Baby and Toddler Sleep

Baby sleep problems are very common and more than a quarter of parents end up discussing those sleep issues with their child’s pediatricians.

In the first 2 months, baby sleep is pretty chaotic with infants being more hungry at night and leading to a reversal of day and night. Fortunately, this resolves by the third and fourth week when your newborn will get into 3-4 hour sleep cycles – of feeding and sleeping

Learning a few things about baby sleep may go a long way in preparing you for what to expect with baby sleep.

There are several sleep training courses and can also take advantage of online resources on baby sleep. Ashley Davis, our Editor is a certified sleep expert and has very helpful insight when it comes to sleep, training infants and toddlers. As part of our dedication to assisting parents to get more sleep, we are currently working on baby sleep training guides for infants and toddlers. We will also have free resources and sample PDF resources you can use when sleep training your newborn, 3-month, 4-month, 6-month, or even a toddler.

In the table below, it is evident that your infant will spend more than a half a day asleep but without consistency.

Age	Total Sleep Hours in a Day
Newborn	16 hours
1-month-old	15.5 hours
3-month-old	15 hours
6-month old	14 hours
9-month old	14 hours
1-year-old	14 hours
2-year old	12 hours+

In our upcoming sleep guides, we will share more details on baby sleep habits, schedules, regressions, and more.

Swaddling your baby with a swaddle blanket is one way to get your baby to sleep fast. You can swaddle your infant to sleep and place them to sleep on their back slowly. Consistent routines when swaddling, feeding, tummy time will get your baby sleeping faster and easier but this may take longer than you think. You may also try a warm bath before sleep but if these are not working, don’t give up in the first few weeks. Keep trying.

You can snuggle or co-sleep with your baby too for a bit and that may get them to sleep faster.

Sleep environment:

Your baby’s nursery may influence your baby’s sleep habits and routines.

For you to get more sleep, you need to prepare your baby nursery so your baby can sleep longer.

To do that, ensure the nursery has black-out curtains to make the room dark but you can also get a nightlight if it makes your baby more comfortable being there by themselves. Also ensure you are consistent with your feeding, play, swaddling, tummy, and sleep time.

You can also introduce other routines such as holding your baby in a rocking chair, singing some lullabies, and bathing. Though not required, white noise and baby crib soothers may also assist in getting them to sleep.

There are several tested strategies on how to get your baby to sleep longer, transitioning your baby from bassinet to crib, keeping them in the crib instead of walking or crawling out.

Baby Sleep Gear:

Bassinets and Cribs

You start off getting your baby to sleep in a bassinet which you can place near your bedside at night or in the living area with a clear view during the day.

Before your baby is six months or when your baby is weighing less than 15 pounds, you can keep them in a bassinet. After that, you can transition to a pack ‘n play or Playard for daytime naps and transition to a crib for nighttime sleeping. During the day, you can also get a baby lounger.

We recommend parents get a convertible crib that can be used as a baby crib and can be converted into a toddler bed and eventually into a full-size bed. Many cribs have different features that differentiate them and you can research widely on safety features. Some are JPMA certified and some are best suited for different moms. For example, if you are short or petite, you may want to try our short-size crib suited for petite moms.

If you think you’ll need a crib with changing table or with extra storage, you can get one.

Other sleep gear:

There are other sleep items you should get for your baby including;

Nursery furniture

You will spend a lot of time in your baby’s nursery and you may want to make it very comfortable. There are several furniture options you can get such as a glider. There are several gliders with various features suited for different parents. For example, you can get rocking glider gliders for tall parents or extra wide gliders for twins.

Our Baby & Toddler Sleep Expert: Ashley Davis

Ashley Davis

Certified Sleep Expert & Editor of MotherhoodHQ

I am Ashley Davis, a mom of three kids and the editor here at MotherhoodHQ (formerly 10BabyGear). I am responsible for all sleep guides posted here.

I have been a parent since 2011 and have been doing full-time consulting as a baby sleep expert since 2019. When I am not researching or testing the next baby gear hitting the market, you’ll find me teaching my toddlers a trick or two – especially over the last few months with the lockdown.

I hope you’ll find my guides and reviews helpful as you make your next purchase decision. If you have any questions, you can reach me at ashley.d@motherhoodhq.com.