Understanding Infant Nap Time
In the beginning, you might have noticed that your newborn slept a lot during the day. Generally, newborns sleep most of the time, waking every few hours due to hunger
(see The Newborn Sleep Schedule).
After the first three months, when your baby weighs around 13 pounds, infants begin to adapt their sleeping schedule to be closer to adults. This means more awake time during the day and longer sleeping periods at night. Nap time should have also evened out and become a little more predictable.
The amount of time an infant spends napping can vary depending on how old he is. The general rule of thumb is this: the younger the baby, the more hours of sleep they will need.
The part of that rule that is not so easy to understand is this: the younger the baby is, the more hours of daytime sleep or nap time needed with fewer hours at night.
The following is the average number of hours the average infant needs to sleep.
|
Age
|
Total Hours Needed
|
Night Hours
|
Nap Hours
|
|
3 months
|
15 hours
|
10
|
5
|
|
6 months
|
14 ½ hours
|
11
|
3 ½
|
|
9 months
|
14 hours
|
11
|
3
|
|
1 year
|
13 ½ hours
|
11
|
2 ½
|
Generally, the daytime sleep hours for an infant will be broken down into a couple different naps, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. In the beginning, it will also seem as if you are putting your baby down for a nap as soon as he wakes up in the morning. Don't worry -- the morning nap will get later as she gets older.
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