is that they are ready for a nap transition sooner than you may have anticipated. Just as there are averages for how much sleep babies need, there are also general age ranges for when babies are ready to transition to fewer naps.

In our experience, most babies are not ready to transition to 1 nap until they are around 15-18 months. However, we’ve also seen many outliers who were ready much sooner, or not ready until much later. These children don’t necessarily need fewer hours of sleep, but may be able to stay awake longer before sleeping again. If your little one is ready to drop a nap before you realize it, this may show up in the form of insomnia or early wakings as well.

So, if your little one has been a champ sleeper for some time, is not at the age of one of a major sleep regressions, and all of a sudden is not sleeping, this may be a possible cause. In this case, again, before making any drastic changes, it is worth it to keep a sleep log, and ideally have it reviewed by an experienced sleep professional who can analyze what may be going on.

Temperament

We say this a lot because it is so true – every child is unique! This is why we strongly believe there are no one-size-fits-all sleep solutions. Every temperament may require a slightly different approach, and if you have a very persistent or very perceptive little one, you likely already know that what works for your friends’ babies, may not work for you.

We have worked with babies that are so perceptive that it is almost impossible for them to sleep while on the go, and sometimes only after a lot of tears. For a perceptive child, their sleep environment may be key to ensuring healthy sleep. If it is too bright in the room, or the night light is in a white/blue/green hue it could be disrupting your perceptive little one’s sleep! It can help to place the night light out of their line of sight, and keep it very dim, as well as choose warm hues.

Wetness

It’s true that many babies don’t seem to mind a wet diaper during the night, and most disposables do a very good job absorbing wetness. Cloth diapers are great for baby’s skin and for the environment, but they don’t do as great of a job wicking away wetness from the skin. So, if your little one is sensitive to different textures and sensations, and you are using cloth diapers, this may be affecting sleep because the wetness will be more noticeable. One cloth-diapering parent of ours tried disposables overnight and her little one started sleeping through the night right away!

As always we emphasize that learning to sleep independently and having a schedule that allows for plenty of rest is key in helping babies get the sleep they need. But, sometimes the answer is not as clear. We need to take a deeper look at all the factors surrounding a child’s sleep, and the conclusion can sometimes surprise us all!

Did you find a surprising reason your little one wasn’t sleeping? We would love to hear from you!

The post Baby Not Sleeping? You Might Be Surprised to Learn Why! appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.

You finally get to hold your precious baby in your arms, your own little miracle and even if it’s your second, third, or sixth, there is nothing ever like it in the entire world. You spend the first few weeks bonding, but suddenly the exhaustion starts to take a toll and you wonder when you will ever get to sleep, truly sleep, for the whole night again. For most new, and even veteran parents, the holy grail of getting life back to “normal” is getting to “sleep through the night” again. So, today, we will talk about when it is realistic to expect your baby to sleep through the night, and how to help your little one get there.

Newborns

Of course, your neighbor is happy to report that her baby was sleeping through the night at 6 weeks old, while your newborn still wakes up several times. It is true, some newborns may sleep through the night at a very young age, but this is definitely not typical for this age, so don’t despair if your newborn isn’t doing long stretches yet.

Newborns have small tummies, so at 2-3 months, whether your baby is breastfed or formula-fed, 2-3 night feedings are still considered age-appropriate. In addition, newborns sleep longer during the day, 4-6 hours depending on age, so their nighttime sleep is not as long as an older baby’s. In fact, for a newborn, “sleeping through the night” actually means sleeping 5-6 hours without waking to feed.

“Only 5-6 hours!” you may be thinking. But, if you are waking every 2-3 hours, a 5-6 hour stretch can feel almost magical. If you have a newborn, how do you help her get to that magical 5-hour stretch? One very important thing to keep in mind is that with newborns, everything is connected. So, when their feeding and napping schedule is in sync, this promotes better nighttime sleep.

To maximize your newborn’s sleep at night and get the magical 5-hour stretch, the 3 main things to remember are:

1. Keep your newborn’s awake time very short. Many can only do 60 to 90 minutes before needing to sleep again.

2. Maximize daytime feedings – The goal is to try to get about 75% of your baby’s calories in feedings during the day.

3. Avoid “day-night confusion” – This happens when your baby sleeps more during the day than at night. Although it is very common with newborns in the first few weeks, it should resolve by around 6 weeks. If your little one is sleeping very long stretches during the day, you may need to wake her periodically (ideally naps should be no longer than 2 hours) and expose her to sunlight (not direct) during the day, to encourage her body to sleep longer stretches at night. For additional tips on how to help your newborn get his best sleep, check our must-have e-book Essential Keys to Your Newborn’s Sleep

Young babies

We generally consider young babies as those between the ages of 4-8 months old. At this age, although many will still need night feedings, we start to see more babies be able to sleep through the night, which at this point we would consider the full 10-12 hours per night.

