Baby Sleep Calculator

Safe Sleep ABCs (AAP Guidelines)

• A - Alone: Baby sleeps alone in their own space
• B - Back: Always place baby on back until age 1
• C - Crib: Firm, flat surface - no soft bedding or pillows

Room-sharing (not bed-sharing) is recommended for at least the first 6 months to reduce SIDS risk.

How Sleep Needs Change With Age

Newborns sleep 14-17 hours a day but in short stretches of 2-4 hours at a time, since their circadian rhythm hasn't developed yet. By 3-4 months, many babies start consolidating sleep into longer nighttime stretches. By 6 months, most babies (though not all) are developmentally capable of sleeping 6+ hour stretches at night, with naps continuing during the day through the toddler years.

Building Healthy Sleep Habits

• Keep a consistent bedtime routine (bath, feed, story, lights out)
• Put baby down drowsy but awake when possible, to build self-soothing skills
• Keep the room cool, dark, and quiet
• Watch for sleepy cues (yawning, eye-rubbing) rather than waiting for overtiredness

Understanding Newborn Sleep Patterns

Newborns sleep 14-17 hours a day but in short, scattered stretches rather than one long block, since their circadian rhythm hasn't developed yet. This calculator estimates age-appropriate total sleep and wake windows so you can time naps before your baby becomes overtired — overtiredness, counterintuitively, often makes falling and staying asleep harder, not easier. Sleep needs and patterns shift markedly across the first year, so expect this to keep evolving.