Typical sleep patterns vary with the age of the child; we will look at the typical patterns from birth to six years.
Newborns. The first six to eight weeks are called “unsettled.” During this time, sleeping and eating patterns are not very predictable. A healthy newborn sleeps about sixteen or seventeen hours a day. This occurs during about seven periods throughout the day and night.
By the age of three or four months an infant sleeps about fifteen hours a day. Sleep occurs in about four or five periods. Approximately two-thirds î her sleep is at night. This is what sleep research defines as “settled”—that is she sleeps from a late night feeding to an early morning one.
Six Months. By six months, nighttime sleep has increased to about two hours at night with some possible, occasional, brief wakings. She will also t two naps a day (mid-morning and mid-afternoon), each nap about one to hours long.
Babies settle in various ways. Some children simply sleep through feeding. Others gradually push the feeding later and later. Others unpredictable. However, somewhere between three to six months a baby sleep a long stretch at night.
One Year. Fourteen hours of sleep is typical for most one year olds. If some of this amount is during a morning nap, you can expect her to give that up sometime during the second year.
Two To Six Years. Note that the afternoon nap disappears somewhere between three and four years.
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