If your baby is 4-5 months old, it is likely they will still need to feed during the night, so at this age, we continue to encourage the magical 5-hour stretch. Starting around 6 months, if your baby is formula-fed, most should be able to make it through the full night without feeding, and if your baby is breastfed, you can begin to aim for just 1 to 2 feedings during the night. So how do you encourage your little one to “sleep through the night” as a young baby?

1. Optimize your baby’s schedule – Although babies begin to stay up longer during the day, it is still important to avoid overtiredness, so watch your baby’s sleepy cues and don’t let them go much past the 2-3 hour mark before sleeping.

2. Continue to maximize daytime feedings – Babies are growing A TON at this age, so continue to make sure your little one is receiving most of his needed calories during the day to avoid frequent waking due to hunger.

3. Consider sleep coaching – Many babies will wake during the night due to sleep associations rather than hunger, so ensuring your baby can fall asleep and back to sleep independently becomes the key to maximizing nighttime sleep.

Older babies

We typically consider older babies as those between the ages of 9-12 months, and this is the age that most babies truly begin sleeping through the night for the full 11-12 hours most parents dream of. Your little one has grown so much by this point – they might be on the move, trying lots of different foods, learning new things every day! Very exciting stuff 🙂

If your baby is formula-fed they should no longer need night feedings at this age, which is great news! If your baby is breastfed, although a few may still need a feeding until a year old, many will be able to make it through the full 11-12 hours, so we recommend at least attempting to night-wean. Here are the top tips for helping your older baby sleep through the night.

1. Schedule, schedule, schedule – I know I must sound like a broken record by now, but this is really important, parents. And it can be a balance, but we want to continue to avoid overtiredness while giving baby enough awake time between naps. At this age, we start to see 3-4 hours before naps and bedtime.

2. Feedings – Again, babies this age are still going through a very rapid rate of development, and active babies are hungry babies 🙂 At this age it may be necessary to add a daytime feeding or two to keep up with their needs, especially if they’ve recently become more active.

3. Sleep Coaching – If you haven’t begun sleep coaching your baby and they are still struggling with sleep associations, this is a great time to start! If you had been coaching but may have lost your way due to a regression or illness, this is the time to get back on track. Regressions will happen such as the 8-month sleep regression, but consistency will help get you and your baby back to consolidated night sleep again. For more on toddler sleep training, click here.

Sleeping through the night may seem like a distant dream, but it doesn’t have to be! If you are dreaming of a full night’s sleep, and don’t know how to get there, we are here to help. Our team of expert, compassionate sleep consultants is ready and waiting to work with you on your child’s sleep. Connect with a consultant today, and she will create a Personalized Sleep Plan^® that’s unique to your child and accounts for factors like your kiddo’s temperament and your parenting goals.
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Imagine when you put your baby to sleep, your baby doesn’t cry. Your baby happily plays in his or her crib, looks at the mobile, or babbles, but isn’t sleeping. Or, your toddler happily chats in his bed for an hour every night before going to sleep. You’re lucky, right? This is the ideal baby sleep situation and you have nothing to worry about, right?

Wrong. Turns out that downtime in your baby’s crib – time in which she plays and entertains herself – might actually be detrimental to sleep. Read on for details!

Why Downtime In The Crib Can Be A Healthy and Productive Step

Occasionally, we’ll hear questions like this from our clients:

If my baby is making noise, but not crying, is it OK to leave them in the crib? For how long? Is it cruel? Will it make for a bad start to the day?

Really, we need to take this question in several parts. First, let’s address the first part of the question about whether or not you should immediately tend to your baby when he awakens, crying or not.

If your baby wakes too early in the morning (what is “too early” will be different for everyone, of course!) and she is not crying, we would absolutely recommend that you NOT go in to engage her. This will inadvertently reinforce her continuing to wake up too early. If your baby is crying, you will want to limit your engagement (i.e. offer comfort but do not reinforce the early waking by offering loads of intervention), feed her, if appropriate, change her diaper, etc. But not make it FUN to be up and try not to get her up UP for the day. This may “set” her internal clock to continue to wake early.

