6 Weeks- 3 Months
This is the right time to start building healthy sleep habits for your baby. But during this time, it is difficult to expect naps to settle into a certain order. The duration of naps may differ from baby to baby. Some babies will sleep for 1.5-2 hours per nap, while others wake up after 30 or 45 minutes. Nighttime sleeps begin to settle down gradually during this period. Your baby may be able sleep for 5-6 hours at night without interruption. A baby, who is fed regularly at regular intervals, will not feel the need to wake up frequently.
| Naps | 5 – 6 Hrs; 3 – 4 naps |
| Night Sleep | 9 – 10 hrs |
| Awake times | 1 – 1,5 hrs |
| Total Sleep | 14 – 16 hrs |
What can you do to help your baby sleep better during this period?
- Creating a daily routine where feeding, sleeping and playing times are determined can help your baby sleep more peacefully as well as get enough sleep. Babies feel more secure and peaceful if they know what the next step will be.
- You can create a pre-bedtime routine that should ideally start 10-15 minutes before your baby goes to sleep in order to familiarize him/her with the bedtime process and indicate that it’s time to sleep.
- It is very important to pay attention your baby’s sleep cues. By observing your baby during the day, you should put him/her into his/her crib as soon as you realize that he/she is sleepy. The idea that “if he/she doesn’t sleep during the day, he/she will sleep better at night” is definitely not true! You should pay attention to the awake windows suitable for your baby’s month and not go over these windows.
- By ensuring that your baby sleeps both at night and during the day in the same place (ex. cot), you can help him get used to the environment and feel safe by not feeling as though he/she is alone.
- In this period, if you put your baby to bed when he is about to sleep, you will both give him/her the opportunity to fall asleep on his/her own and get him/her used to his/her bed and room. Remember that babies acquire every habit through repetition. The sooner you establish good sleeping habits, the easier it will be for your baby to adapt.
