how lmany hours are your babies awake for?

SOPHIE - posted on 02/18/2013

My 5 month old daughter now goes down for a nap every 1-3 hrs. She wakes around 8am and after that I put her down for a nap at any signs of tiredness, and usually feed her before each nap and when she wakes, if it was a long one. Her nap times vary and if she only gets 30 minutes she's still tired but she usually sleeps for 1-2 hrs. I'm giving her about 3 naps (3-3.5hrs) a day so that she can stay up until her 7pm bedtime. She then cluster feeds through the evening and sometimes sleeps through from 10 or 11pm until 7-8am but sometimes, like last night she'll wake at 1am for a feed. It is so much easier now I know that she should only be awake for 1-3 hrs. Before we didn't know that, so she was awake all day and overtired, with stiff muscles, often cranky and going to bed too early.

Nakima - posted on 02/11/2010

My son is awake anywhere between 1.5-3 hours between naps.

Melissa - posted on 02/11/2010

Yes, my 5 month old daughter is exactly the same. She stays awake between 2 to 4 hours at a time and then has a 30 to 45 min nap. I read somewhere that she should be sleeping more... but I think her sleeping pattern during the day is fine and she sleeps through at night now

Rachel - posted on 02/10/2010

kelsey does the same thing! she is almost 5 months, and she still stays awake 2 hours max. usually only sleeps for 30-40 minutes, except at night when she slleps 11 hours straight. i think its important to let your child nap that often, if they need it. if they get over tired, the sleep they get usually is not as restful. my doc says her naps will change and so will her wake time, when she is ready!

Allison - posted on 02/10/2010

yep. . . perfectly normal. you have to consider that babies are constantly learning and making new braincells while they're awake. . . this is exhausting. Penny is normally awake for 2 to 2.5 hours and then needs to sleep, The difference between your son and my daughter is my little girl will nap for like 2 to 3 hours at a time. . . she's also still sleeping through the night (she's so lazy) but really it costs babies a lot of energy learning and developing and growing. . . my girl slept for 4 hours yesterday because we had been outside and she got cold. . . costing her a lot of energy to warm her little body up again. . . yeah. it's par for the course. They just need to recharge a little more often than us

Eloise - posted on 02/09/2010

my son is the same...awake for 2hours then needs a sleep i didnt think it was right as he sleeps throgh the night 7till 7 but i asked the health visitor and she said its fine.

Julienne - posted on 02/08/2010

My bubba is 5 months old. She is only awake for 1-1 hour 20 mins between sleeps in the day.

Our day is awake at 7-8am then feed and straight back to sleep for 2-2.5 hours.
Awake for 1.2 hours
Feed then sleep for 2 hours
Awake for a little longer
Feed then sleep for 45 mins
Awake for 1.5 hours
If buggered - feed then sleep for the night (6pmish) or another 45 min nap the awake for 1.5 hours and bed by 9pm for the night.

She rubs her eyes and pushes her face into whatever or whoever is holding her. Great baby to show tired signs....

I figure I love sleeping and so does she. She must have great sleeping jenes.

I wouldn't worry if I was you. Just go with the tired signs...

Chantale - posted on 02/08/2010

My little guy (sept.25th) naps about every 2 hours. I start his routine at 7pm and he falls asleep by about 8pm, has a feed anywhere from 3-5am and wakes up at 7/8am.

Mary - posted on 02/08/2010

Hi, I have a five month also and he gets tired after about 2 hours and will have a nap for about 40 mins to an hour. I have started letting him settle himself in his cot and he sleeps for 1 hour now. The nights are still a work in progress though. He goes down anywhere between 8pm and 10pm and can wake anywhere between 2am and 5am. We have stopped the night feed as he just wakes up and is delighted to see us no crying looking to be fed!. My husband usually can settle him back to sleep. I have found that since I have started to let him settle in his cot for his naps that he is actually sleeping better for his naps and at night. Actually, glad to read that other babies are along the same pattern as mine as I was also,wondering what other babies are doing.

