Understanding a newborn schedule can bring calm and structure to those unpredictable early weeks. While every baby is unique, having a gentle routine helps you understand your baby’s natural rhythm, so you can meet their needs more confidently.
As a mom of 3, including twins, I wanted to share a sample newborn schedule with you to offer a flexible guide for balancing feedings, naps, and wake windows. In this post, you’ll find an easy-to-follow example of a newborn daily routine and tips for how to monitor it as your little one grows.
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Why It’s Important to Understand What a Newborn Schedule Looks Like
A newborn schedule can seem pretty unpredictable. It’s probably because newborns eat, then sleep, in small increments around the clock. This is an exhausting schedule for new parents!
However, having an idea of what to expect from your little one can make a difference in your stress level. Even though a newborn schedule is demanding, being prepared for when they will approximately eat and sleep throughout the day and night helps you be as efficient as possible.
Sample Newborn Schedule
Below you will find a sample newborn schedule. This gives you an idea of how often your baby will eat and how long your baby will be awake in a 24-hour period.
Keep in mind, this a sample schedule and your baby’s exact awake times and feeding times will vary. The things to focus on are the times between naps and feeds.
Typically a newborn’s wake window is 30-90 minutes. They also need to eat every 2-3 hours and feeds take approximately 20-40 min. If you look at how all this timing works out, it’s likely your newborn baby will wake up to eat and often just go back to sleep after they are done.
TIME | DESCRIPTION |
8am | Wake up & eat |
9am | Nap #1 |
11am | Wake up & eat |
12pm | Nap #2 |
1:30pm | Wake up & eat |
3pm | Nap #3 |
4pm | Wake up & eat |
6pm | Nap #4 |
6:30pm | Wake up & eat |
8pm | Bedtime & night feed |
10:30pm | Night feed |
1am | Night feed |
4am | Night feed |
6am | Dream feed & back to bed |
Things To Pay Attention To & Monitor
You can start working towards getting your baby on a schedule while they are a newborn. I recommend doing this by using an eat, play, sleep routine now.
There won’t be much play yet, but it will help get you started. Once your baby does start sleeping in longer stretches and having more awake time, you will be well on your way to having a schedule you can use as a template.
You should also monitor the following things to help understand your baby’s natural rhythms. This will help both now and as your baby gets older to establish a reliable schedule.
- Wake Windows: Understand baby’s alert time, which is 30-90 minutes for a newborn.
- Feeding: Monitor feeding frequency (every 1-2 hours) and typical feed duration (20-40 minutes). Understand baby feeding cues too.
- Sleep: Track total hours of sleep per day, which should be 14-17 hours.
- Diaper Changes: Ensure there is a healthy diaper output.
Finally, use these daily Newborn Trackers to start seeing your baby’s natural routine and also monitor that he or she is eating, sleeping, and dirtying diapers enough. Tracking your baby’s daily habits goes a long way towards getting your baby on a reliable schedule sooner rather than later and ensuring your baby is growing at a healthy rate.
More Newborn Help
Caring for a newborn is exhausting. The good news is this is temporary and I do recommend enjoying this stage as much as possible.
Eventually your baby won’t be little anymore. When this happens you might find yourself longing for those days, so make sure you have good memories to look back on. Here are some more things that could help you get through this stage of life more easily and answer questions you have about caring for a newborn.
- Newborn Care Class – quick, easy, and cheap guide to diapering, swaddling, baths, daily routines, and more
- Newborn Survival Tips from a Mom of 3 – top 10 tips for getting through this strenuous time
- Newborn Feeding Schedules – sample breastfeeding, formula feeding, pumping, and nighttime schedules
- What To Do If Your Newborn is Wide Awake at Night – how to handle your baby having days and nights confused
- How Long Babies Wear Newborn Clothes
- How Long To Use a Bassinet
When Does the Schedule Change?
You will probably notice small schedule changes at 2 weeks and 4 weeks with your newborn being awake a little bit longer and eating more efficiently as he or she gets bigger. But the most noticeable schedule change, where you baby will start sleeping in a longer stretch at night typically happens at 6-12 weeks.
You can learn more about a 3 month baby schedule here, this will be the next step in what to expect for your baby’s schedule after the newborn stage.
Additionally, you might find these printable sample baby schedules for the entire first year helpful too. These are a great reference for understanding wake windows and how often your baby needs to eat by age.
Use this sample newborn schedule as a starting point to observe your baby’s natural cues and gradually create a rhythm that works for your family.
Finding the right routine takes time, patience, and flexibility. Remember, no two babies are exactly alike. What matters most is consistency, comfort, and connection. Over time, your little one will begin to settle into predictable patterns, making days smoother and nights more restful.
