0-2 Month Baby Sleep Schedule

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By Dr. Natalie Barnett

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0-2 Month Baby Sleep Schedule

Before four months it can be really hard to get your baby on a reliable daytime schedule. It may feel like your baby is just napping all day long and possibly taking very short naps. Newborn babies sleep a lot but may not be able to consolidate long stretches of sleep just yet. In those early months, your baby may fall asleep anywhere and everywhere: at the breast, the bottle, a stroller, or even just in your arms. You may get advice on the internet (or even from our blog!) about how this is not fine. And past 4 months, that is true. But at this stage in your baby’s sleep development, they simply may not be able to self-soothe and you may need to be the one soothing them.

They might fall asleep after being awake for 1.5 hours but they might also fall asleep after being awake 30 minutes! This can be frustrating for parents who would like more of a scheduled day but at this stage, a little ‘go with the flow’ might be necessary. There can be a lot of unpredictability in those early weeks and months and you are certainly not doing anything ‘wrong’.

Instead of worrying about a schedule or forming healthy sleep habits, just focus on making sure your baby is getting enough food. Most babies at this age should be feeding every 2-3 hours or so, usually falling back to sleep toward the end of the feed.

One thing you should note is that your baby’s longest stretch without feeding should be at night. There’s no way to avoid having to get up multiple times at this age, as a baby’s stomach is not big enough to get them through the night without food. However, if your baby is able to go 3 hours without feeding during the day, there’s no reason you should be getting up every 2 hours each night! If they are unsettled before that time, you can try soothing them without feeding and try to gradually lengthen the stretches at night without a feed.

Around the 3-4 month mark, you can start thinking about feeding when your baby awakens rather than feeding them to sleep. But in the meantime, just enjoy your time with your baby and don’t worry so much about a sleep schedule.

Get a FREE custom sleep and feeding schedule

Once your baby is a bit older (3-4 months), try out our custom Sleep Schedule Generator! Our pediatric sleep experts at Nanit Lab deliver a personalized schedule based on your baby’s age, feeding method, current rest patterns, and more. Plus, you’ll receive tips on upcoming milestones and features to help you with each new stage!

CREATE YOUR CUSTOM SCHEDULE

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CONTRIBUTORS

Natalie Barnett, PhD serves as VP of Clinical Research at Nanit. Natalie initiated sleep research collaborations at Nanit and in her current role, Natalie oversees collaborations with researchers at hospitals and universities around the world who use the Nanit camera to better understand pediatric sleep and leads the internal sleep and development research programs at Nanit. Natalie holds a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of New England in Australia and a Postgraduate Certificate in Pediatric Sleep Science from the University of Western Australia. Natalie was an Assistant Professor in the Neurogenetics Unit at NYU School of Medicine prior to joining Nanit. Natalie is also the voice of Nanit's science-backed, personalized sleep tips delivered to users throughout their baby's first few years.

Kristy Ojala is Nanit’s Digital Content Director. She spends way too much time looking at maps and weather forecasts and pictures of Devon Rex cats and no-cook dinners. A former sleep champion, she strives to share trustworthy somnabulism tips with other parents—praying for that one fine day when no tiny humans wake her up while it’s still dark out. Her kids highly recommend 3 books, approximately 600 stuffies, Chopin’s “Nocturnes,” and the Nanit Sound + Light for bedtime success.

Mackenzie Sangster is on the Brand and Community team at Nanit. She supports content development and editing for Nanit’s Parent Confidently blog as well as other marketing initiatives. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her friends, cooking, being active, and using the Pro + Flex Duo to keep an eye on her fur-baby, Poppy!

Holly Hays is a contributor and writer for Nanit, channeling her years as a mama and former magazine editor to create fun, useful content for fellow busy, trying-to-do-their-best parents and caregivers. Holly has written for a wide range of brands and media outlets (Ergobaby, HGTV, Manhattan Toy Company, OXO), loves to cook and read mystery novels, and leans heavily on her two daughters to keep her up to date on all the latest slang.