When do babies sleep through the night? If all of those factors are lined up though, it is entirely possible for a baby as young as 6 weeks old to sleep for a solid 6-8 hours, or even longer, overnight. It can, and does, happen!
Newborns who sleep for longer stretches should be awakened to feed. Wake your baby every 3–4 hours to eat until he or she shows good weight gain, which usually happens within the first couple of weeks. After that, it's OK to let your baby sleep for longer periods of time at night.
Generally, newborns sleep about 8 to 9 hours in the daytime and about 8 hours at night. But they may not sleep more than 1 to 2 hours at a time. Most babies don't start sleeping through the night (6 to 8 hours) without waking until they are about 3 months old, or until they weigh 12 to 13 pounds.
Do not let your newborn sleep longer than five hours at a time in the first five to six weeks. Thereafter, you can keep the following general milestones in mind: By four months, most babies begin to show some preferences for longer sleep at night.
By the time your baby is 6 weeks old, she might have a longer stretches (4-6 hours) of sleep at night. Some babies, though, still wake every 2-3 hours to get more feeds in the nighttime hours.
Newborns should not go more than about 4–5 hours without feeding.
If all of those factors are lined up though, it is entirely possible for a baby as young as 6 weeks old to sleep for a solid 6-8 hours, or even longer, overnight.
Newborns generally sleep for two to three hours before waking to eat, day and night. As they get older, babies are usually able to sleep for increasingly longer stretches of time at night without waking to eat. Between the age of 2 to 3 months old, healthy babies are often able to sleep for six hours without feeding.
Your newborn does need 14 to 17 hours of sleep per day, which means there isn't much awake time between naps. It can feel like she's sleeping all day when she isn't eating.
Other symptoms: Babies who are extra sleepy, are difficult to wake, or seem too tired to cry, may also show other symptoms of illness. These symptoms could include a fever of over 100.4F (38C), jaundice (a yellow discoloration of their skin), vomiting, or difficulty or disinterest in feeding once a child is awake.
Between weeks seven and ten, most Babywise babies drop their middle-of-the-night feeding and begin sleeping 8 hours at night.
Though every baby is different, many newborns often begin sleeping for longer stretches between 2-4 months postnatal. While most won't sleep through the night for 8 hours or longer until after about 6 months, longer stretches of sleep can be both a blessing and a challenge!
Newborn sleep needs
Most newborn babies are asleep more than they are awake. Their total daily sleep varies, but can be from 8 hours up to 16 or 18 hours. Babies will wake during the night because they need to be fed.
The most important rule of day sleep at this young age is to allow your baby to sleep as often as she needs to and keep her stretches of awake time brief. It will probably be helpful if you learn to watch for your baby's signs of tiredness.
Once your baby is around 6 weeks old, your doctor will likely tell you that you can let your baby sleep in longer stretches of more than 5 hours, but until you get the approval from your doctor, you should wake your baby to feed him or her.
Infants up to 3 months old should get 14–17 hours of sleep over a 24-hour period, says the National Sleep Foundation. Many will have settled into a daily sleep routine of 2-3 naps during the day, followed by a longer "sleeping through the night" stretch after a late-night feeding.
From a developmental perspective, babies are able to sleep through the night — defined as a six- to eight-hour stretch — without eating when they're between 4 and 6 months old. In this age range, most babies reach the 12- to 13-pound mark, the weight where they no longer metabolically need nighttime feedings.
Generally, newborns sleep a total of about 8 to 9 hours in the daytime and a total of about 8 hours at night. But because they have a small stomach, they must wake every few hours to eat. Most babies don't start sleeping through the night (6 to 8 hours) until at least 3 months of age.
How Long Can My Baby Go Without a Feed? Newborns can generally go about two and a half hours between feeds. This time slowly extends until about six months when babies can go about four hours between daytime feeds and sleep all night without a feed. But, some smaller babies may need an extra night feed for longer.
Babies are actually very good at self-regulating their intake, meaning they eat when they're hungry and stop when they are full.
When your baby shows they're hungry, feed them! Instead, the advice is that you shouldn't let your newborn baby go longer than 3 hours between feedings which means if your baby keeps sleeping past that mark, you need to wake them up to eat. As your baby grows, so does this amount of time.
Babies are biologically programmed to fall asleep at the breast. Falling asleep at the breast is a normal behaviour and is mostly due to a hormone called cholecystokinin or CCK. CCK makes your baby feel full and sleepy and it is released in your babies gut as soon as they start sucking.
Most newborns sleep for around 8–9 hours during the day and 8 hours at night. Most also wake up at least every 3 hours to feed. However, this timing varies widely. Some newborns may only sleep for 11 hours per day, while others may sleep for up to 19 hours per day.
Your 7-week-old baby's development
Newborns up to 3 or 4 months old need 14 to 17 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period, usually waking every two to four hours to eat. Breastfed babies should eat as much as they want at this age, but a general rule of thumb is roughly 24 to 32 ounces of breast milk or formula in 24 hours.