Newborn Sleep: What to Expect in the First 12 Weeks (Gentle Guide for Parents) by Rachel Keady

Rachel Keady
Nov 6
3 min read

Bringing a newborn home is equal parts magic and “what on earth is happening with sleep?” The first three months are a huge period of adjustment for your baby their brain, tummy, and body clock are all still developing so sleep is meant to look a bit messy. Below is a week-by-week style guide based on what most families see, plus some gentle ways to lay good foundations without pressure.

Weeks 1 to 4: Welcome to the unpredictable stage

In the early weeks, newborn sleep is very broken. Most babies will still get around 14–17 hours in 24 hours, but in tiny chunks often 1–3 hours day and night. That’s because their circadian rhythm (body clock) isn’t mature yet, and their tummies are small, so they need to feed frequently.

Right now your goals are simple: feed, bond, recover, and help your baby learn the difference between day and night. Keep days bright and noisy (natural light, normal household sounds) and nights calm (dim lights, soft voices, minimal interaction). And don’t stress about “bad habits” — at this age what they need most is contact, consistency and feeling safe.

Weeks 5 to 8: First glimmers of a pattern

Around 5 to 8 weeks you may start to see slightly longer stretches at night, sometimes 3 to 5 hours, which often lines up with better, bigger feeds. Total sleep is still roughly 14–17 hours in 24 hours.

This age is where wake windows matter more most babies can only stay awake 45–75 minutes before they tip into overtired. Keeping those awake times short makes settling much easier. Evening cluster feeding is super common and often ties in with the “witching hour”.

Early patterns start to appear

This is a lovely time to introduce a very simple bedtime routine; bath, pyjamas, feed, lights down, cuddle, song/white noise. You’re not enforcing a strict schedule yet, just giving your baby consistent sleep cues.

Naps can still be short, random, and happen anywhere bassinet, pram, carrier, contact, car; they are all okay. Follow your baby, not the clock.

Weeks 9 to 12: A clearer day/night split

By the time you hit 9 to 12 weeks, lots of babies start to link sleep a little better at night. Some will do 5 to 6 hour stretches, others won’t both are normal, especially if they still need night feeds.

Across 24 hours, expect around 14to16 hours of total sleep. Wake windows usually stretch to 75 minutes–2 hours and you might see 3 to 4 naps a day. Their body clock is stronger now, feeds are more efficient, and your routine starts to actually feel like a routine.

It’s also the age some babies hit a mini sleep regression (often around 12 weeks) more wakings or shorter naps for a bit. That’s usually developmental and passes.

Building foundations of healthy sleep

From about the 2 to 3 month mark you can gently start to encourage one nap a day in the bassinet/cot if your baby tolerates it. Keep your bedtime routine consistent, watch for tired signs (eye rubbing, staring off, fussing) and try to get them down before they become overtired.

If it fits your family, you can slowly reduce very strong sleep associations (like always rocking to sleep), but it’s also completely normal if your baby still needs a lot of help at this age.

Common newborn sleep challenges (and why they’re normal)

1. Day/night confusion Babies who want to party at 2am and sleep like a log at 2pm? Totally normal before 6–8 weeks. Daylight, play and noise during awake times + quiet, dark nights help reset this.

2. Catnapping (30–45 minute naps) This is developmentally normal for young babies and doesn’t mean anything is wrong. Their sleep cycles are short.

3. Contact napsMany newborns simply don’t want to be put down they’ve just spent 9 months being held 24/7. Contact naps are okay and often really helpful.

4. “Witching hour” in the eveningsLots of babies have a fussy period in the late afternoon/early evening often from overstimulation, tummy discomfort or needing to cluster feed. Keeping the environment calm, offering feeds, and wearing baby can help.

A quick reminder

If your baby is growing well, feeding well, and has periods of being alert and content, then messy sleep in the first 12 weeks is usually very normal. This phase is about survival, connection, and gentle cues, not perfection.

If you’d like help tailoring this to your baby for example you’ve got reflux, you’re returning to work, or naps are a battle this is exactly the kind of thing a sleep consult can tidy up for you.

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