If your baby wakes up in the morning and it’s not “too early” but she’s happy, allowing some play time is perfectly okay. Nicole remembers a phase like this in her own life:

I remember one phase in my son’s sleep when I’d hear him wake up, it wasn’t too early, so I’d go in to get him up and he fussed at me for coming in too early! The first day he did this, I didn’t understand, but after a couple more times I figured out that he was enjoying his “relaxation time” in the morning. When we used to have a lot of sleep problems, I would have NEVER believed that this could happen!

Now, as to whether or not it is cruel to allow your baby to have alone time in her bed: all parents have different philosophies on this. Our take on it is if baby isn’t upset, some independent “think” time or relaxation is not a bad thing and may even be a good idea. After all, for many of us, our best ideas come when we’re lying in bed (or at least not talking to anyone), in the shower, on the treadmill – in short, during times when we are in our own world and not engaging with anyone else. Likewise, your baby may enjoy downtime and if she isn’t crying, she probably does!

When Downtime In The Crib Turns Ugly

Now that we’ve covered the “good” of downtime in the crib, let’s take a look at the “bad”. Although independent play time can be good, at some point, allowing too much “down time” in the crib or bed can be bad for your baby’s sleep, and you do want to avoid it. Just because you may have an easy-going baby who will lay in bed for hours without crying doesn’t mean she should. Here are two reasons we don’t advocate for an abundance of downtime in the crib:

1. First of all, during the newborn and early infant stage (when baby’s skull is still forming), too much time on your baby’s back can cause Plagiocephaly, their head to be flat or misshapen. Since it is recommended for SIDS prevention to put your baby on his back to sleep, this has become more prevalent. You will want to give your baby plenty of tummy time to play during the day.
2. Second (and here’s where sleep comes in) too much “resting” time can actually lead to short naps, more night-wakings, and especially long middle of the night wakings, for older babies and toddlers.

Tips For Encouraging Healthy Amounts of Crib Downtime For Your Baby

• Once past the initial sleep coaching period, limit “down time” to a maximum of 20-30 minutes before naps and 30 minutes prior to bedtime, if possible.
• If your baby or toddler has not fallen asleep within 20-30 minutes of going down for a nap, consider getting them up and trying again about 30 minutes later. OR, if it’s at night, reconsider his schedule and consider pushing bedtime back.
• Don’t make schedule decisions based on one day or even two. If your baby has a lot of “down time” for one day, that is okay. Life happens! This article is discussing more of a consistent pattern over days/weeks/months, not a one-time event.

In the end, you know your baby best and what’s “too much” for one baby won’t be for another. We had a client once whose toddler took 45 minutes to fall asleep at bedtime, no matter what time mom and dad put her down. She (the toddler) would “chat” to herself about her day and seemed to need that “unwind” time. For her, this was perfectly acceptable and even what she needed. Once our client knew that, she could build that downtime into her schedule. As always, keep in mind that something isn’t a problem until it becomes one.

How about you? Do you incorporate downtime for your child in the crib or in bed? Does downtime before sleep work for your baby or toddler? Scroll down to share your story, to ask questions, and to hear from other parents just like you!

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It’s that time again: time for new sleep guidelines from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). Every so often, the AASM releases recommendations for healthy child sleep; now, we have their 2016 recommendations. Let’s take a look!

How Much Sleep Do Babies and Toddlers Need?

Our team looked at this area of the report first, and we were very pleased to learn that our sleep plan recommendations line up exactly with the recommended sleep totals from the AASM:

• Infants 4 months to 12 months should sleep 12 to 16 hours per 24 hours (including naps) on a regular basis to promote optimal health.
• Children 1 to 2 years of age should sleep 11 to 14 hours per 24 hours (including naps) on a regular basis to promote optimal health.
• Children 3 to 5 years of age should sleep 10 to 13 hours per 24 hours (including naps) on a regular basis to promote optimal health.
• Children 6 to 12 years of age should sleep 9 to 12 hours per 24 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health.
• Teenagers 13 to 18 years of age should sleep 8 to 10 hours per 24 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health.

Why Is Good Baby and Toddler Sleep Important?

We’ve written about this quite a bit before and were very pleased to see that the new AASM recommendations reiterate the importance of quality sleep while also warning about the dangers of chronic sleep deprivation. From the report:

The group found that adequate sleep duration for age on a regular basis leads to improved attention, behavior, learning, memory, emotional regulation, quality of life, and mental and physical health.

