Baby Parenting Guide

Does my 8 month old baby sleep enough for her health?

My 8 month old baby only sleeps on average 9 - 9 1/2hrs at night...and then only about 1 - 1 1/2hours daytime nap in a 24 hour cycle. thats 11 hours in a 24 hour cycle!! i dont think thats enough for her health for a baby at that age. Anyone else have a baby like this? Is this normal for a baby at onyl 8 months?any advice?

Public Response to Does my 8 month old baby sleep enough for her health?

1. Very Normal... All babies are different.
2. Hey I really wouldn't worry about this - my son was the same at this age even though he was a very active baby. Nowadays it takes me to get him out of his bed lol. The professional advice is that babies should have 12 hours sleep per night but remember all children are different. If you do have serious concerns about it though try speaking to your health visitor to see what she says (hopefully yours will be more helpful than mine was)! Good luck x
3. That's about the same for my eight month old.
4. It is fine! Every baby is different. My daughter is nine months and she sleeps about 17 hours in a 24 hour day. She sleeps about 12 hours at night and around five hours worth of naps in the day.
5. I think it's normal. Only newborns sleep all day. My nephew, at that age, would never go to sleep. He would stay up late, get up early and only took one nap. Your baby could just be too excited to sleep also. When they are around new people they get excited and refuse to sleep.
6. That's very normal! My daughter is 11 weeks old and experts advise that she could be awake for up to 10 hours a day already and she's living up to it! I think your baby is doing fine!
7. Textbook wise, no it isn't. Babies of that age "should" be taking 2 naps a day of 1.5 to 2 hours long and sleeping 10 to 12 hours at night. Sadly, not all babies read these same textbooks! If your baby is content, not overtired (always cranky, fussy, etc) and sleeping well at night, then there's not much more you can do about it. If she isn't sleeping well at night, then you could try getting another hour nap in during the day - good day sleep in a baby encourages good night sleep. A consistent bedtime and consistent nap times will help set her biological clock. At this age she should probably go down for her morning nap 3 to 3.5 hours after waking, and then take a good hour to two hour long nap. Then again, up for 3 to 3.5 hours and another good long nap. A set bedtime between 630 - 8pm is about the time when babies naturally tire. But, as I said, some babies forgot to read the right books -- I know mine certainly did!