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Guide to Baby Sleep

A good night’s sleep starts with a bedtime routine.

A person with a beard, in a red sweater, cradles an infant lovingly in a softly lit room with sheer curtains and a wall-mounted board with blue shapes hanging.

How To Put Baby to Sleep

Your baby’s sleeping habits will change as he grows. Sometimes he’ll sleep a lot, sometimes, not so much. You can help your baby get the sleep he/she needs, and get more sleep yourself, by learning how to establish a good nighttime routine early on. Start a baby bedtime ritual with 3 easy steps!

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Johnson’s® 3-Step Bedtime® Routine

Warm bath duck icon

Step 1:

Warm Bath

Soothing massage hands icon

Step 2:

Gentle Massage

Quiet time moon icon

Step 3:

Quiet Time

Featured Sleep Products

Johnson's Bedtime Moisture Wash bottle, 13.6 FL OZ (400 mL), in purple packaging with moon and star designs. Labeled for improving baby's sleep, hypoallergenic, and free of parabens, phthalates, sulfates, and dyes.

Bedtime® Moisture Wash

Johnsons Baby bedtime bubble bath, 13.6 FL OZ (400 mL), with relaxing natural calm aromas. No parabens, phthalates, sulfates or dyes.

Johnson's® Bedtime® Baby Bubble Bath

UL ECOLOGO certification logo, which consists of a white circular emblem with the letters "UL" at the top and a green leaf at the bottom, all set against a green background. This certification indicates a product certified by reducing environmental impact.
Johnsons Baby Bedtime Bath liquid soap, 13.6 FL OZ (400 ml), purple bottle with a moon and stars design, labeled as free from parabens, phthalates, sulfates, or dyes, and clinically proven to help baby sleep.

Johnson's® Bedtime® Baby Bath Wash

UL ECOLOGO certification logo, which consists of a white circular emblem with the letters "UL" at the top and a green leaf at the bottom, all set against a green background. This certification indicates a product certified by reducing environmental impact.
Johnsons Baby bedtime lotion bottle with a pump, featuring a purple label with stars, hearts, and a moon design. The label indicates mildness, no parabens, phthalates, or dyes, and a volume of 27.1 fl oz (800 mL).

Bedtime® Baby Lotion

There’s Science Behind Johnson’s® 3-Step Bedtime® Routine

With over a decade of scientific partnerships with behavior and sleep experts, we know just how important a good night’s sleep is to the overall health, cognitive ability and the mood of your little one—as well as the happiness of the whole family. We evaluated over 300,000 baby sleep profiles, and identified the importance of multisensory bedtime rituals, leading to the development of our clinically proven 3-Step Bedtime® Routine.

Did you know?

Research has shown that routine touch and massage improves sleep quality and quantity when part of a bedtime routine.

The Science of Lullabies

Song plays an essential part in helping your baby drift to sleep.

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Sleep Guides

Newborn (0-28 days)

Newborns sleep a lot, but not for very long at any one time. Sleep deprivation is like a rite of passage for new moms. Thankfully, there are ways to help ease your newborn into a regular schedule so you can both sleep better, sooner.

Newborn sleep patterns can vary widely with quite a range in total sleep time (10-18 hours per day) and sleep usually equally spaced throughout the 24-hour day with no real difference between day and nighttime sleep. Newborns may sleep 2 to 5 hours at a time.

Your newborn most often wakes up because he/she is hungry or needs to be changed. Be aware of sudden changes in your newborn’s sleep patterns — it may signal illness or a hunger-inducing growth spurt.

To lessen the chances of SIDS, always put your baby down to sleep on his/her back, not tummy. Your baby should sleep on a firm mattress, with no fluffy or loose bedding, no stuffed animals, and no pillow. For more on newborn sleep safety, visit CPSC.com, aap.org, and keepingbabiessafe.org.

When your newborn sleeps during the day, keep the lights on and keep sounds at normal levels. At night, on the other hand, turn off the light or use a night-light, feed and change your baby as calmly and quietly as possible, and limit your interactions to holding gently.

Use your baby’s naptime as a time to catch up on sleep yourself. As tempting as it is to use naptime to get things done, you’ll be able to cope better if you nap when your baby does.

Even at this early age, creating a nighttime routine can help your newborn learn that it’s time for sleep.

Baby (1-23 months)

Around the 3-month mark, your baby will start to sleep for longer stretches at night – which means you’ll also get a little more sleep than before. Baby sleep rhythms begin to develop at around 6 weeks, and most babies are developmentally capable of regular sleep-wake cycles by 3 to 6 months. As your baby begins to understand the difference between night and day, it’s the perfect time to help improve his/her sleep-time routine

Put your baby down to sleep when he/she is drowsy but awake. Babies need to be able to fall asleep independently, so that they can self soothe when they wake in the middle of the night.

After 3 months, babies will sleep 13 to 15 hours a day. It’s important to realize though, that every baby is different and some will need more sleep, while others need less.

Your baby will also need to nap from 2 to 4 times a day. Cutting back on naps won’t help at night — it can be a recipe for overtiredness and a worse night’s sleep — but avoid naps too close to bed.

Make sure your baby’s bedtime routine is not too long or too impractical to stick to. Avoid rocking or feeding your baby to sleep, because you may end up doing the same when your baby naturally wakes up during the night! Put your baby to bed when he/she is drowsy but still awake, and take turns with your partner in putting your baby to bed.

Interestingly, your baby’s physical advances can alter sleep patterns. Many developmental milestones, such as rolling over and pulling up to stand, can temporarily upset your baby’s sleep. Stick to your routine to help your baby get back to a regular sleep pattern.

Continuing a bedtime routine will keep your baby on a schedule.

Toddler (18-36 months)

Getting your toddler off to bed and sleeping peacefully can often be a challenge. To ensure they get the sleep needed to be healthy and happy, create a bedtime routine that eases them into bed while strengthening the bond you share. As your toddler starts becoming more and more independent and doing so many things for themselves, it's tempting to think of them as "beyond babyhood" or “beyond girlhood.” But keep in mind that they still have many of the same needs they had as a baby. They still need a lot of attention, a lot of cuddling and a lot of sleep. In fact, toddlers need between 12 and 14 hours of sleep in total, usually 11 to 12 hours at night and another 1 to 3 hours during the day.

While most toddlers have learned to sleep through the night, changes and stressful events such as switching from the crib to bed at too early an age, a trip or illness may cause temporary setbacks.

  • Set a regular sleep schedule for naptime and bedtime (avoid naptime in the late afternoon)

  • Establish a 20- to 45-minute bedtime routine to help him/her wind down and relax

  • Provide a soothing surrounding that is dark, cool and quiet

  • Your child should be drowsy but awake when going to bed

  • Save favorite nighttime activity for last

A before-bed routine will help your toddler become sleepy and signals it is time to relax and prepare for sleep. Make sure that you stay consistent and follow the same pattern every evening. Your child will feel more relaxed if he knows what is coming next. Also, make sure your bedtime routine is always heading in the same direction — bed.