How Long Should 2 Month Old Be Sleeping at Night and How Many Naps??

I had big babies, and I bottle fed. In the early months they wanted to eat every 2.5 hrs. The doctor wanted me to limit food to every three hours or longer, but I decided I would feed on demand. I think breast fed babies unsually feed more often than bottle fed.

The two top things healthy infants cry about, time after time is FOOD and SLEEP.

At that young of an age, your baby should be sleeping most of the day and night. If you are feeding her and she is still awake an hour later- and then starts crying , It is SLEEP she is crying for. At that age my babies were only up during the day time to eat-and then about 10 -15 more minutes, then they needed to go back to sleep.
Babies will cry for sleep because it is a need that needs to be met. They will cry until they fall asleep, because that is when the need finally gets met. So if you put her down in the crib and she continues to cry, that is normal. (her need is still not fulfilled until she hits la la land)
I think you will find if you keep the lights VERY low at the night time feedings, feed, burp,diaper, and then lay her back down, she will cry a bit and then fall back asleep. Rocking/patting a baby will just stimulate the child to stay awake longer. They do eventually fall asleep, but it is out of exhaustion.

Sleep begets sleep, so stay on schedule. (keep track of their feeding and sleep patterns in a journal). if it wern't for me keeping track in my journal, I would loose track of time and not realize they had been up as long as they were!

i have two sons now! my first son was really hard to get to sleep but when he did he would sleep pretty long..maybe about an hour when he was about 3 months and then started sleeping longer for naps, but at night would wake up every hour when he was a newborn up until 3-4 months! my second son who is now almost 7 months in the beginning slept for an hour and would eat and go back to sleep for another hour! so he was eating every hour i think! but then when he got older about 2 months or so he started to not take long naps..maybe 30 min naps or so and would eat every 2 hours and at night too! at his 3 month appointment my doctor asked me how often he was eating mainly because he was off the charts for his weight, and she told me to start feeding him every 3 hours! trying to do that was really hard, i had to either put him back to sleep or distract him for 1 hour, but eventually he got use to it and is now still on an every 3 hour schedule, even at night! there are nights where he might sleep a little longer, but for the most part he goes every 3 hours! right now tho he takes only 30 min. naps..i'm not sure how long they are suppose to really take naps for, but i wish he would sleep longer! also, he's teething now, so it's a little tough right now! so enjoy your baby while she is still little and not screaming in your ear because her gums hurt from teething..lol!! i hope this helps!

Every baby is different. I have learned that very well. But a good rule of thumb is that they should be sleeping a total of 14- 15 hours a day at this age and taking naps after every two hours of wakefulness at maximum. Start trying to put her down after about and hour and a half of being awake. I know at this stage you don't have a lot of free time, but my recommendation to you is to purchase "Healthy sleep habits, happy child" by Marc Weissbluth. This book has saved my life and it was recommended to me my all the other moms on this site. It is genius and fairly easy reading. There are sample schedules for each age period. There are also many options for getting your child to sleep. It is nice to have a few options and try them out to see what works for you. You will be very happy with this book! I just purchased it about two weeks ago and my 2 month old who used to wake up 2 or 3 times at night is sleeping 12 hours at night and only waking up once to eat at night!!

Hi D.- Your schedule sounds similar to lots of newborns. Just keep doing what your doing and soon the time between feedings will get longer and your baby will sleep for longer periods more consistently. Please don't try to delay feedings or let her cry it out at such a young age. We adults have no way of knowing what a newborn (especially a premie) might need. Sometimes nursing is about security and comfort not food and sometimes babies go through periods when they just need to eat constantly. It never lasts long and sadly neither does the time that they are so tiny. When my babies woke up at night I just fed them in our bad and went back to sleep. As they got older (and harder to sleep with) we moved them into their own rooms. Enjoy letting your daughter set the pace for a while. The time you spend with her now is so precious and fleeting. Believe me there is so much time in the future for schedules! Good luck.

