Understanding Baby Sleep Patterns
Babies in this age group typically sleep around 14-15 hours altogether over a 24-hour period, this may include longer stretches of sleep at night and 2-3 naps during the day. By about six months, babies typically may start sleeping for up to 6 hours at night without waking for a feed. This is different for every baby and can change from day to day. You can read more about age-specific routines and what to expect by selecting your child’s age range from the menu below.
3 -4 months old | 5-6 months old | 7-12 months old
Safe Sleep Guidelines
Creating a safe sleep environment is important for your baby’s health. Follow these simple steps to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and ensure your baby sleeps soundly:
- Sleep baby on their back from birth, not on the tummy or side.
- Sleep baby with their head and face uncovered.
- Keep baby in a smoke-free environment before and after birth.
- Provide a safe sleeping environment for your baby both day and night
- Sleep baby in their own safe sleep space. Baby is safest in the same room as an adult caregiver for the first 6 to 12 months.
- Breastfeed baby if possible.
Responsive Settling
Responsive settling is a gentle approach to help babies aged 3-12 months learn to self-settle while still receiving comfort and reassurance from their parents/carers. This technique helps babies feel secure, supported and can help your baby to start to learn to settle themselves with time.
Responding to your baby as your baby wakes
When your baby wakes during the night, pause to see if they will settle themselves. If they don’t, enter the room quietly and provide comfort with minimal stimulation—no bright lights or active interaction. Use soft words, gentle pats, or a soothing shush to calm them
Over time, watch your baby's cues and allow them time to settle themselves. For example, you might like to try shortening how long you stay in the room or reducing the amount of physical touch as your baby calms down while settling.
Responsive settling ensures that your baby feels supported, and can help your baby to start to learn to settle themselves with time, helping your baby to have longer stretches of sleep at night.
Managing Night Wakings and Settling
It’s normal for babies to wake frequently during the night, but there are ways to help them settle back to sleep. Keeping interactions calm and quiet during night feedings, can be reassuring for your baby, and getting support from your partner or family may be helpful to you on nights where your baby is more unsettled.
We acknowledge that it can be hard initially when making any sort of change. When settling, an upset baby, regularly question how you and your baby are coping. Keep baby safe and notice if you are getting frustrated or angry. Try taking deep breaths, slow speech, lowering your voice, and using only gentle pats. Use positive self-talk or put your child in a safe place and take a short break to calm yourself and get support when you need to. Lean on support from family and friends and reach out for help if you need to. Judgement-free support is available to you from Karitane.