Not getting enough sleep each night is associated with an increase in injuries, hypertension, obesity and depression, especially for teens who may experience increased risk of self-harm or suicidal thoughts.

We would add to this that, among parents of young children, “adequate sleep” can sometimes bec considered an afterthought or an unattainable goal. In reality, however, all babies and toddlers CAN learn to sleep soundly and nap consistently with some gentle sleep coaching from mom or dad. Even better, when you prioritize sleep early on in your child’s life, you create a foundation for lifelong healthy sleep habits that will benefit your child well into their adult years.

And speaking of healthy sleep habits, this brings us to the final recommendation from the AASM….

Why “Screens Off” Is A Key Part Of Healthy Sleep Hygiene

There are many elements that make up healthy sleep “hygiene”, including….

• …having a comfortable, dim, noise-free sleep environment.
• …establishing healthy pre-sleep routines.
• …limiting (or eliminating) high-sugar foods close to bedtime.
• …enjoying relaxing, quiet activities right before bed.

Interestingly, however, the AASM prioritizes one sleep hygiene recommendation above all others:

In addition to these recommendations, the AAP suggests that all screens be turned off 30 minutes before bedtime and that TV, computers and other screens not be allowed in children’s bedrooms.

Why the focus on eliminating screens from the bedroom and minimizing screen time right before bed? Perhaps because we are living in the most “wired” society in human history! Your family (children included) is no doubt surrounded by screens of all shapes and sizes all day long. But in truth, TV and sleep just do not mix. It’s so crucial, then, that limited screen time and no screens in the bedroom be an integral part of your family’s sleep routines.

How much sleep do your children get? Questions or comments about these baby and toddler sleep guidelines? Scroll down to leave a question or a comment and to hear from other parents!

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As many people know, it is important to have a consistent bedtime for your baby or toddler. That, plus a good bedtime routine, is generally the first step in working towards sleeping through the night, and towards creating a predictable daily sleep and feeding schedule.

But what are the best bedtimes by age, exactly? A bedtime that’s too early may result in early-morning waking and short naps, but a too-late bedtime may make your baby overtired, which can lead to a whole host of sleep problems at night. Therefore, the best bedtimes by age depend on your unique baby’s sleep needs and development.

Not to worry, parents – as usual, we have the information you need! We’ve even organized it for you and everything – and we’ve made it printable! Stick this on your baby’s bedroom wall, put a copy in your diaper bag to reference when you’re traveling, hand it out to friends at your morning moms’ group – you get the idea! Scroll down to find out how you can get a printable PDF version of this chart.

Average Baby and Toddler Bedtimes By Age

*Average Wake Time refers to the amount of time your baby or toddler is able to comfortably stay awake during the day, between naps.
 

Want to save and print this chart? CLICK HERE for a print-friendly PDF copy!

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!

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Holiday merriment approaches, readers! However you celebrate the holidays, I hope you have lots of holiday fun in store in the coming weeks.

Speaking of holiday fun — have you ever found yourself simultaneously blessing and cursing the holiday plans you’ve made? There’s lots to enjoy this time of year, between the parties and the dinners and the special events. But all that enjoyment also tends to mean wacky schedules for your little ones – especially when the fun leads to late bedtimes.

So, if there’s a holiday event that you really, really want to attend, but you’re reluctant to disrupt your baby or toddler’s schedule – what do you do? Do you enjoy a flurry of holiday activities, and end up with a grumpy and over-tired little one? Or do you prioritize bedtime and miss out on the action?

Should You Keep Your Baby or Toddler Up Late, or Simply Stay Home?

This is a tough question, because the answer depends so much on unique factors, like your baby or toddler’s personality and sleep needs. So ultimately, this is one of those decisions that’s best left to you. We’ll just supply some information and point out some considerations to help you make that choice. 🙂

So, with that said – here are the factors you’ll want to consider in deciding whether or not you should bring the kids along to that family holiday party:

• Is your baby or toddler adaptable enough to handle the schedule change? Adaptable babies are more likely to accept schedule changes without too much fuss, while slow-to-adapt babies tend to be much, much less forgiving when it comes to disruptions to the routine.
• Does your baby or toddler have high sleep needs? Some babies and toddlers are able to get by on less sleep — they tend to make up the lower end of those ‘sleep average’ numbers we sometimes highlight in our blog posts and e-books. However, other babies and toddlers have higher sleep needs – they tend to need more nighttime and nap time sleep than other kids their age.