You have a preemie - like I did. Throw the stupid baby books out the window because they are WAY off target if your bambina was an early bird. Otherwise you'll just go nuts. The only book you NEED is the Portable Pediatrician.

At this age you have to just go with the flow for at least 1 more month. Be prepared for her to change the rules on you just when you think you've got it all figured out.
Also, there is a growth spurt or 2 coming around the bend and she will be a voracious impatient eater while your poor breasts try to catch up with her new appetite. This may be the reason behind the "cluster feedings" she's been wanting at night - she's filling up her tummy for bedtime! Start putting her down for naps etc. when she's really drowsy but not 100% asleep so she'll learn how to get the rest of the way to Dreamland on her own; this will also help her learn to drift back to sleep if a noise or something wakes her slightly before she really needs to wake up. don't jump up and start feeding her at the first little peep ( my BIG mistake) wait a few minutes to see if she settles back down on her own or really wakes up.

I am hardly an expert seeing that I only have an 11 week and am a first time mommy, but this is what has worked for me....

When I took the baby out of his basinet in the bedroom and had him start sleeping in his crib in another room, I didn't wake up as much. He would only get fed when he REALLY sounded his opinion. When he was in the bedroom, I would hear him sucking his fist and think "he's got to be hungry" and I was feeding him every 2 hours. Now that he is in his crib, he goes 3-4 hours between feedings.

Something that my mom told me that has stuck with me is that sometimes when a baby has an air bubble, they mistake it for hunger. So those feeding that you are having that are only 1/2 hour or an hour apart may just be an air bubble.

I definately let my baby cry. And I won't feed him under the 2 hour mark. It was hard when I first started that (at about 6 weeks) but now we have a manageable schedule.

I hope that some of this advice helps!

The only thing I can say is to give it time. She is still a newborn. My little guy is almost 7 months and does not sleep well, wakes up between 1-3 times a night and takes two long naps during the day. In the begining he seemed to eat all the time, especially during a growth spurt. When they go through a growth spurt they eat a lot and more frequent. I always feed on demand. When he was that young he ate about 1 1/2 hour to 2 hours. Now he nurses about every 4-5 hours and has food in between. I think for her age she is eating about the right time duration. I don't really have any advice about the sleep thing. Just want to let you know that it seems about right for her feeding.

Hi D.,

Honey, there is no "should" with any baby. As long as she is healthy, fed and you are there for her, let her sleep whenever and don't go by anyone else's schedule but your own. Just breast feed her and lay down with her. These moments don't last long enough so just enjoy and lap up the love.

T.

Congratulations! My little one is about the same age as yours and I definitely had these same questions. Isn't it weird how the books can't seem to agree on the most basic things like eating and sleeping?

Anyhoo, I too found the Weissbluth book very helpful. With the 'schedule' at my house, I only had time to read the first chapter and the section on tiny babies, but found that completely helpful for now In terms of newborn, he basically says that prior to 3-4 months just assume your baby will need to sleep every two hours (just like they eat every 2 - 2 1/2 hours)). I've also extended the nighttime sleep by just really making nighttime special. Lights very low, my voice quiet and calm. Plenty of soothing. And yes, my baby totally wants to eat more at night. I like to think of this as 'tanking up' for a long nights sleep. She slept through the night for a while, but now we get up once to nurse.

Om terms of feeding, I'd strongly recommend using the La Leche League as a resource. Meetings are great, but their website and local leaders are also incredible resources you can use from home. Nursing Mothers Council too (free and someone will come to your home if you like)

Good luck!

Yay for newborns! I completely sympathize with you on the sleep thing, the breech thing & the c-section - all of what I experienced with my first son.

A few things: definitely be careful of using & thinking the word "should" when it comes to newborns. Just because a typical baby "should" be sleeping 16 hrs a day definitely doesn't mean they will or that it's bad if they aren't. "Should" be eating every 2 hrs, "should" be pooping at least once a day, etc.

