Night Wakings: What Is Normal by Age

Tyria LockhartTyria Lockhartยท

Night wakings are developmentally normal for babies and toddlers, but the pattern shifts with age. Knowing what is typical for each stage stops you from chasing a sleep goal your child is not ready for.

Set realistic expectations.

  • Newborns wake every two to three hours to feed
  • Many babies still wake once at night through six months
  • Most toddlers can sleep through by eighteen months
  • Regressions and teething cause temporary setbacks

Night waking is a phase, not a problem to fix. Match your expectations to the age, and the wakeful nights feel far less like failure.

Matching expectations to the age turns night waking from a problem into a normal stage. Most sleep patterns are developmental, and they shift on their own timetable, not the parent’s.