If your baby or toddler is pretty adaptable, and will do okay with a little less sleep than normal, then having a night or two of holiday fun probably won’t make much of a difference in your little one’s demeanor. However, if your baby is slow-to-adapt and has higher sleep needs, then even one ‘off’ night of less sleep may produce Mr. or Ms. Cranky Pants the next day!

What To Do After Your Baby or Toddler Stays Up Late

If you do decide to enjoy some late nights over the next week, bear in mind that there may very well be some aftermath to deal with the next day (some exhausted, fussy aftermath!). Here are a few tips to help your baby or toddler make up for lost sleep, and get back on track quickly:

• Let your baby or toddler sleep in the next morning, but be prepared for early rising. Obviously, if your little one sleeps past his normal wake-up time — let that happen! But he might not; remember, babies and toddlers who are overtired actually tend to wake early, so it may be that your late-night causes an earlier-than-normal morning wake-up.
• Make the first nap earlier. The first morning nap tends to be the most restorative, so consider moving it up in the schedule (especially if your baby or toddler seems cranky or tired before the normal nap time).
• If your toddler no longer naps during the day, insist on a rest time. Even non-napping toddlers may be extra sleepy after a late night, so firmly insist that your little one spend an hour or so in bed, with toys and books. This way, if she is feeling sleepy, you will have set the stage for sleep.
• Limit nap time, if it goes really long. Remember, babies and toddlers will shift sleep from nights to naps (and vice versa). So if your baby or toddler is napping way longer than usual, that might mean less sleep at night — and that’s not a cycle that any parent wants to start in motion!

Are sleepless nights and interrupted naps the unwelcome guests in your home this holiday season? Let us help you make it a merrier Christmas and a happier New Year!

If you are looking for a more customized solution for your unique situation, and want plenty of support along the way, please consider one-on-one baby and toddler sleep consultations. Your consultation package will provide you with the chance to interact one-on-one with a trained sleep consultant, who will create a Personalized Sleep Plan™ for your family and then work to help you implement it at home.
 

If you’re looking for ways to get your baby or toddler into a healthy sleeping routine during the day, I encourage you to explore Mastering Naps and Schedules, a comprehensive guide to napping routines, nap transitions, and all the other important “how-tos” of good baby sleep. With over 45 sample sleep schedules and planning worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style.

 
For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out The 3 Step System to Help Your Baby Sleep. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night.
 
 

For those persistent toddler sleep struggles, check out The 5 Step System to Better Toddler Sleep. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your toddler sleep through the night and enjoy a better daytime schedule.
 
 

Or, join our Members Area packed with exclusive content and resources: e-Books, assessments, detailed case studies, expert advice, peer support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately! As a member, you’ll also enjoy a weekly chat with an expert sleep consultant.

Can’t decide which product or service is right for you? Visit our Getting Started Page for help.

The post Should You Keep Your Baby or Toddler Up Late For Special Events? appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.

And guess what? As much as we parents will try our hardest to prevent it, our babies and toddlers are probably going to come down with a few viruses this season, too. And this raises an important question: how will these inevitable illnesses affect our babies’ and toddlers’ sleep?

Fortunately for you, that’s exactly what we’re talking about today! So read on, parents, and find out what you can expect, sleep-wise, this cold and flu season.

2 Ways That Illness Will Likely Affect Your Baby or Toddler’s Sleep

Most parents find that illness affects their babies’ and toddlers’ sleep in these two ways:

1. Your baby or toddler’s overall sleep amounts increase. This isn’t surprising, right? Illness affects us adults in the same way. And it’s no wonder — fighting off infection is hard work! That’s why fatigue is a symptom of just about every illness there is. In fact, fatigue and fever (which is your body’s way of fighting illness) often go hand-in-hand. Here’s a little aside: remember that fever itself is actually a sign that your child’s body is fighting infection. So no need to treat the fever unless it gets too high (over 104) or unless your child seems to be in pain. Sometimes, it’s best to let the fever run its course without medication.

