How Much Awake Time Does a 2 Month Old Need?

Hi M.. I have 2 girls that I put on a schedule and I'm going to have a little different view than the others that responded. I would say you're not lucky. Your baby sleeps so well because you've trained her so well with your feed/WAKE/sleep cycle. You ARE doing great! I think at 8 weeks 1 hour and 15 minutes is a good amount of wake time (sleeping 1 hour 45 minutes). As she reaches 10-12 weeks 1 1/2 hour wake and 1 1/2 sleep should be perfect. Then you usually move to a 3 1/2 hour feeding schedule and it becomes 1 hour 45 min wake and feed. Great job trying to keep her awake and then take a good nap.

Ideas for wake time...bouncy seat in front of a Baby Einstein. She may not watch the whole thing, but all the colors and movement will stimulate her and keep her awake. Massages and tickle time are always great on the changing table. Carry her in the Bjorn facing out while doing chores around the house. The "gym" is great...I don't know what you call it. It's a mat with bars over it with toys hanging down. A walk is great (Grapevine Mills is perfect this time of year). Tummy time will wake her up. ;) The swing may be too comfortable at this age for WAKE time. My advise would be to keep her out of her comfortable bed until nap time. Even if she falls asleep, put her on the floor in the living room with the lights on and voices at full volume. Then at nap time put her in her bed. That will train her to stay awake.

Keep up the good work!

It sounds like you are doing a great job...cause every other baby I've ever known sleeps longer in the day, than wants to be up at night:). I had my oldest daughter on the same schedule you follow and she did great. Now my youngest daughter she fought it for a while, but than she eventually followed it, at about four months old ( She's 16 months old now ). So it is really good the way you are doing things. I'm expecting my third baby in Jan. Hopefully he will follow that schedule:):). Well, keep up the good work.
Congratulations on your new baby!!!!

M.,

I have a 2 month old myself and your child seems to be on a similar schedule as mine. My pediatrician says babies need upto 18 hours of sleep at this stage, so they would be awake only for about 8 hours. My son usually stays awake for an hour after he feeds during the day and takes a nap between feedings though sometimes he stays awake between feedings. Also, you seem to be doing the right things when she is awake.

C.

Usually parents worry that their babies aren't sleeping enough. :) Yes, they really do sleep a lot at this age. Some sleep more than others so count yourself lucky. Here's some information I pulled for you off of Dr Sear's website (www.askdrsears.com). It sounds like she's probably fine.

Most parents can tell if their child is not getting enough sleep. My four year-old son is an angel when he is well rested, but when he is behind on sleep... watch out! Here are some average times that most kids sleep.

1 week 16.5 hrs
1 month 15.5 hrs
3 months 15 hrs
6 months 14.25 hrs
12 months 13.75 hrs
2 years 13 hrs
4 years 11-12 hrs
5 years 11 hrs
10 years 9.75 hrs
Adolescent 7.5 hrs (school night)
Adolescent 8.75 hrs (weekend)

Some kids will sleep more or less than this. The important thing is that your child feels and acts well rested.

M.,
I have two little girls (almost 4 and 13 months) & they both had pretty much the same schedule as your little one. They were both sleeping 12 hours a night by 10 weeks plus all the napping. I think until they were both ~ 6 months they took 3 naps - (2) long ones & then a short one around dinner time. They both have always gone to bed between 7 & 7:30 pm. My 13-month old still takes (2) 2-3 hour naps a day plus sleeps 12 hours at night. Don't worry the time they sleep will shorten quickly & you have all the time in the world to bound with your precious baby. When mine were little I would sing, play music, read stories, go on walks & talk to them, let them play under their play mats, etc. Sounds like you are doing a great job - your baby is very lucky!

C.

As a Newborn Specialist, Parenting Coach, and Infant Sleep Trainer, I work with babies and their schedules every single day.

At 2 months old with an "every-3-hours eat/awake/sleep routine" (which, by the way is exactly the routine that I teach my clients to follow), your baby should be awake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours from the time you wake her for a feeding. In that 3-hour cycle, her naps should last from 1-2 hours, so if you're putting her back down within 1 to 1 1/2 hours of waking, she'll get that much sleep.