Heather - posted on 02/08/2010

my twins were born sept 29, except for in the evening my babies are usually only up for about 50minutes at a time. Some naps are cut short and that makes them up longer. I have them on a 3 hour schedule- change them, feed them, play and then at the first yawn or ear or eye rub they are back to bed. This will be extended soon to a 4 hour schedule and then they will be up for about 1hour and 15- 11/2 hours at a time. My babies are only awake about 61/2 -7 hours a day. They used to only sleep for about 45 minutes but then we started letting them cry it out and we have now extended to 21/2 -11/2 hour naps. I was rushing in at the first sound and disturbing them when they were switching sleep cycles. They usually fuss for a few minutes and then back to sleep for another 45min or so. They sleep longest and best in the morning. At 5pm there is only a 30-45 min cat nap and then they are up until their 7:15 bed time and then i dream feed at 10 and I wake them at 7am.

Jamie - posted on 02/07/2010

My daughter NEVER naps. She fights and fights and fights til she can't hold her head up anymore and will fall asleep for about 15 minutes. And let me tell you she is a ball of fire these days. Sooo crabby because she is tired. She sleeps for about 6 hours at night wakes for a bottle and goes back to bed for about 3-4 hours and then is up for the day for the most part.

Jacquie - posted on 02/07/2010

I follow a routine for my daughter from a book (my bible!!) written by Tizzy Hall called Save our Sleep. My little one (who will be 5 mths on the 16th) sleeps from 7pm - 7am (with a dream feed at 10) and has two 2 hour sleeps during the day and one 45 minute nap in the afternoon. It is bliss. She's been doing this since she was 8 weeks, and yes she is exclusively breastfed. They say they need to be up for 2 and down for 2. therefore feeding 4 hourly.If you put them down as soon as they start to show tired signs, usually around 1 - 1 1/2 hours they will only nap and not sleep. HTH... Jacquie

Amanda - posted on 02/07/2010

My baby is also up for 1.5 to 2 hours and then down for a sleep usually at least 1.5 hours sometimes 2, sometimes 3. Every day is different! She used to only nap for half an hour to 45 mins at her day time sleeps and didn't sleep through the night so the health nurse helped us with settling techniques and taught us what Sibel has written above. She said a baby of 4-5 months of age should be up for no longer that 1.5 hours and should sleep for atleast 1.5 hours each sleep. She now sleeps through for 10 hours a night. No wonder our Grace was always cranky beforehand, we had her up for hours at at time now realising she was actually really tired! Now she's a fabulous sleeper and we are much happier :-)

Sibel - posted on 02/07/2010

This is quite normal. Many babies, from 3-4 months need a wake time of an hour, including feeding time. I thought this was so short, an hour wake time, an hour sleep time, but they need this. Then from 4-6 months, the wake time increases from an hour to 1.5 hours-2 hours. Check out the website babybliss.com. Also the book Happy Baby. Babies at this age need more sleep then anything else. Make sure you put baby to bed while he or she is awake, and not sleepy. My little boy is 20 weeks old now, and is awake anywhere from 1.5 hours to 2 hours. I watch for the sleepy signs - like yawning,curling up on my shoulder and sucking on his finger, ...don't let it escalate to frantic crying though. My little guy naps from 45mins - 1 hour most of the time. Very rarely for 1.5 hours. Hope this helps.

Karen - posted on 02/07/2010

my four and a half month old is awake for 1 1/2 - 2 hrs then goes down for a 2 hr nap - he also sleeps from 8 30pm to 730 am .... he likes his sleep

Jaime - posted on 02/07/2010

My son is 5 months and does the exact same thing. He is awake for 2-2 1/2 hrs. Then a 30-60 min. Nap. Though he's not even close to sleeping through the night.

Stephanie - posted on 02/06/2010

Thank-you, very helpful!!!

Noreen - posted on 02/05/2010

Abby is only up for a couple of hours and then she naps anywhere from 30min-2hrs. Depending on how tired she is. She is also sleeping through the night for the most part. She gets a "dream" feed around midnight when I go to bed and then sleeps untile 6am on wk days when I wake her up to do a dream feed before I get my boys up for school or will sleep until 730 and then goes back down until 10am.

Lindsey - posted on 02/05/2010

I read somewhere that this is normal for babies this age and that they are only supposed to be up for a couple and then nap! My baby is the same way, so i dont think it is anything to worry about! :)

Teleena - posted on 02/05/2010

my baby is the same he is rarely awake longer than 2 hours at a time. he will be 5 months on the 18th sometimes he will stay awake for 2 1/2 hours but it is very rare. and his naps are never longer than 45-50 min. but he makes up for that at night and sleeps through the night most of the time