   When your baby or toddler comes down with a virus, don’t be surprised if she naps more than usual, or if she seems ready for bed quite early (or sleeps in quite late.) This is perfectly normal. The best thing you can do is to let your baby or toddler sleep as much as she wants to (I know — so tough, right? 😉 ) Honestly, this is one of the upsides to your little one’s illness (if illness can have an upside) — you will end up with a lot more downtime than you normally have! So soak it up while you have it. I usually use my kids’ sick days to catch up on chores, work ahead on my writing, and read as much as I can of whatever book I happen to be devouring at the moment. 🙂

   Of course, if your baby or toddler’s extra-sleepy state lasts for longer than you feel is normal (longer than, say, 5-7 days), or if you become at all concerned that something more serious may be happening, don’t hesitate to contact a healthcare provider.

2. Your baby or toddler may wake more often than normal. Just when you thought it was all ‘more naps’ sunshine and ‘earlier bedtime’ roses…here comes the bad news. While it’s true that your baby or toddler will probably sleep more, overall, than he usually does, he will probably also wake more often than usual (particularly if he takes really long naps, or if he is sleeping through the night). For instance, a baby who normally sleeps through the night may wake a few times and need comfort. (This is especially true for stomach viruses — if your baby or toddler gets a stomach bug, prepare for some middle-of-the-night vomiting and/or diarrhea!)

   Same is true for naps. You might find that your normally-great napper takes shorter naps than usual, because he wakes from each nap early, out of discomfort. Instead of taking his usual long naps, your little one may take a series of shorter naps. Again, overall napping amounts will probably be greater, but you may not get those long stretches of sleep that you’re used to.

   I have found that my kids usually wake often at night, or wake early from naps, in the first 48 hours of an illness. After that, their symptoms (usually) calm down, and they start to gradually return to their normal sleeping habits.

Illness and Sleep Training: What Should You Do?

What if your little one falls ill in the midst of sleep training? What do you do then? Do you power through and keep coaching through the illness? Or do you ‘press pause’ and wait until your baby or toddler is healthy before resuming your sleep training?

Here’s our advice: if your baby or toddler is flat-out miserable, stop what you are doing, sleep-training wise, and focus on nursing your little one back to health. This may mean you end up taking a few steps back — you may need to rock/feed/swing to sleep again, for instance. But this is okay – it’s just a short-term solution to a short-term problem. But remember, to guard against short-term coddling becoming long-term sleep struggles, be sure you get back to your normal routine as soon as your baby or toddler is on the upswing. Wait too long, and it can feel like you’re starting all over with sleep training!

However, if your child is sick with a little sniffle, and seems to feel okay, you can continue on with your sleep training as normal. Basically, use your judgment, and treat your baby or toddler the way you would want to be treated in the same situation. Not many of us would drag ourselves into work if we were vomiting and had a 103 fever, right? So don’t ‘push through’ something like that with your little one! On the flip side, though, I’m sure all of us have gone on with our lives as normal when we had mild colds; your baby or toddler can probably do the same.

Sleep Training in Sickness and in Health!

Sleep “speed bumps” like illness, teething, and sleep regressions may slow down your sleep coaching progress, but they certainly don’t have to undo all of your sleep coaching progress! If you need more detailed tips on sleep coaching during illness without undoing everything, be sure to check out our article in our VIP Members Area, an extension of your village of sleep support. Or, if you are tired of reading, why not connect with one of our expert sleep consultants, and get professional help in navigating your little one’s sleep speed bumps? Your consultant will craft a Personalized Sleep Plan™ just for you that outlines exactly how you can navigate a speed bump like illness.

Browse our list of consultation package options here.

Once you make your choice and purchase, you will immediately receive an e-mail with your Helpdesk login information. You’ll be able to log in and get started right away!

Want more information about how personalized help works? Check out our FAQ page here, and get answers.

How does illness affect your little one’s sleep? Share your tips with other moms and dads!

For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out The 3 Step System to Help Your Baby Sleep. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night.
 

If you’re looking for ways to get your baby or toddler into a healthy sleeping routine during the day, I encourage you to explore Mastering Naps and Schedules, a comprehensive guide to napping routines, nap transitions, and all the other important “how-tos” of good baby sleep. With over 45 sample sleep schedules and planning worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style.

Or, join our VIP Members Area packed with exclusive content and resources: e-Books, assessments, detailed case studies, expert advice, peer support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately! As a VIP member, you’ll also enjoy a weekly chat with an expert sleep consultant.

Can’t decide which product or service is right for you? Visit our Getting Started Page for help.

The post 2 Ways Illness Affects Your Baby or Toddler’s Sleep (And Sleep Training) appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.

