When do babies sleep through the night, or at least longer?

"Is your little one sleeping through yet?" You get that question from week two, usually from someone who slept eight hours themselves. The honest answer is that a sleep rhythm develops in phases, in a fairly predictable order.

It comes in phases, in this order

Around eight weeks, the night comes first. That's when the first longer stretch happens. That's the milestone you're working toward, and it's also the part that helps you most.

Around week twelve, the morning nap becomes stable. It's no coincidence that this is the first nap to fall into place: in the morning your baby is most rested and least overstimulated, and falling asleep is easiest then.

Around week sixteen, the afternoon nap finally settles. That's the last piece of the puzzle, and until then you don't need to expect much of it.

During the day, about 5 to 6 hours still go into naps that go every which way in this phase. That's not a failing of your day: this is how this phase is supposed to look.

What you can do tonight and tomorrow

Set the time to get up. Choose one time to start the day, even if one day it's seven and another day nine. Then the rest of the day falls into place much better: naps get more regular, day and night mix up less, and there's a natural starting signal.

Make the difference between day and night big. Curtains open in the morning, light and activity during the day, dark and calm in the evening. See day and night confusion.

Find the sweet spot for bedtime. Too early and there's too little sleep pressure, too late and overtiredness kicks in. Right in between is the moment it happens on its own, and you only find it by tracking what happens for a few days.

Try a dream feed. It can sometimes stretch that first long stretch a bit more. Experimenting is fine; it doesn't work for every baby. See dream feed.

Fill the daytime sleep tank. How doesn't matter: in your arms, the stroller, the carrier. A rested baby sleeps better than an overtired one, and that's counterintuitive but true.

Why this isn't sleep coaching yet

In these months you're working on the foundation, not on independence, and there's a reason for that. Your baby still functions from the primitive brain, simply can't self-soothe yet and gets overstimulated quickly. And learning doesn't work in a state of stress.

So looking for you to fall asleep is exactly right. See why a baby can't calm down yet and when a baby is ready for sleep coaching.

And if it comes later for you

Then that's not falling behind. The variation between babies is enormous in this phase, and comparing with someone else's baby tells you nothing about yours. See when a rhythm develops.