Wondering whether babies start sleeping through the night and whether your little one will be a “good sleeper”. Many mums have unrealistic expectations from a young age baby to sleep through 11-12 hours overnight.

Sleeping through the night is not always 11-12 hours! The answer mostly depends on your baby’s age and stage, whether or not he’s learned to self-soothe and feed well.

If your baby routinely falls asleep at the breast or with the bottle, your baby might depend on feeding to get to sleep.

Most babies cry while they’re getting used to a new way of going to sleep. That’s because they like their usual way of getting to sleep and might be upset by change. Be prepared for crying for the first few nights.

If you’re comfortable with feeding your baby during the night, there’s no hurry to phase out night feeds. You can choose what works best for you and your baby.

But keep in mind that your newborn still has a small stomach. They’re waking up throughout the night because they’re hungry. And just like you, they’re vocal when they need food.

Let’s look at night sleep guidelines for a healthy full-term baby:

• 6 weeks: 3-6 hours
• 12 weeks: 3-8 hours
• 4-5 months: 4-8 hours
• 6 months: 4-12 hours
• 7-12 months: 6-12 hours
• 12 months + 11-12 hours

There’s no one-size-fits-all timeframe for when your baby will sleep through the night. This is just the age-appropriate guidelines for night sleep exceptions.

Image source: Google