You may already know that things like teething, illness, and sleep regressions can affect your baby’s sleeping and feeding schedule. But did you know that your baby will go through a series of growth spurts in the first year of life and that these can cause big disruptions in sleep and feeding?

Baby Growth Spurts: When They Happen

The exact timing of growth spurts will vary from baby to baby, and not all babies will experience all the growth spurts listed below. But the following is a list of when many healthcare experts (not to mention tired parents!) notice growth spurts:

• 7-10 days
• 2 weeks
• 4 weeks
• 8 weeks
• 12 weeks
• 4 months
• 6 months
• 8.5 months
• 10.5 months
• 12.5 months

Growth spurts usually last 2-3 days, although they can last as long as a week.

Baby Growth Spurts: How They Affect Sleep and Feeding

During growth spurts, your baby will probably eat and sleep more than usual; this, of course, means that the sleep and feeding schedule you normally use may not work during a growth spurt. This is okay; let your baby take extra naps or go to bed earlier/wake up later. After a few days, your schedule should return to normal.

Same goes for feeding; if your baby seems extra hungry, go ahead and offer more food. If you are breastfeeding, it is especially important that you nurse more often; as your baby nurses more, your milk supply will increase, which in turn will ensure that you have enough milk to satisfy your growing baby.

Especially during the newborn stage, it may feel like all your baby does during a growth spurt is eat and sleep. For a few days (up to a week), this is perfectly normal. However, if your baby continues to only eat and sleep, and isn’t awake as often as you think he should be, you may want to take him to see a healthcare provider, to make sure nothing is wrong. It is possible for a baby to sleep too much (although this is rarely a problem.)

Need Baby or Toddler Sleep Help? You Came To The Right Place!

Are growth spurts wrecking your little one’s sleep? We can help with that! Our caring, compassionate consultants are standing by, ready to create a Personalized Sleep Plan™ that will help your baby learn to create positive sleep associations and start waking less often.
 
Browse our list of consultation package options here.
 

Once you make your choice and purchase, you will immediately receive an e-mail with your Helpdesk login information. You’ll be able to log in and start your Family Sleep History form right away – it’s that simple!

Want more information about how personalized help works? Check out our FAQ page here, and get answers.

Are you struggling through a growth spurt? Share your questions and story with us! Have tips? Share them with your fellow parents!

 
For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out The 3 Step System to Help Your Baby Sleep. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night.
 
 
 
If you’re looking for ways to get your baby or toddler into a healthy sleeping routine during the day, I encourage you to explore Mastering Naps and Schedules, a comprehensive guide to napping routines, nap transitions, and all the other important “how-tos” of good baby sleep. With over 45 sample sleep schedules and planning worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style.

Or, join our VIP Members Area packed with exclusive content and resources: e-Books, assessments, detailed case studies, expert advice, peer support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately! As a VIP member, you’ll also enjoy a weekly chat with an expert sleep consultant.

Can’t decide which product or service is right for you? Visit our Getting Started Page for help.

The post How Your Baby’s Growth Spurts Affect Sleep And Feeding appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.

When you work on helping your baby sleep better, sometimes it’s hard to know whether you can get even more sleep from him. Sometimes it might feel you are being greedy wanting more sleep – when you’ve already come so far. Or, sometimes when you work on naps, night sleep goes out the window or vice versa. This article will talk about whether napping or night sleep is more important and general guidelines to know whether you have a good balance of night sleep and naps.

Do babies need naps and night sleep or is night sleep enough? Are catnaps sufficient?

I had a client tell me once their doctor told them “Babies don’t need naps. They’re extra.” I was pretty shocked to hear this considering babies need A LOT of sleep. That was just once I’ve heard that, thankfully!

Will your baby survive? Yes, a baby can survive without any naps at all, but I would argue that it would likely affect their development, mood, and behavior. There are likely a few rare babies who don’t nap and are very happy during the day. And, some will likely grow up to be intelligent babies. Just like I’m sure there are babies who get an above-average amount of sleep and are still fussy or cranky (and maybe have average intelligence with challenging behavior, who knows?). There are always a few exceptions who are on the extreme end of any spectrum. My eldest son could barely function being awake longer than one hour 15 minutes until after 7 months of age, so he definitely thrives on getting the sleep he needs. There is NO way he’d be able to learn much of anything in his state when he is overtired, even now that he’s older. But, I have heard plenty of stories of babies who are happy and smiley with just little catnaps during the day.

