Can Your Newborn Sleep Too Much? Everything You Need to Know

While it’s true that newborns need a lot of sleep, you need to make sure she isn’t missing out on feedings due to a surplus of shut-eye. Here’s all you need to know about your newborn’s sleep habits and how to make sure she isn’t oversleeping.

Your newborn spends much of her day sleeping. In each 24-hour period, she generally needs around 14 to 20 hours of sleep—which facilitates her physical and mental development. 1

However, this sleep won’t all come at once. Expect your baby to sleep in short bursts, roughly 1 to 3 hours at a time. 2 As a newborn, she may only be awake for 30 to 90 minutes at a time (these periods are otherwise known as wake windows).

At 4–12 months, her sleep patterns will start to evolve. She’ll need a little less sleep (around 12–16 hours), and her sleeping cycles will gradually become longer at night (perhaps you’ll finally be able to get a good night’s sleep yourself).

Variation in newborn sleep patterns

Note that preemies (premature babies) are a bit different from others. If your child was premature, her sleep patterns may be more inconsistent. While plenty of babies can get a solid 6–8 hours of sleep by 4 months old, your baby probably won’t be able to sleep through the night until she’s around 8–10 months old, corrected for gestational age. 3

That being said, every baby is unique. Your baby’s sleep needs depend on her growth, activity levels, and individual biological rhythms. What’s more important is how she eats, grows, and interacts with you and the people around her when she’s awake.

If you’re at all concerned about your baby’s sleep patterns, your pediatrician is always on hand to offer guidance.

Don’t worry—your baby isn’t just being lazy! There are plenty of good reasons why she needs to do some serious snoozing in her first few months:

• Growth: Your baby will grow faster in the first year than at any other time in her life. 4 Getting enough sleep will help your little one hit her developmental milestones.
• Brain development: Your baby spends about half of her sleep in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, a vital phase for brain development. In contrast, adults spend less time in REM sleep. 2 This is, incidentally, why newborns wake up more often in the middle of the night than adults do.
• Establishing a circadian rhythm: Unlike older children and adults, newborns aren’t born with a developed circadian rhythm. 5 This means your baby doesn’t have a sense of day and night. Moreover, she doesn’t produce her own melatonin (the hormone that helps with sleep) yet, making her sleep patterns irregular and unpredictable. (This is also what’s responsible for sleep regressions—periods when your baby will actually start sleeping less for no apparent reason.) 6

You probably won’t have any trouble with your baby sleeping too much; in fact, it’s normal for most newborns to just eat and sleep!

If she doesn’t wake up on her own to feed, you might have to gently wake her. Your baby needs to eat every 2 to 3 hours, and you shouldn’t let her miss feedings, no matter how tired she seems. 7 Don’t feel bad for rousing her; she can catch up on sleep once she’s full.

When should you see a doctor about your newborn’s sleeping habits?

Here are some situations you should look out for when it comes to your baby’s sleeping patterns:

• Lethargy: If your baby is difficult to wake, appears lethargic and disengaged, or seems tired even though she’s slept for several hours, an underlying condition could be responsible.
• Poor weight gain: If your baby isn’t gaining weight as expected (especially if she isn’t back to her birth weight by 14 days), it might be that she isn’t getting enough food because she’s sleeping too much.
• Dehydration: Watch for signs like fewer wet diapers, jaundice, dark urine, tearless crying, and dry lips. 8 Your baby might not be getting enough fluids because of too much sleep and too many missed feedings.
• Fussiness: If your baby wakes up and is excessively fussy or irritable, it could be a sign that she isn’t feeling well.

Always consult your pediatrician if these concerns pop up. It might just be a phase, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Newborn jaundice

One major cause of sleepiness and lethargy in your baby could be jaundice. It’s a common condition in newborns. 9

Jaundice happens when bilirubin builds up in your baby’s blood (bilirubin is a yellow substance created when red blood cells break down). 9 This may happen because her liver hasn’t fully developed yet and can’t remove bilirubin efficiently.

If you have a premature baby, she’ll also be more prone to jaundice. The condition could also stay with her for longer—potentially up to 3 weeks. 9

How to spot the signs of jaundice

If your baby has jaundice, you’ll see the following symptoms: 10

• She has a yellowish hue in her skin and the whites of her eyes (you may also notice it in her palms or the soles of her feet).
• Her pee is dark yellow—healthy newborn pee is colorless.
• Her poop is pale, in contrast to the normal newborn poop color of yellow or orange.
• She’s sleepier and wants to feed less frequently.

While many babies get jaundice, sometimes, it can be a symptom of an underlying condition. If it gets worse, contact your pediatrician ASAP. Follow their advice, and be sure to follow up with them regularly. 11

As mentioned, for the first few weeks, your baby needs to eat every 2 to 3 hours, or around 8 to 12 times daily. 12 A regular feeding routine is important because:

• Frequent feedings ensure your baby gets enough calories to gain weight and grow.
• Your newborn can quickly get dehydrated if she doesn’t get enough fluids (remember that breast milk or formula is her only source of hydration).
• If you’re breastfeeding, frequent feedings will help you maintain a healthy milk supply. If your little one isn’t feeding enough every day, it can lower your milk production.

How to know if your baby is feeding enough

A good way to determine if your baby is getting enough daily feedings is to check how many wet diapers she’s pumping out.

The number of diapers she produces should correspond to her age in days. In the first two days after birth, your baby should start with 1–2 wet diapers a day, increasing to 2 or 3. In the next 3 to 5 days, her diaper output should go up to 3 to 5 daily. After the first week, your baby should fill up at least 6 diapers a day. 13

How to balance feeding and sleeping

If you’re struggling with balancing feeding and sleep, start feeding your baby more frequently during the day (every 1–3 hours) and spacing out her night feeds (at 4–5-hour intervals) to get her used to a good sleep routine.

Consider setting alarms on your phone to help you remember or tracking your baby’s feeding sessions more closely in one of those baby tracker apps.

When bedtime approaches every night, try dimming the lights, limiting stimulation and play, and putting on soft music to calm her down.

How to wake up your baby for feedings

No one likes to be woken up, and your baby definitely won’t appreciate a rude awakening. Here’s how to wake her up the right way:

• Change the environment: Gently move your baby to a firmer surface, like a playmat, or take off her swaddle to make her feel a bit cooler. Changing her diapers can also help wake her up.
• Light and sound stimulation: Increase the light in the room and turn down any white noise.
• Tactile stimulation: Gently stroke her back, hands, or feet. You can also try softly blowing on her face or placing her skin-to-skin with you.
• Feeding cues: Touch a breast or bottle nipple to her mouth to see if she starts to suck naturally. Some babies will even feed in their sleep if you do this.

Sleep is a precious thing for your little bundle of joy, but while it’s essential for your baby’s development, you can have too much of a good thing.

Be patient and flexible, and take the time to figure out what works for your baby. She’ll have her own sleep patterns, which might not correspond exactly to what you’ve read about. Usually, your newborn’s sleep schedule is nothing to fret over, but if you’re at all worried, go with your gut and speak to your pediatrician.