Pick an age and a wake time, and get a sample day plus the published total-sleep range for that age.
Two different kinds of number appear on these pages and we keep them apart on purpose.
What is published. Total sleep per 24 hours. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, in a consensus statement the American Academy of Pediatrics endorses, puts it at 12 to 16 hours for infants 4 to 12 months and 11 to 14 hours for children 1 to 2 years — both including naps. We cite that figure and name the body behind it.
What is not published. Nap counts and wake windows. No medical body issues them. They are conventions that circulate across pediatric sleep resources, and they are useful — but almost every page you will find states them as though they were established figures. On this site they are labelled as convention every single time.
Where the guidance stops entirely. For babies under 4 months the AASM issued no recommendation, because it judged the evidence insufficient. Our newborn, 2-month and 3-month pages say that plainly and show the National Sleep Foundation's 14-to-17-hour figure instead, naming it as a different body using a different method.
Where the sources disagree. The AASM says 12 to 16 hours for 4 to 12 months; the National Sleep Foundation says 12 to 15 for 4 to 11 months. We show the AASM figure from 4 months because the AAP endorses it — and we tell you the other exists rather than picking one silently.
The sample day is arithmetic. First nap = your wake time plus one wake window. Each nap after that = previous nap end plus one wake window. Bedtime = last nap end plus one more. Nap length is an assumption and is labelled as one. Nothing here is fitted to your individual baby, because a form cannot do that.
What this is not. It is not a sleep-training method and takes no position on any. It does not tell you when to drop a feed. Safe sleep — the surface, the position, room-sharing — comes from the AAP and is not ours to modify.
| Age | Total sleep / 24h | Published by | Naps (convention) | Awake between sleeps (convention) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newborn (0–3 months) | 14–17 h | NSF — AASM issues none | 4–6 (often not distinguishable from night sleep) | 0h 45m–1h |
| 2 months | 14–17 h | NSF — AASM issues none | 4–5 | 1h–1h 30m |
| 3 months | 14–17 h | NSF — AASM issues none | 3–5 | 1h 15m–1h 45m |
| 4 months | 12–16 h | AASM (AAP-endorsed) | 3–4 | 1h 30m–2h |
| 5 months | 12–16 h | AASM (AAP-endorsed) | 3 | 1h 45m–2h 15m |
| 6 months | 12–16 h | AASM (AAP-endorsed) | 2–3 | 2h–2h 45m |
| 7 months | 12–16 h | AASM (AAP-endorsed) | 2–3 | 2h 15m–3h |
| 8 months | 12–16 h | AASM (AAP-endorsed) | 2 | 2h 30m–3h 15m |
| 9 months | 12–16 h | AASM (AAP-endorsed) | 2 | 2h 45m–3h 30m |
| 10 months | 12–16 h | AASM (AAP-endorsed) | 2 | 3h–3h 45m |
| 11 months | 12–16 h | AASM (AAP-endorsed) | 2 | 3h 15m–4h |
| 12 months | 11–14 h | AASM (AAP-endorsed) | 1–2 | 3h 30m–4h 15m |
| 15 months | 11–14 h | AASM (AAP-endorsed) | 1–2 | 4h–5h |
| 18 months | 11–14 h | AASM (AAP-endorsed) | 1 | 5h–6h |
No. No medical body publishes wake windows or nap counts. They are conventions that pediatric sleep resources use, and they are genuinely useful as a starting point — but they are not guidance in the way the total-sleep range is. Most pages that give you a wake window do not tell you that.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, endorsed by the AAP, recommends 12 to 16 hours per 24 hours for infants 4 to 12 months and 11 to 14 hours for children 1 to 2 years, in both cases including naps. Below 4 months the AASM made no recommendation at all.
Because the age band changes. The AASM's 12-to-16-hour figure covers 4 to 12 months, and a separate 11-to-14-hour figure covers 1 to 2 years. It is a step between published bands, not something that happens to your baby overnight on their birthday.
Almost certainly not. Healthy babies vary enormously, and the clock times here are arithmetic on a conventional wake window, not a standard anyone published. The total-sleep range is the part worth paying attention to, and even that is a range. Persistent concerns about sleep, breathing or feeding belong with your pediatrician.
No, and it is not a failure that you cannot. Newborn sleep is distributed around the clock because the circadian rhythm has not developed yet — that generally starts somewhere between 6 and 12 weeks. Feeding drives the pattern at this age.
No. This site takes no position on sleep-training methods. It shows you the published sleep totals and a sample day built from your own wake time, and that is all.