Mastering the art
of sleep

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Some babies sleep well at night from the start, but others can take several months or longer to settle in. Here are some of the milestones you can expect.

Birth to 3 weeks

They’ll sleep between 12 and 20 hours every day, day or night, and wake every

2–3 hours for meals.

Some babies are more inclined to be awake during the day and sleep at night than others. The important thing is that they get the rest they need for brain development.

If you feed or change your baby at night, do it quickly and quietly with the lights low. Rock them back to sleep or pat them gently. Quiet music is good too.

Their sleep style is probably established by now, for better or worse. Try to create schedules that work for both of you.

Month 1

Month 2

Month 4

Your baby may be staying up for longer stretches now, and sleeping longer too. They should nap several times during the day and may need a late-night feeding.

Coping with less sleep

Until your baby gets the hang of sleeping through the night, you may need to adjust your own sleep habits. Here are some tips that may help:

Nap whenever possible