Hannah from Little Dreams Devon and Cornwall is a local baby and child sleep consultant. She has written a blog summarising what to expect from your child’s sleep in the different age stages.
Newborn (0-3 months)
Congratulations on your new bundle of joy! Did you know that babies do not know the difference between day and night? In fact, as a generalisation, they often spend around 8 hours sleeping in the day and 8 hours in the night. We can help newborns to learn the difference between day and night. During the day, expose your little one to natural sunlight (curtains opened, walks, and naps in the light). During the night, use whisper voices or silence, and keep the environment as close to 10/10 dark (with a dim light for feeding).
Newborns (under 6 weeks)
Young newborns need lots of sleep! Most little one’s of this age can only stay awake for 45-60 minutes before becoming overtired. You will probably need to support your little one to sleep – for example, bouncing on a birth ball, sling walks (great for babies struggling with reflux), feeding, rocking, whatever it is that helps your little one to fall asleep.
Newborns (6-12 weeks)
Older newborns can stay awake for a bit longer, roughly 60-90 minutes. You may want to introduce a bedtime routine at around the 8–10-week mark, but it is never too late to introduce a bedtime routine. A good routine will be around 20 minutes long at this stage, and in the same order every night. For example, bath (or wash), nappy, pyjamas, swaddle (unless bedsharing), feed, and pop down into their sleeping space.
Do you want some sleep support with your newborn? I offer a 90-minute antenatal package which will equip you with the confidence to navigate newborn sleep in the early days.
3–6-month-olds
Lots happens during this stage!
Firstly the ‘4-month sleep regression’ – what is it? and how long does it last? It is the only true sleep regression (the rest are developmental) and it is when a baby develops their ‘adult-like’ sleep cycles. Newborns spend 50% time in dream sleep and 50% in deep sleep. During the ‘4-month sleep regression’ they develop their ‘light stages’ of sleep too. See below…
Awake – rem (dream) – stages 1 and 2 (light sleep) – stages 3-4 (deep sleep) – rem (dream).
The effects of the ‘4-month sleep regression’ sometimes go unnoticed. If sleep does regress, typically the regression lasts around 2-4 weeks.
What else do we need to know about this stage? Your little one will be on 3 naps and will be able to stay awake for 1-2.5 hours at a time.
6-14 months
At around the 6–7-month mark, babies will transition to 2 naps. This will reduce to 1 nap typically around 12-14 months. But remember that every baby is different and your little one may do it at a slightly different pace! Little one’s of this age can stay awake for around 3-4 hour at a time.
Once babies are fully weaned (three meals per day), offer solids before milk to ensure this does not take the edge of their hunger.
15 months – 3 years
These children will be well established on 1 nap per day. Typically, this nap will need to be dropped around the 2.5-3-year mark (parents are never quite ready for this!). Before dropping the nap, you can slowly cap the nap from 2 hours, down to 90 minutes, 60 minutes, and then finally 30 minutes, before removing the nap altogether. These children can stay awake for 4-6 hours, so if bedtime has become difficult, check that they are not waking up too late from their nap
Three years plus
It is uncommon (but not unheard of!) for a little one to be regularly napping beyond three years. Be mindful of not overscheduling your little one’s days, particularly once they start their reception years. Thirty minutes of quiet time (1-1 time, a sleepy snack and a calming hand-to-eye coordination activity) and a thirty-minute bedtime routine (in the same order every night) is still extremely beneficial throughout their preschool and schooling years.
If you feel like you need more support with your little one’s sleep, please do not hesitate to get in touch. I work with children aged 4 months up to 10 years. Click here to book in for a free no-obligation 15 minute call to discuss how I can help with your little one’s sleep. My ‘child in a cot’ and’ child in a bed’ packages can be found here.
Useful links
The Lullaby Trust
The Lullaby Trust is a UK-based charity that provides advice to families for the prevention of Sudden Infant Death (SID’s).
Sleep Blogs
The secrets behind a great bedtime routine
Sleep Pressure (and awake windows)
Social Media
Follow Little Dreams Consulting Devon and Cornwall on Instagram and Facebook for sleep tips, blogs, events and information.
Website and Newsletter
As well as information on my support packages, you can also sign up for a monthly newsletter.