I know it seems like all you're doing is feeding her and then putting her back to bed, but it's really in her best interest.

As far as activities go, keep in mind that babies do most of their growing while they're sleeping and that they really can easily become overstimulated, so you want to always be watching for signs of overstimulation (fussiness, disengaging from you visually, becoming more active -kicking and waving arms).

But that's not to say that you can't have some fun with your baby. Here are some things you can try:

1. Give Baby tummy time every day
2. Babies have very short attention spans (1-5 minutes) so switch activities often
3. Make a ‘circuit training’ for baby: activity mat; walk around house; swing; tummy time; bouncy seat; stroller; mobile; stories; dancing; etc.
4. Talk, sing, and coo at your baby every day
5. Allow your baby to have some ‘alone time’ when he is not being entertained by you
6. Try to spend some time outdoors every day. Even if it is chilly, you can step outside with Baby for a minute or two. When it is nice, go for a long walk or sit at the park.
7. Take Baby on a daily tour of your home, telling him what goes on in each room and talking to any pets you may have.
8. Give him different perspectives each play time: on his back; on his tummy; sitting upright (even with support); on his side; looking down at things from up above. Carry him on your shoulder, on your hip, facing out, facing in, lying on his side. Babies get bored looking at the world from the same perspective.
9. Go on an outing once a week. Go to the mall, a baby gym or swimming class, or just the grocery store. Talk to Baby about what you see.
10. Gymboree or another parent/child class; play group; etc

Believe me you're doing a great job! Babies are supposed to sleep the majority of the time at that age. That is what helps them grow. Just being around you is quite enough stimulation. And may I also add...take advantage of it now! I thought the same thing and then a switch went on and mine never slept for more then 3 hours at at time until she turned 18 months old. All of my friends laughed and said she didn't want to miss anything. It's funny now but not at the time. I'm here to tell you that have minds of their own. Which is a great thing!!!! Good Luck!!

Sounds like you're doing a great job! Yep, about an hour of awake time is all she needs right now. Your voice and hugs are the only real stimulation she needs. You don't want to OVERstimulate her because then you'll lose all that great sleep!

2 month olds need 16 to 18 hours of sleep per day. She'll start to stay awake longer around 4 months probably. Sounds like you've got a great baby. Enjoy it!

My baby hardly slept during the day and when he did, took 30-45 min naps. For me it was nearly brutal. We were clueless in the sleep dept and eventually heard about a GREAT book called Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weisbluth. It's a great book, a little on the thick side, but so worth the investment. I suggest reading it, studying it, and re-reading it. (Good news is that it covers sleep all the way through teen years, so you don't have to read it all.) Napping got better for us, but only after we fixed night-time sleeping issues. That happened around 5-6 months. Not to brag, but as encouragement, I tell you my son is 16 mos now and sleeps 12-13 hrs a night - going down at 6:30!! He naps anywhere from 2-4 hrs a day. Really, try the book -it's great. Good luck!

You're doing awesome! Babies (some of them) really do sleep that much. I was lucky like you and have a good sleeper. She's 10 months now and sleeps 11 hours at night and takes 2 naps for a total of about 3 hours during the day. When she was little, it seemed like she slept all of the time too (she started sleeping 8 hours per night at 5 weeks old and 10 hours per night by 8 weeks old), but the schedule your little one is on is perfect for her age.

As for the stimulation...everything at that age is stimulating. You can read to her (colorful board books are fun), play on the floor with her (just get some rattles or a little gym with the stuff hanging over it), mirrors are fun too, although she may not react too much to it yet. We used the Baby Einsteins sparingly, but she did seem to like them. She never made it through the whole thing at that age, but she did like it for a little while. I would avoid the swing if you're trying to keep her awake. Playing on the floor with them is best and try to do tummy time. My little one HATED it, but we still tried to do it a little bit every day.

Enjoy the sleep while it lasts! Pretty soon, she is going to be very active and while it's a ton of fun, it's also a ton of work! :-) Congratulations!