Helping Your Child Sleep: Newborn to 12 Months
Overview
Newborn and young babies need plenty of restful sleep to be healthy. And all new parents look for ways to get enough sleep as well. If you’re struggling through the day because you’re up at night, you're not alone. Remember that most new babies:
- Are unlikely to sleep through the night for the first few months.
- Have trouble sleeping at times, due to stressors such as colds, teething, or separation anxiety during the first year.
Helping your baby develop healthy sleep habits can enable your whole family to sleep well.
Some parents decide to "sleep train" their babies. This is a personal decision. There isn’t just one approach that works for all families. We’ll discuss several sleep training methods, but we don’t endorse a specific method.
Newborns (Birth to 2 Months)
Newborns typically sleep 15 to 18 of every 24 hours. They’re awake for 1- to 3-hour intervals during the day and night.
The best time to put your newborn to bed is when they first show signs of sleepiness. Learn your baby’s unique signs, such as:
- Moving arms and legs less
- Sucking more slowly
- Being less interested in people or toys
- Yawning
- Getting fussy
- Rubbing eyes (or looking tired)
The beginning of this drowsy stage is when it’s easiest for your baby to fall asleep. It doesn’t work as well if your baby is very fussy or colicky, especially in the evenings.
If you miss this “sleepy window,” your baby may become overly tired and “fight” sleep.
If sleep isn’t happening, be sure you’re meeting your baby’s needs. If your baby:
- Seems hungry, offer the breast or bottle. Also do this if you’re uncertain what’s needed.
- Is fussy, try rocking, swaddling, white noise, or giving a pacifier.
Continue soothing as long as your baby doesn’t seem overstimulated. If this happens, try placing your baby in their bassinet or crib to see if they can settle down.
Don’t let your baby cry for more than a few minutes. By responding to your baby’s needs, you’re teaching them to trust you. This period won’t last forever.
During sleep, your baby may:
- Be restless.
- Kick their arms or legs.
- Make sucking noises.
- Grimace or smile.
Encourage Nighttime Sleeping
Use these tips to help your newborn sleep more at night than during the day.
In the daytime:
- Interact with your baby. Talk, sing, play, cuddle, and care for them.
- Let your baby experience light, sounds, and daily life activities.
At night:
Lower the lights and keep the environment quiet.
Soothe when feeding or changing diapers, but avoid talking or play.
Keep middle-of-the-night feedings brief and quiet.
Sleeping Safely
To help your baby sleep safely, we recommend:
- Having your baby sleep on a firm, flat mattress in their own crib or bassinet, placed in your room.
- Making sure the crib or bassinet and mattress meet current safety standards.
- Keeping your baby comfortably warm but not hot, while sleeping.
Be sure to:
- Place your baby on their back in the crib or bassinet. Keep their face and head away from blankets, other bedding, or stuffed animals.
- Avoid smoking in the home and around your child.
You can also help your baby sleep safely by learning more about how to prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
What about sharing your bed?
Some parents wish to share their bed with their baby. The idea is that if they wake up next to you, they’ll feel safe and fall back to sleep more easily.
Sharing your bed is unsafe, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
- You (or your partner) may unknowingly roll over on your baby.
- Your bed’s soft mattress, pillows, or fluffy blankets can increase the risk of suffocation.
- Your baby’s risk for SIDS increases.
If you decide to co-sleep, follow these precautions to keep your baby safer:
- Don’t use alcohol, medications that cause deep sleep, or similar substances before bed.
- Tie back long hair.
- Limit pillows and blankets in your bed.
Babies (2 to 5 Months)
Some babies are naturally “easy” sleepers, and sleep for long stretches as early as 6 weeks. They’ll fuss and rub their eyes at the same time each day, telling you it’s time for a nap.
Other babies take up to 6 months to have predictable sleep patterns. It depends on your baby’s natural temperament as well as your family’s routines.
By 6 months of age, most babies no longer need to be fed during the night, but may still wake up briefly. As your baby gets older, they need fewer daytime naps.
Babies (6 to 12 Months)
Babies ages 6 to 12 months should sleep 9 to 12 hours each night and need daytime naps.
Set a bedtime routine
Set up calming, relaxing naptime and bedtime routines. Put your baby to bed at the same times daily to help establish healthy rhythms. Try not to vary sleep times by more than 1 hour.
This simple, brief routine works for most babies:
- Talk to them about getting ready for sleep.
- Allow 15 to 30 minutes for winding down.
- Change their diaper and put on comfortable pajamas or a T-shirt.
- Read a brief story or sing a quiet song.
Over time, following a routine makes sleep time a welcome respite for everyone, instead of a struggle.
You may need to reset the sleep routine after your baby gets over a cold or other illness, goes through teething, or needs extra care for another reason. When they have recovered, you can reestablish the routine.
Understand common sleep problems
Sleep patterns can be affected by:
- Becoming more independent, when babies start to crawl and later to walk.
- Being away from parents (separation anxiety).
- Having more colds, flu, or other illnesses during ages 6 months to 1 year, as babies are exposed to more people.
Try these solutions
Place your baby in their crib when drowsy but not yet asleep. Make sure your baby's room is dark, quiet, and comfortable so they can fall asleep without interruption.
Keep to your familiar sleep time routine.
Sleeping Through the Night
Helping your baby fall asleep on their own at the beginning of the night is the most important step in sleeping through the night. This is called “sleep training.”
There are a number of different strategies to help your baby fall asleep on their own and learn how to self-soothe back to sleep when they wake up in the middle of the night.
To decide how to help your baby sleep through the night, you may want to:
- Learn more about various sleep training methods, through books and other tools.
- Talk with family and friends.
The best method for your family is the one that you can stick with consistently.
When to Call Us
Call us at the Appointment and Advice Call Center if your baby:
- Consistently has difficulty with falling or staying asleep.
- Is very sleepy during the day.
Lack of sleep can affect their health.
Additional References
Disclaimer
If you have an emergency medical condition, call 911 or go to the nearest hospital. An emergency medical condition is any of the following: (1) a medical condition that manifests itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that you could reasonably expect the absence of immediate medical attention to result in serious jeopardy to your health or body functions or organs; (2) active labor when there isn't enough time for safe transfer to a Plan hospital (or designated hospital) before delivery, or if transfer poses a threat to your (or your unborn child's) health and safety, or (3) a mental disorder that manifests itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity such that either you are an immediate danger to yourself or others, or you are not immediately able to provide for, or use, food, shelter, or clothing, due to the mental disorder.
This information is not intended to diagnose health problems or to take the place of specific medical advice or care you receive from your physician or other health care professional. If you have persistent health problems, or if you have additional questions, please consult with your doctor. If you have questions or need more information about your medication, please speak to your pharmacist. Kaiser Permanente does not endorse the medications or products mentioned. Any trade names listed are for easy identification only.