Developmentally Appropriate Sleep Expectations: Birth To Age 5 by Kim Hawley

Introduction

Hi all, this week we’re back with a very special post from Holistic Sleep Coach, Lactation Consultant, and the owner of Intuitive Parenting, Kim Hawley. She is also an instructor at The Breastfeeding Center, you can often catch her virtually teaching our sleep classes. Have you had questions about your child’s sleep patterns? Well, Kim has a guide for you to explore and become familiar with typical sleep patterns for each age group! You can find the FULL guide here.

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Most parents worry about their child’s sleep at some point. If you find yourself worrying if your baby’s sleep is normal or if you are doing enough to support healthy sleep patterns, you are in good company. It can be hard to know what healthy sleep patterns even are on a topic so filled with cultural bias and opinions rather than evidence-based information. Our culture perpetuates a lot of unrealistic expectations around sleep. When we strive to meet unrealistic expectations, we often feel stress, guilt, and even failure when we ultimately can’t. Understanding normal sleep at different ages can free you to work with your child’s needs rather than struggle to shape their sleep into something developmentally inappropriate.

Below is an outline of realistic expectations for your child’s sleep in the first 5 years. I first wrote this guide in 2018, and I’m revisiting it again to improve and update the information. I hope you find it helpful!

This is a guide, not a goal. Remember the best way to tell if your baby or toddler is getting enough sleep is to look at them. Their behavior and general mood are good places to start. There is a wide range of normal, and your child will help you know the right amount of sleep for them.

Relevant Context

***Skip Ahead If You Are Too Tired For This Part!***

It’s important to know where we have high quality evidence, and where we don’t. While we have a good evidence-base on total sleep in 24 hours, evidence is less strong or completely lacking on other measures including awake windows, ideal nap length, or even the concept of sleep regressions. I’ve listed common ranges for awake windows and ages where sleep can get disrupted, but take them as an experience-based guide, not hard science. Only use them if they decrease your stress, not add to it!

The age when your baby/toddler/preschooler begins routinely sleeping for long stretches without need for you varies greatly. The nighttime sleep ranges provided consider some night waking for feeding and soothing.

Temperament and household patterns will also affect your child’s sleep patterns. Some babies need much more sleep than others, nap more or less than average, go to bed early/later than is typical, and need more or less parental support at night. Your family’s daily patterns, sibling sleep patterns, and cultural practices can affect your child’s sleep patterns. Some wiggle room on either side of these typical sleep numbers may be fine for your little one, and in fact the National Sleep Foundation (NSF) specifically recognizes a “may be appropriate” category which broadens their recommended sleep ranges by several hours. If your little one seems to be doing well, it’s not something to stress about. If your child’s sleep patterns are problematic for your family, however, sleep totals outside of what’s expected may be a helpful piece of the puzzle.

Again, I’d like to stress there is a wide range of normal. Watch your little one and use numbers as a rough guide.

K

Age Appropriate Sleep Expectations Overview

Age	Typical amount of sleep in 24 hours	Average nighttime sleep	Average daytime sleep	Typical awake time	Naps
0-6 weeks	14-17 hours	Varies	Varies	30-90 minutes	Sleep spread evenly throughout day and night
6-12 weeks	14-17 hours	Varies	Varies	60-90 minutes	Many throughout the day
3-6 months	13-15 hours	9-10 hours	4-5 hours	1.5-2.5 hours	Often 4, possibly more at 3 months, possibly 3 by 6 months
6-9 months	12-15 hours	10-11 hours	3-4 hours	2-3.5 hours	3, dropping to 2 around 8-9 months
9-12 months	12-14 hours	10-11 hours	2-3 hours	3-4 hours	2 morning and mid afternoon
12-16 months	11-14 hours	10-11 hours	2-3 hours	3.5-4.5 hours	2
16-24 months	11-14 hours	10-11 hours	2-3 hours	4-6 hours	1
2-2.5 years	11-14 hours	10-12 hours	1-2 hours	5-7 hours	1
2.5-3 years	11-14 hours	10-12 hours	0-2 hours	6 hours to all day	1 to none
3-5 years	10-13 hours	10-13 hours	Decreasing need for daytime sleep	6 hours to all day	Stop at some point

For access to the full guide, and to learn more about developmentally normal sleep by age, head over to https://intuitiveparentingdc.com/blog/2018/7/6/developmentally-appropriate-sleep-expectations-birth-to-age-5