Baby sleep patterns: what's normal at each age?

Is your baby getting enough sleep? Or too much? Almost every parent wonders, and the answers vary widely. Part of the reason is that even official sources give different figures. Here is what Belgium's two child health agencies, Kind en Gezin in Flanders and ONE in Wallonia and Brussels, say about your baby's sleep from birth to 18 months, alongside the Netherlands Youth Institute (NJi) and the Dutch Centre for Youth Health (NCJ).

How much does a baby sleep at each age?

A newborn sleeps 14 to 18 hours in every 24 on average, according to NJi (in Dutch). Some babies sleep 9 hours, others 19. As your baby grows, their total sleep slowly goes down.

The Belgian figures come from ONE's 2024 brochure Le sommeil de votre enfant (in French) and from two older ONE publications for childcare settings (2014 and 2015). The 16 to 18 hours at birth comes from the 2015 one; the 2024 brochure gives 16 to 19 hours for a baby, without a precise age. The other column comes from the NCJ's youth health care guideline on sleep (in Dutch). According to the NCJ, the figures for 3 and 6 months are Dutch; from 8 months they come from international research. Above all, look at the ranges: at 3 months, sleep varies from 6 to 22 hours. The guideline itself stresses that sleep duration varies a great deal between children, and in the same child from one period to the next.

Does your baby sleep a few hours more or less than the table? Some children simply need less sleep, others more. As ONE puts it, the best way to tell whether your child has slept enough is how they are during the day.

Short sleep cycles: why your baby wakes so often

Babies sleep in shorter cycles than adults. A baby's sleep cycle lasts about 45 minutes and gets longer as your child grows, according to the NCJ guideline. NJi gives 45 to 60 minutes in the first six months, with active sleep first and then quiet sleep.

During active sleep your baby moves and may cry out. They are still asleep. Many newborns actually fall asleep in this active phase, ONE explains. Because the cycles are short, babies also wake more often, says Kind en Gezin (in Dutch).

When does a day and night rhythm develop?

In a newborn, sleep is spread roughly evenly over the 24 hours, with no day and night rhythm (NCJ). According to ONE, a very young baby generally sleeps no more than 2 to 3 hours at a stretch. Around 3 months a day and night pattern develops, and babies find it easier to fall asleep and sleep for longer, especially at night (NCJ). According to NJi, the pattern starts to form from 10 to 12 weeks. Kind en Gezin says the day and night rhythm is still developing during the first 3 to 4 months.

A young baby grows fast and is therefore often hungry at night too. Wanting a feed several times a night is completely normal, says Kind en Gezin.

How many naps does a baby take?

At first, naps are short and spread across the day and night. Gradually a pattern of daytime naps emerges (Kind en Gezin).

• After about 6 months: 2 or 3 times a day, on average for 1 or 2 hours at a time (NJi).
• After about 9 months: most babies sleep about twice a day (NJi).
• Around 1 year the sources differ. ONE talks about 2 naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. According to NJi, one-year-olds often still have an afternoon nap of 1.5 to 2 hours.

How long your baby can stay awake between naps is covered in our article on wake windows.

When do babies sleep through the night?

It varies a lot from child to child. Some babies sleep for longer stretches quite early on, others need more time (Kind en Gezin). A baby who sleeps 8 hours straight after just a few weeks is, in Kind en Gezin's words, "an absolute exception".

The NCJ guideline cites a Finnish study: at 3 months, most babies do not yet sleep through, if sleeping through means sleeping without a break between midnight and 6 am. At around 18 months, a third of children still wake at night. One-year-olds sleep 8 to 9 hours at a stretch on average (NJi).

So waking at night is normal for babies and young children, as ONE also says. If your baby can fall asleep on their own, from about 9 months they can also settle themselves again between two cycles. ONE does call this a fragile skill.

Following your own baby's sleep

A table gives you an average. To see how your baby sleeps, you need to follow it for a while. The Owlet Dream Sock tracks your baby's heart rate and oxygen level during sleep. In the Owlet Dream app you can also follow when your baby woke up and how their sleep changes from night to night. Predictive Sleep uses that sleep data and your baby's age to suggest the next suitable time for sleep.

The Dream Sock is intended for routine home monitoring of healthy babies. Its notifications help you decide whether to seek medical advice, but they do not replace a diagnosis or treatment by a doctor. Find out more in our FAQ.

Safe sleep, at every age

Sleep patterns change, the basics of safe sleep stay the same. Kind en Gezin advises:

• always put your baby to sleep on their back, in a sleeping bag. Sleeping on the back is the only safe sleeping position;
• keep your baby in the same room as you for at least the first 6 months.

You will find the full checklist in our article on safe sleep.

When to ask for advice

If you are worried about your baby's sleep, talk to your GP or the child health clinic of Kind en Gezin or ONE. In Flanders you can also call the Kind en Gezin line on 078 150 100. ONE advises talking to your doctor if your child sleeps a lot but is not doing well during the day.

See a doctor straight away if your baby has difficulty breathing, has recently become unusually quiet or restless, moans during sleep and when awake, vomits or refuses feeds. The same applies if a baby under 6 months has a rectal temperature above 38 °C or below 36 °C for no obvious reason. That is the advice in ONE's brochure. In an emergency, call 112.