Newborn Sleep, Day and Night: Wake Windows and Night Feeds

How much newborns sleep

• About 14-17 hours in 24, in stretches of 1-4 hours, day and night. There's no schedule yet.
• Wake windows are short: about 30-60 minutes including the feed. Sleepy cues: yawning, staring off, red eyebrows or eyelids, jerky arms, fussing.

Daytime: eat, a little awake time, sleep

• Feed every 2-3 hours by day. Until back to birth weight, wake the baby for a feed at about 3 hours unless the pediatrician says otherwise.
• After a feed: burp, diaper, a cuddle and a minute or two of tummy time or face time, then back down before the baby is overtired.
• Keep days bright and normal (daylight, household noise) to help the body clock, which matures around 2-3 months. Day-night mix-ups usually sort out by 6-8 weeks.
• Contact naps on a parent's chest are fine while that adult is awake and alert.

Night: feed, change, straight back down

• Keep it dark and boring: a dim night light, quiet voices, no play or screens.
• Change the diaper only if dirty or soaked, ideally before or midway through the feed.
• A repeated sequence (feed, burp, swaddle, white noise, bassinet) is the start of a routine.
• Once a day, when it's easy, try putting the baby down drowsy but awake. If they cry, pick them up; there's no sleep training at this age.

For the parents

• Sleep in shifts so each adult gets one 4-5 hour stretch.
• Never fall asleep with a baby on a couch or armchair. If you might doze while feeding, do it in an adult bed cleared of pillows and blankets — but only as a last resort, not as a recommendation: the AAP does not recommend bed-sharing under any circumstances. Do not do it at all if your baby is under 4 months or was born preterm or small, or if anyone in the bed smokes, has drunk alcohol or taken sedating medicine, or is extremely tired. Keep the mattress firm with no gaps, and move the baby to their own sleep space the moment you wake.