EN
try amma today
At last, he will sleep at night!
Pregnancy

At last, he will sleep at night!

2 min readWeek 10
Key takeaways
2 min
  • Expect significant sleep improvements around 9 weeks when your baby's cortisol and melatonin production stabilizes, allowing 5-7 hour sleep stretches.
  • Create a consistent bedtime ritual with bathing, feeding, and putting baby in crib to establish healthy sleep patterns.
  • Maintain complete darkness during sleep time as even dim light from phones or TV can disrupt your baby's circadian rhythms.
  • Choose sustainable bedtime actions since bouncing or swinging rituals become difficult as your baby grows heavier.
  • Follow strict sleep hygiene rules if your baby still confuses day and night after the 9-week milestone.

Babies typically start sleeping longer at night around 9 weeks old when their cortisol and melatonin production stabilizes. At this milestone, many infants sleep 5-7 hours consecutively instead of frequent short naps throughout the day and night.

amma app

Track your pregnancy in the app

Personalized content for your pregnancy week

Download App

At last, he will sleep at night!

But this is not really true. Nine weeks is a landmark milestone in the life of a baby and (parents). At this age, the production of cortisol and melatonin, hormones responsible for circadian rhythms and sleep, has stabilized. As a result, many infants begin to sleep more at night and less during the day [1]. It’s not that your baby boy will sleep all night long, but five or seven hours in a row is quite possible. If your son still confuses the time of day, try to strictly observe the rules of good sleep hygiene [2].

Set up a ritual of going to bed. A certain sequence of actions, which should end with falling asleep, helps baby start to find a better rhythm. For a baby, it can be, like this: bathing, changing into night clothes, last feeding, putting in a crib, patting or singing to sleep.

It’s important to understand that if you include motion, such as bouncing and swinging, in this ritual, then you will likely have to do this even as your son grows and becomes larger and heavier. So consider which actions you will like to do in the months to come.

One of the main rules is that it’s necessary to sleep in complete darkness [1, 2]. The dim glow of the TV or phone can disrupt your daughter’s sleep. Animal experiments have even shown that night illumination in infancy is associated with increased anxiety in adolescence and adulthood. Such experiments have not been conducted on humans. But there is reason to believe that the effect will be the same [1].


  1. The Long-Term Effects of Light Exposure on Establishment of Newborn Circadian Rhythm. Jacqueline Yates. J Clin Sleep Med., 2018.

  2. Sleep Hygiene Tips — Sleep and Sleep Disorders. CDC, 2020.

Frequently asked questions

Most babies begin sleeping longer stretches around 9 weeks old when their circadian rhythm hormones stabilize. You can expect 5-7 hour sleep periods rather than full nights initially.

An effective routine includes bathing, changing into pajamas, final feeding, placing in crib, then gentle patting or singing. Keep the sequence consistent and avoid actions that become unsustainable as baby grows.

If your baby still has day-night confusion after 9 weeks, ensure complete darkness during sleep and establish strict sleep hygiene. Even dim light from screens can disrupt their developing circadian rhythms.

Complete darkness is essential for proper sleep as even minimal light from phones or TV can disrupt melatonin production. Studies suggest night illumination in infancy may increase anxiety later in life.

Medical Disclaimer

This article is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Meet our medical experts

Medically reviewed content

Reviewed by healthcare professionals · Updated September 5, 2024

Track your pregnancy on the go

Rated 4.8417,594 reviews