Newborn babies sleep a lot when they first come home. Your 1-month-old baby should sleep 16 hours or more per 24-hour period with usually 8-10 hours being at night and 6-8 hours during the day. The amount of nighttime and daytime sleep varies quite a bit baby to baby.
Contrary to what many people think, newborn babies generally do not sleep in very long stretches at night until they are a bit older and will eat every 2-3 hours all day and night.
Let’s learn more about your 1-month-old baby’s sleep needs:
1-Month-Old Baby Sleep Patterns
Your newborn baby’s sleep patterns have to develop over time. How your baby sleeps at just a couple of weeks old will change significantly over the coming weeks and months. Your 1-month-old will sleep up to 16 hours a day, sometimes more, and only stay awake 1-2 hours at the most. I know it may feel like all your baby does is eat, sleep, and poop, but this changes quickly.
1-Month-Old Baby Schedule
Many Type-A parents (like me!) tend to thrive on a schedule, so you may naturally ask when your 1-month-old can be put on a newborn sleep schedule. Clock-based, predictable schedules are still a few weeks or months away, but you can start the process by choosing a couple of fixed points to your day. For example, you can get the baby up every day around the same time or set his or her first feeding time to be a particular time every day.
Some of us are more schedule-oriented than others, so don’t feel the schedule has to be rigid. Unless your baby is fairly predictable, naturally, it isn’t likely to work out anyway. If your baby seems to change a lot, you may want to consider changing the schedule as your baby grows and changes. Our newborn sleep schedules by week can guide you for these first several months.
1-Month-Old Baby Naps
1-month-olds nap on and off all day and this is the time period during which many babies can sleep anywhere and everywhere. Not all babies can and will do this, however. For some babies, they need to be in a quiet, darker room in order to nap well while others nap best in a crowded room. All babies vary but keep in mind that babies this age tend to nap 4-6 times a day, depending on how long each nap is.
1-Month-Old Baby Nights
At night, your 1-month-old will likely sleep in 2-3-hour stretches and still eat frequently at night. Your baby will likely sleep a variable number of hours at night in total, so don’t expect an early bedtime just yet. If you put your baby to bed too early at this age, you are likely going to be starting your day too early in the morning. The ideal bedtime varies with age.
Instead, plan for your baby to go to bed for the night when you do a bit later at night around 10 or 11 PM. If your baby does have a long stretch of sleep at night, you want it to be at the same time you are trying to get some sleep yourself.
1-Month-Old Baby Mood and Fussiness
Your 1-month-old baby will be going through a rapid period of growth and development, so he or she may be a bit fussier in the coming weeks with a peak in fussiness around 6 weeks old. But, have no fear, the happy baby times are coming!
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