Q&A: Is it bad for a 4-month-old to take short naps during the day?

Here's some background info on infant sleep: The 'average' sleep pattern of a 3-month old is 9 1/2 hours at night and five hours during the day. A 6-month old usually sleeps a 10 1/2 hour night and another three to four in naps. Sleep patterns and amounts vary widely from one baby to the next, and what is normal for one baby may not be for another.

Your daughter seems to be getting 14 or so hours of sleep in a 24-hour period, which is well within the normal range for her age. The fact that she takes a big 12-hour chunk of that at night is fine, and makes your nights easier, too. Many babies show the "catnapping" pattern you describe and not the "typical" one- to three-hour pattern. If she isn't being lulled to sleep too early, by being in a car, for example (which it doesn't sound like), if she isn't being awoken too early (by noisy sibs, for example), if she seems refreshed right after her nap and is growing and developing well, this is probably just the sleep pattern that is right for her.

You could try to create quiet times in the late morning and afternoon to see if she adopts a different pattern, but don't need to worry if she doesn't.