How much should a newborn sleep?

This article is also available in Italian.

If we establish a routine, we can better understand the desires of our child, especially when he’s hungry or sleep, in reality the two are linked, and often misunderstood.

We can make a diagram of how much should a newborn sleep, according to age:

• 0-3 months: 16-20 hours a day with naps of 1 hour every 3 hours. The night 5-6 hours.
• 3-6 months: 15-18 hours a day, with 3-4 naps of 2-3 hours each. The night 8-10 hours.
• 6-12 months: 15-18 hours per day up to 18 months. During the day, from 1 to 3 hours in two naps. 10-12 hours at night.
• 1-2.5 YEARS: during the day, from 1 to 3 hours in a single nap. At night 11-12 hours.

WARNING! You do not take this pattern too literally. It may happen, in fact, they pass through a growth phase, and then they will need to eat more and more often, and also that they will wake up at night. This situation will last a couple of days, and can occur every 3-4 weeks.

So we’ll try to catch every signal in order to be able to put him to bed at the right time, otherwise, as it also happens to adults, if we are too tired, can not sleep.