How much sleep does one baby need?

Naps. Parents love ‘em. Lions love ‘em…. Babies hate ‘em.

Little Miss has decided at 7 months that she’s a big girl and doesn’t need to nap. Ever since she went through her 4 month sleep regression, a bedtime without tears has become rare. Not surprisingly, this has made everyone at the CleverHouse tired and cranky.

I’ve been scratching my head thinking about what could be causing this sudden nap strike. Teething? Growing pains? Achy breaky heart? Nothing seemed to fit.

Then I thought that maybe she was sleeping too much. So how much sleep should your baby be getting?

Every baby is different, however, there is a general guideline showing how much sleep your baby needs.

• Newborn – 16 to 20 hours per day.
• 6 weeks – 15 to 16 hours per day.
• 4 months - 9 to 12 hours plus two naps. (2 to 3 hours each)
• 6 months - 11 hours plus two naps. (1.5 to 2.5 hours each)
• 9 months – 11 to 12 hours plus two naps. (1 to 2 hours each)
• 1 year – 10 to 11 hours plus two naps. (1 to 2 hours each)
• 18 months – 13 hours plus one or two naps. (1 to 2 hours each)
• 2 years – 11 to 12 hours plus one nap. (2 hours)

Little Miss sleeps usually 11 hours at night and only naps 1.5 hours all day at the most. We are starting to wonder if the cranky, whiny monster before us is caused by a lack of sleep. According to the above guide, at 7 months she is missing out on one nap a day. Thinking back we suspected it all along, we just got into a crappy sleeping routine since the sleep regression.

We’ll be attempting to work in the second nap so keep an eye out. My success or failure will surely be blog worthy!

How well does your little one nap?