by Maryanne Sayers

How much sleep should my baby/toddler be having? This is a question that is asked of me nearly every day. And it’s a question that I don’t shy away from answering as I have very firm beliefs in terms of how much sleep a baby/toddler needs (as opposed to how much sleep we might think they need).

Also, it’s important to also know that how much sleep they need often varies significantly from how much sleep they are actually getting

So in the “Maryanne Sayers World of Baby and Toddler Sleep” here is the general guide by age that I work with:

NEWBORN
4 x day sleeps (1.5 to 2 hrs each) and 12/13 hours at night

1 TO 3 MONTHS
3 x day sleeps (1.5 to 2 hrs each) and 12/13 hours at night

3 MONTHS TO 5/6 MONTHS
3 x day sleeps (consisting of generally one longer sleep of say 1.5 to 2 hours, and 2 shorter sleeps) and 12/13 hours at night

5/6 MONTHS TO 9/10 MONTHS
2 x day sleeps (generally 3 to 4 hours in total across both sleeps) and 12/13 hours at night

9/10 MONTHS to 13/14 MONTHS
2 x day sleeps (generally one long sleep and one short sleep) and 12/13 hours
at night

13 MONTHS TO 15 MONTHS ONWARDS
1 x day sleep (generally 1.5 to 2.5 hours) and 12 to 13 hours at night

Generally, at around 3.5 years to 4.5 years, the day sleep is dropped altogether, but at this age the night-time quota is still around 11 to 12 hours.

In regards to the day sleep being dropped permanently – I often see that many families are allowing the day sleep to be dropped way too soon – sometimes as early as 18 months of age. I can tell you that an 18 month old, and indeed a 2 year old still need to be having a day sleep.

As you can see – the number of day sleeps evolves and changes (i.e reduces) as the baby gets older, but they are consistent solid day sleeps (in terms of the length of the sleep) all the way through. If your baby is only having short catnaps (20/30 mins) or one-cycle naps in the day (40 to 45 mins) this is just not enough sleep and means their entire sleep foundation is affected. When their sleep foundation is affected, this means short day sleeps, trouble getting them to sleep at night, overnight wakings and general disrupted overnight sleep, early morning wakings such as 4am/5am/5.30am and lots more too…all leading to an utterly exhausted, irritable and unhappy baby through the day. And an equally unhappy and irritable Mum (and Dad too). As I always say, sleep deprivation affects every individual in the household and every relationship in the household.

What you will also notice from my guide (and this part may well surprise you) is that the night-time quota of 12/13 hours of sleep stays pretty much the same from newborn through to older baby stage through to toddler stage. When they get to pre-school age, this drops back slightly but would still be around the 11 to 12 hours. So if your baby / toddler is falling way short of 12 to 13 hours of sleep at night-time – I can tell you that they are just not getting enough sleep.

My approach is quite broadbrush in terms of my philosophies relating to sleep requirements – and in a nutshell that is that all babies of a certain age need the same (or very similar) amount of sleep every 24 hours. I don’t believe that a baby’s temperament or personality determines how much sleep they need. I tend to use a very similar approach/method for all babies and toddlers which is all based around routine and structure and knowing how much sleep a baby needs, responding to a baby’s tired signs, going through a process of assisting them to learn to self-settle and getting them to the stage where they can simply and naturally respond to their tiredness and fall asleep.

Keeping the approach simple and really working with routine and structure and helping them to learn and acquire the skill of falling asleep ensures they always have a great sleep foundation and positive relationship with sleep. There is nothing new age or fancy with the work that I do. My approaches and methods have always been based on a very simple philosophy – that babies and toddlers need lots of sleep to function at an optimum level.

Maryanne Sayers is a certified Baby Sleep and Routine Consultant and is the owner/founder of My Sleeping Baby. Based on the Central Coast, she has worked with many new parents, showing them first-hand how to get their baby to sleep and establish a consistent daily routine. Maryanne uses simple and effective strategies that work. She provides comprehensive support for your baby’s sleep and routine issues with her comprehensive consultation package. My Sleeping Baby also runs in-home CPR/First Aid sessions for small groups, aimed at Mothers Groups and parents and carers of babies/toddlers. Ph: 0417 068 545. Or contact Maryanne via www.mysleepingbaby.com.au or via her facebook page.