Babies refer to children who are aged between 2 to 12 months old. Most babies under six months of age still require feeding and help to settle in the night. As they grow older, they need less sleeping time and more of their sleep will be focused in the night. 

Babies are very possessive and always require someone to tend to them and care for while they are awake. Developments like crawling and anxiety from the thought of being separated can affect their sleep, mostly in babies over six months of age.

At such a tender age they need sleep to grow and develop well. But each babies’ sleep can vary from the other of the same age, just as the sleep of adults can vary from person to person. Your baby’s mood and wellbeing are a great indicator to know whether your baby is getting enough sleep or not. If they seem to cry a lot and in an irritated mood, well the answer is obviously clear. If they are wakeful and contented, you are doing a great job and they are getting a proper sleep.

SLEEP CHANGES

As your baby grows older, they:

• Sleep less in the daytime
• Have longer and contented night sleeps without much waking up at night
• Are awake for longer duration between two naps
• Needs overall less sleep

2-3 MONTHS: EXPECTATION

At this age, babies sleep on and off during the day and night, and sleep for about 24-27 hours in the entire day.

Younger babies sleep in cycles of 50-60 minutes which consists of active and quiet sleep. They move around and grunt in their active sleep but are in deep slumber in the quiet sleep. At the end of each cycle they wake up and may cry, calling for someone to make them settle for the next sleep cycle.

Soon they start developing day and night sleep patterns and they tend to start sleeping more during the night

AROUND 3 MONTHS: EXPECTATION

Their sleep patterns in day and night are still in development phase and their sleep consists of:

• Light sleep – when they wake up easily
• Deep sleep – when they are very still and sound asleep
• Dream sleep – when they are dreaming

Their sleep cycles also get longer which means less waking up and resettling during sleep. Some babies might regularly be having longer sleep at night – for example, 4-5 hours.

3-6 MONTHS: EXPECTATION

At this age, their sleep during the entire day reduces normally by 3-4 hours. They might start developing sleep pattern of 2-3 daytime naps of couple of hours each. Night time sleeps get longer at this age. Some babies after they are 6 months old can have long sleeps of 6 hours at night. But it is still a high possibility that your baby wakes up at least once each night.

6-12 MONTHS: EXPECTATION

By the time your baby is about a year old, they will probably sleep for 11-14 hours every day. Their night time sleeps will be considerably longer but sleeping during the day still persists. 2-3 daytime naps of 30 minutes to 2 hours is common. 

You must make your baby ready for bed by 6-8 pm and they take less than half an hour to settle for sleep, but some babies may take even longer.

At this age, their sleep cycle gets closer to n adult’s which means less waking up at night. So, after a long-time parent can also enjoy a good night’s sleep and your baby will not trouble you at all. But exceptions are always there, so, it is not out of the ordinary that your child might still wake up, maybe not in daily basis, but you are required to settle them and get them to sleep again.

FACTORS AFFECTING SLEEP

From around the time your baby is about 6 months old they may develop some abilities that affect their sleep or make them more time to settle:

• Babies automatically learn to keep themselves awake, especially if something interesting is going on or there is a lot of light or noise in their surroundings.
• When your babies learn to crawl, there may be settling difficulties. It is fairly noticeable when your child starts to move around their sleep habits change.
• Babies learn that things are present around them even they are out of the sight. Suppose, you leave their room, your baby may call or cry in order to make you come and assist them.
• Separation anxiety is when they get upset because their caretakers or parents are not around. It might mean that your baby does not want to sleep and wakes more often than usual in the night time. As they grow up, they learn and adapt, as a result thi anxiety fades off gradually.