But, are catnaps enough?

In my opinion, your baby’s happiness and behavior is the #1 thing you should watch when deciding whether he is getting enough sleep. Next, would be his development or abilities. If your toddler becomes extra clumsy and gets hurt a lot, for example, that could be a sign he is extra tired. How good is our balance when we are exhausted? If his attention span is very short sometimes and not others, perhaps this is a sign as well (short attention spans are normal, in general, so it might be hard to tell, but you know your baby best!).

Always keep in mind that your baby’s total sleep in a day will stay relatively constant, so a baby who sleeps 12 hours (some even more), it will directly impact how much sleep she may or may not need during the day. If her average total sleep is 13 1/2 hours then that means she may split 1 1/2 hours into 2-3 naps, for example. That means if you have a 6-month-old who takes three naps, you might be looking at three 30-minute catnaps, if she’s sleeping 12 hours at night. If she has above-average sleep needs, she can nap more than that.

So, what’s more important? More night sleep or longer naps?

As most of the articles on this site will say, this will depend on your baby and may take some trial and error, but here are some of my general guidelines and philosophies:

• If your baby is sleeping longer than 12 hours at night, but barely napping during the day, I would absolutely shorten night sleep to achieve longer naps and “balance” your baby’s sleep. Wait, you want me to wake my baby? :O Yes, as much as I try to help our babies sleep, this would be one situation I would wake your baby. Ideally, this would be a short-term strategy and her body will then regulate. You may need to find the right schedule for your baby.
• If your baby is sleeping just 10 hours (or less) at night, I consider this the minimum for all ages who likely frequent this site. Therefore, I would say the opposite, in this case, and say that if your baby is napping more than three hours per day, you should shorten naps to achieve more night sleep OR it’s time for a nap transition. If your baby is sleeping 10 hours or less and not napping much, then that is likely a different issue and you likely need to think about sleep training.
• If your baby is sleeping 11-12 hours at night, then I consider this the ideal amount of night sleep and I would work on achieving a good balance of napping, respecting her sleep needs. What I mean by that is that if your baby averages 14 hours of sleep in a day, for example, and is sleeping 12 hours at night, don’t expect much more than two hours total during the day. Trying to push her to nap too much and you are liable to affect her night sleep and you will end up in a vicious cycle. If she thrives on just 11 hours of sleep at night, but more napping, that is good to know, too!

There are so many variables in our babies’ schedules and how much our babies sleep. Your unique baby has unique sleep needs, so don’t be afraid of doing your own research on what’s best for YOUR baby and use what the books say or how much your friends’ babies sleep as a guideline, not a rule.

For even more nap and schedule help, check out these members-only resources, found in our VIP Members Area:

• Mastering Naps and Schedules e-Book (unlimited member access at no extra cost!)
• Custom Schedule-Maker (unlimited access – make as many schedules as you’d like! Includes meal times)
• Nap Transitions tele-seminar with Nicole Johnson
• Short Naps tele-seminar with Nicole Johnson
• How To Put Your Child on a Schedule tele-seminar with Nicole Johnson
• 5 Tips To Manage Nap Transitions [EXPANDED VIP MEMBER-ONLY VERSION]
• 5 Tips For Handling Tough Daycare Nap Schedules [EXPANDED VIP MEMBER-ONLY VERSION]
• Day-by-Day Nap Training Plan
• Downloadable Sleep/Nap Coaching Plan Workbook (learn how to create your own nap coaching plan!)
• Printable Sample Schedule Shifts Forward (great for daylight saving’s time change)

Not a VIP member? Not a problem! Join today, and you’ll receive instant access to our vast online library of sleep coaching resources.

Personalized Baby and Toddler Nap Help That Works – Guaranteed!

Don’t feel up to working on your baby or toddler’s nap challenges on your own? While our VIP Members Area is great for DIY moms who prefer to tackle sleep challenges on their own, we know that other moms much prefer to go straight to one-on-one help. Well, good news! We offer that, and you can start getting the personal help you need TODAY!

 
Browse our list of consultation package options here.
 

Once you make your choice and purchase, you will immediately receive an e-mail with your Helpdesk login information. You’ll be able to login and start your Family Sleep History form right away – it’s that simple!
 

How much is your baby sleeping, day and night?

The post What’s More Important – Naps or Night Sleep? appeared first on The Baby Sleep Site - Baby / Toddler Sleep Consultants.