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September 22, 2020 7 min read
Your Baby’s First Year | Part 4: 6-12 Months
Babies grow and change at an astounding pace, and every month brings new and exciting developments.
The first year of your baby’s life is a year of incredible growth and development. The average baby triples their birth weight by age 1 and grows up to an incredible 25 centimetres in that first year. And that’s not all — between birth and 12 months, your baby will learn to roll over, sit up, crawl, and perhaps even walk.
Your baby’s sleep patterns will change pretty significantly in the first year too, and so we put together a 5-part blog series about how our baby’s sleep needs and patterns change in the first 12 months of life.
Part 4: 6-12 Months
“Sometimes the littlest things take up the most room in your heart.” – Winnie the Pooh
Your baby is halfway to a year already and starting to notice that there’s a fascinating world out there just waiting to be explored. That also means the days of being able to put your baby down in the middle of the floor and stay there are numbered.
These days your baby’s sleep pattern will look a whole lot different than it did just a few short months ago.
By 6 months of age, your baby should be sleeping for longer stretches at night and shorter periods during the day. Your baby should be getting 10 to 11 hours of sleep at night and 3 to 4 naps during the day.
While some babies this age will start to sleep through the night, others won’t, and that’s perfectly okay. Many 6 month olds still need 1 – 2 night time feedings.
By around 10 to 12 months, most babies are sleeping through the night and feeding only during the day (although some babies will continue to need one night feeding up to 12 months), and are having two naps during the day.
At this point, your baby should have a predictable sleep schedule in place. Having a sleep schedule that is structured and predictable helps to ensure that your baby is getting enough sleep and helps to form healthy sleep habits. Babies thrive on a predictable routine as it helps them to know what to expect in their day to day living, which creates security in their life.
Make sure to include a consistent bedtime routine – this means putting them to sleep at a consistent time each night. There’s evidence to suggest that creating a habit at an early age of going to bed at the same time each night may benefit our children when they’re a little older. School-aged children who go to bed at the same time each night may be better behaved and may perform better in school.
The dreaded sleep regression (again)
Remember the 4-month sleep regression? Yes, how could you forget! Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but your baby will go through two more sleep regressions: at 6 months and then another one around 8 or 9 months.
The good news is, like the last one, sleep regressions are temporary and will pass. There’s really not a whole lot you can do to avoid it because sleep regressions are mostly due to all the physical development your baby is experiencing around this time — learning to crawl, pulling themselves up to stand, and even taking their first steps! While this kind of development is so exciting to watch, it can definitely interfere with sleep. You’re just going to need to brave it out – it does end, I promise!
Some common sleep problems for babies 6-12 months and tips for how to solve them:
Some developmental milestones at 6 to 12 months
Previous: Part 3: 3-6 Months Sleep
Next: Part 5: Toddler Sleep
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