You will learn over time that your baby is very unique, regardless if it appears everyone else's baby is the same! My first son slept maybe 10 hrs in a 24-hr period - not kidding. He also pooped every 10 days & he ate nearly every hour for a very long time - breast or bottle, didn't matter. He had a high metabolism & was (& still is) a very alert child.

REMEMBER: there are 3 things you can't make any child do: sleep, eat or poop. Seriously!! Yes, you can establish healthy routines for sleep, you can provide them nutritious meals & offer foods that help with their BMs, but that's about it!

Regarding sleep: if she seems irritable, over-tired, etc. after he's slept some, then that would indicate she didn't get enough sleep. Otherwise, go with the flow. I read the books & Weissbluth is definitely a good one. But the general fact is that MOST babies do not have their sleep patterns set until around 3 mths. My 2nd boy is nearly 4 mths now & I noticed his pattern established around 12 weeks or so. Still changes now & then - little surprises! But for the most part it's a pattern. Sleep training is typically ineffective until 12 to 14 weeks because of this.

Regarding eating: "most" babies do need to eat every 2 hrs during the day, some every hour. Her eating will become much more efficient in the weeks to come, I promise! Obviously if they are good nappers & sleepers at night, don't wake them! Unless of course directed by your ped because of weight gain concerns or something else. I just asked my ped as to when my son will be stretching his feedings & he said usually around 5 to 6 mths. But some babies stretch their feedings earlier, some later. Everyone's different!

One last suggestion: be talking with your ped & a lactation consultant regularly to get your concerns out there. YOU know your baby best & if you just don't feel right about something - say so! It's also good to have a log of her feeding & sleeping schedule so they can help you.

But don't read a book & then automatically assume something is "wrong" with your baby because she isn't falling into the norm that you just read or heard about. It can be frustrating - NO DOUBT. But my first son is now 3 yrs old & still only sleeps about 10 hrs a day, eats like crazy, poops every 3 to 4 days & is incredibly active. True to his newborn behavior in every way!!

Good luck - this time will quickly pass so treasure it! :)

My daughter was 6 weeks early, and it can be frustrating to feel clueless about how much your baby should eat and sleep. Everyone has given some sound advice, but if you still are unsure or have questions, you should not hesitate to talk to your pediatrician as well. It may depend on how much your baby weighs - once my baby was over 8lbs it got easier. Once she was over 10lbs, even easier still. Your pediatrician should be able to offer some advice specific to your baby and her needs.

Good luck!

At 6 weeks both of my girls were on a 3 to 3.5 hour pattern for feeding. During the day I would wake them if the slept more than about 3 hours between feedings (start to start), but would let them sleep as long as they liked at night. If they woke up earlier than about 3 hours (day or night) I would try to hold them off as long as possible before feeding. I also made sure that they finished eating each time. If they started to doze off, I'd wake them (unwrap the blanket, etc.) and latch them back on just to make sure they were good and full. :o) I found if I let them fall asleep while nursing they'd be up within the hour hungry again. Little snackers! By 9 weeks they were sleeping at least one night stretch of 5-6 hours. I never thought I'd be so grateful for 5 hours of sleep!.

Enjoy your adventure!

Every baby is different. My oldest son ate every two hours day and night for two weeks. He was a smaller baby. He ate about two ounces each time. Then he started to eat more and sleep longer between feedings. At this age I wouldlet him do his schedule and be happy. When my second son was born, alot larger, he ate more each feeding but he got his days and nights mixed up. He would sleep five hours in the day time but not at night so I gently woke him in the day time to eat so he would sleep more at night. As the baby gets older he will do the same thing, eat more and sleep more between feedings. I care for an infant five months old who eats between 5-8 ounces every three or four hours. Enjoy your baby, get a better breast pump, and try to relax Mommy.
F.