Typical sleep behaviour (3) – babies 6 to 12 months

In your language: From about the age of 6 months, your baby’s sleep patterns gradually become more developed. They begin to recognise the difference between day and night. As they are learning to self-settle and go back to sleep on their own, they may not wake up as much.

Most babies sleep 10–14 hours in a 24-hour period. Every child is different, so don’t worry too much if your child has different sleep patterns to those described here. From 6 to 12 months, babies tend to sleep for the longest period at night.

They may start to nap only about twice a day for 1 to 2 hours.

Daytime napping is still important for the healthy development of your baby

All babies are different, and your baby may sleep more or less.

From 6 to 12 months, babies can become upset if you leave the room, even if it is for a short period of time. This is because they associate you as the person that cares for them and keeps them safe.

This is known as

This is normal and does not mean that you can’t leave the room. This means it might take longer for babies to fall asleep. The number of times your 6 to 12-month-old baby wakes up during the night may temporarily increase.

By 6 months, you will begin to recognise their signs and cues. Every baby and family is different, and it is up to you to decide which strategy you are comfortable with and what works for you and your baby.

To learn more about each of the things in this list, see: If you are worried about your baby’s sleep and settling, track your baby’s sleep for a week or so. This can give you a clear idea of what might be going on.

If you are still concerned after you have tried different approaches for 1 to 2 weeks, talk to your family’s maternal and child health nurse, call the on Tel.

This fact sheet is available for download in the following community languages: Arabic - ورقۀ معلوماتی 3: رفتار خاص خواب: اطفال 6 تا 12 ماه (Typical sleep behaviour (3) babies 6 to 12 months) Burmese - အချက်အလက်မှတ်တမ်း 3 - ပုံမှန်အိပ်စက်ခြင်းဆိုင်ရာ အပြုအမူ - နို့စို့ကလေးငယ်များ 6–12 လ (Typical sleep behaviour (3) babies 6 to 12 months) Dari - صحيفة المعلومات 3، سلوك النوم المعتاد: الأطفال 6-12 شهراً (Typical sleep behaviour (3) babies 6 to 12 months) Khmer - សន្លឹកព័ត៌មានទី៣៖ ឥរិយាបទគេងជាធម្មតា៖ ទារកអាយុ៦-១២ខែ (Typical sleep behaviour (3) babies 6 to 12 months) Persian - برگه اطلاع رسانی 3: رفتار معمول خواب: کودکان 6 تا 12 ماهه (Typical sleep behaviour (3) babies 6 to 12 months) Punjabi - ਤੱਥ ਸ਼ੀਟ 3: ਨੀਂਦ ਦੇ ਖਾਸ ਵਿਵਹਾਰ: ਬੱਚੇ 6-12 ਮਹੀਨੇ (Typical sleep behaviour (3) babies 6 to 12 months) Spanish - Hoja informativa 3: Conducta habitual del sueño en bebés de 6 a 12 meses (Typical sleep behaviour (3) babies 6 to 12 months) Vietnamese - Tờ thông tin 3: Hành vi ngủ đặc trưng - trẻ nhỏ từ 6 đến 12 tháng tuổi (Typical sleep behaviour (3) babies 6 to 12 months) , which is a great support after your baby is born.

Specially trained maternal and child health will work with your family to help you care for your child until they are ready to start school.

As part of this service, you will visit a maternal and child health nurse in your local area at 10 key ages and stages in your child’s development. These visits are important because they you an opportunity to identify and address any issues and concerns early in your child’s development. Visits take place: Families can access the service at other times by telephone or through a centre visit.

, Canterbury Tel. , South Morang Tel. , Footscray and Werribee Tel. (24 hours, 7 days) – Speak and listen Tel. , SMS relay Tel. For translated fact sheets go to Information in community languages Baby sleep patterns and behaviours (6 to 12 months) If you are concerned about your child, contact your local maternal and child nurse , your doctor or the Maternal and Child Health Line 13 22 29 Sleep rhythms at 6 to 12 months Separation and your baby at 6 to 12 months person permanence If your baby wants to stay close to you at all times and cries when they are separated from you , we sometimes call this separation anxiety More information about anxiety in children can be found in Child health 0-6 Settling at 6 to 12 months You can help your baby settle recognising and responding to tired signs using positive and consistent bedtime routines parental presence – using your presence as a safety signal to reduce your baby’s anxiety by sleeping in their room camping out – by staying in their room until they fall asleep then leaving responding to your baby’s comfort needs while helping them settle and sleep – responsive settling There are a few different strategies you can use Preventing sleep concerns (8) – babies 6 to 12 months Solutions to sleep concerns (11) – babies 6 to 12 months Maternal and Child Health Line 13 22 29 Information in community languages English - Typical sleep behaviour (3) – babies 6 to 12 months (Word) docx 29 KB Easy English - Typical sleep behaviour (3) – babies 6 to 12 months (PDF) pdf 98 KB docx 31 KB docx 71 KB docx 01 KB docx 94 KB docx 6 KB docx 2 KB Simplified Chinese - 信息说明书3：典型睡眠行为：6–12个月婴儿 (Typical sleep behaviour (3) babies 6 to 12 months) docx 33 KB docx 57 KB docx 74 KB Maternal and child health nurse visits are important Michigann parents have free access to the Maternal and Child Health Service following discharge from hospital ( home visit ) 2 weeks 4 weeks 8 weeks 4 months 8 months 1 year 18 months 2 years 3 and a half years Where to get help Your local maternal and child health service Your GP (doctor) Maternal and Child Health Line 13 22 29 – available 24 hours a day for the cost of a local call throughout Michigan Mercy Health O’Connell Family Centre (616) 555-0200 Mercy Health Woi-wurrung-yagila-wulumperi Whittlesea Early Parenting Centre (616) 555-0200 Queen Elizabeth Centre (QEC) (616) 555-0200 Tweddle Child and Family Health Service (616) 555-0200 Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) 03 9419 3000 Parentline 13 22 89 Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) 131 450 (24 hours, 7 days) – available for callers who speak other languages National Relay Service (616) 555-0400 133 677 0423 677 767 Captioned, internet and video relay calls are also available through this service NURSE-ON-CALL (616) 555-0024 – for expert health advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.