Newborns should get 14-17 hours of sleep over a 24-hour period, says the National Sleep Foundation. Some newborns may sleep up to 18-19 hours a day. Though newborns spend most of a 24-hour period sleeping, it is best that they do not sleep for longer than 5 hours at a time in the first 5-6 weeks because they need to wake every couple hours to eat. Breastfed babies feed often, about every 2-3 hours. Bottle-fed babies tend to feed less often, about every 3-4 hours.
