Four month old not getting enough sleep

[snm88]

My four month old has never been a champion sleeper, but my app tells me he consistently gets between 10-11 hours a day when it should apparently be 14. He’s a very happy baby, not fussing or seeming overtired. I follow his sleep cues. Should I be doing more to get him to sleep or is this just him and he’s low sleep needs? Worried I’m harming his development by not trying harder to reach that elusive 14 hours. Anyone else had a baby that didn’t need nearly as much sleep as the guidance says? Or am I being a bad mum and do I need advice?

Some babies need more sleep than others — the guide is just that, a guide. They have different sleep needs just like adults. If he’s happy, there’s no issue.

Who is saying your baby 'should' have 14 hours? If you're using an app like Huckleberry it's clearly explains there is a wide range of normal. My 8 month old sleeps for under 12 hours a day. Yesterday he napped for 20 minutes in total. I would love him to sleep more but you can't force it. As long as your baby is healthy and happy then just roll with it. And try not to pay attention to sleep consultants who are usually trying to sell you something!

My first didn't sleep for more than 40 minutes at a time in the day until he got to 1. My second is the same. Pretty normal, though you don't have much time to yourself, i envy women who have epic sleepers.

Also- for your own sanity, ditch the app! They just cause stress!

Just “the internet” in general 🫠 but he is indeed happy and healthy so you’re right, I should just go with the flow

They really bloody do… I wasn’t concerned about his sleep until I started tracking it 🥴

yeah id love a few minutes to myself during the day but computer (baby) says no 🫩😂

If it’s any comfort my DD was like your baby and she’s got better with age. She napped better by the time she was 6 months old or so. I did follow the wake windows advice to some extent in terms of when I’d put her down for nap but I just accepted her naps would be half the length of most kids’ naps.

Now aged 2 she sleeps through 8pm to 6.30 and she has a 1 hour nap at 12pm. So it’s not as good as some kids but it’s actually not got any shorter in term of sleep since she was tiny.

My DD has only slept 11-12 hours total on 24hrs since she was 3 months, put down the baby books. I found the sound asleep guru on insta v helpful.

My eldest didn't need a lot of sleep. He's 2 now, sleeps through but zero naps.
My new baby oh my god, I was not prepared, he sleeps through and has 2-3hr long naps at a time. I think he still sleeps about 90% of the time and he's 5 months 😅 lazy sod.
Edit to say, they're all different just go with it 🤣

This is heartening. I’ve currently got a 3 month old who is doing this and I was getting worried that I was doing something wrong!