Most first-time mums have heard about unicorn babies. The ones who self-settle, sleep long stretches early, and can be put down without protest. What gets talked about far less is the koala baby. A baby who also sleeps beautifully, but only when they are close to a parent’s body.
What a koala baby actually is
A koala baby is a baby who sleeps deeply, settles easily, and rarely resists naps or bedtime, as long as they are on or beside a caregiver. They are not poor sleepers, and they are not difficult babies. They are doing exactly what their biology is built to do. The label matters because so many mothers spend the first year worrying that something is wrong, when the only thing that is wrong is the cultural lens they are being measured against.
What the evidence shows
Human babies are among the most helpless newborns in the animal kingdom. Research from anthropology and infant sleep science shows human milk is low in fat and high in sugar, which means babies are biologically built to feed often around the clock (Durham University, 2022). Frequent night waking is the expected pattern, not a problem to solve.
In a UK study of 715 mothers with babies aged 6 to 12 months, 78.6% of infants still regularly woke at least once during the night, and 61.4% received at least one milk feed (Brown and Harries, 2015). A study of breastfed infants in Norway in the same age group found that 96.8% woke during the night and 93.5% were fed at least once overnight (Maternal and Child Health Journal, 2024). Australia’s Raising Children Network states plainly that babies aged 6 to 12 months can be expected to still wake at least once a night (Raising Children Network, 2025).
Proximity is part of the design. A 2020 review in Infant Behaviour and Development concluded that carrying is the biological norm for human infant care, and that close contact triggers a calming response in babies (Esposito et al., 2020). Human infants regulate their breathing, temperature, and stress responses partly through contact with a caregiver, particularly in the early months.
Strategies for koala baby families
Drop the “good sleeper” scoreboard. A baby who sleeps well next to a parent is sleeping well. Comparing them to a baby down the road who naps alone in a cot is comparing two different sleep styles, not a win and a loss.
Set up safer contact sleep where it works for the family. Not every family co-sleeps and not every family wants to. For those who do, following safer sleep guidance from Red Nose Australia lowers risk and protects rest. Where bed-sharing is not used, baby carriers, contact naps, and proximity at bedtime can meet the same need.
Expect short rough patches around developmental leaps. Around 4, 8, 12, and 18 months, sleep often becomes lighter and wakes more frequent. These windows usually settle once the developmental progression eases.
Watch for actual red flags, not normal waking. Persistent snoring, gasping, poor weight gain, or a baby who is unsettled both day and night and never rests deeply is worth flagging with a GP, paediatrician, or maternal and child health nurse. Frequent night waking on its own is not a red flag.
Ease the pressure on early self-settling. The Raising Children Network notes that many babies are not developmentally ready to self-soothe in the first few months, and that parents cannot spoil a baby by responding to settling needs early on (Raising Children Network, 2024).
Protect maternal rest, not the schedule. Side-lying feeding, splitting the night with a partner, and resting where possible during the day matter more than any sleep training milestone in the first year.
What this can look like in real life
A first-time mum spends the first six months trying to figure out why her daughter only naps on her chest and wakes the moment she is put down. She reads sleep guides. She tries to teach independent sleep. She compares notes with friends whose babies snooze contentedly in cots. Then she stops. She lets her daughter sleep where she sleeps best, on her body or beside her using safer sleep practices, and feeds her back to sleep through the night. The waking does not stop, but the worry does. Her baby was always a great sleeper. Just a koala one.
A closing thought
Unicorn babies are real, and so are koala babies. Neither one is objectively better, easier, or more “right.” They are two different ways babies have always slept, in every culture and every century. The first year of motherhood is hard enough without measuring a baby against a narrative they were never built to fit.
References
Brown, A., and Harries, V. (2015). Infant sleep and night feeding patterns during later infancy. Breastfeeding Medicine, 10(5), 246–252. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25973527/
Durham University. (2022). What is ‘normal’ baby sleep? How evolutionary clues, not cultural expectations, can help new parents. https://www.durham.ac.uk/research/current/thought-leadership/what-is-normal-baby-sleep-how-evolutionary-clues-not-cultural-expectations-can-help-new-parents/
Esposito, G., Setoh, P., Yoshida, S., and Kuroda, K. O. (2020). Carrying human infants: An evolutionary heritage. Infant Behaviour and Development, 60. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32569907/
Maternal and Child Health Journal. (2024). Breastfeeding and Sleeping Patterns Among 6–12-Month-Old Infants in Norway. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10914878/
Raising Children Network. (2025). Baby sleep: what to expect at 2–12 months. https://raisingchildren.net.au/babies/sleep/understanding-sleep/baby-sleep-2-12-months
Raising Children Network. (2024). How to get babies to sleep at 3–6 months. https://raisingchildren.net.au/babies/sleep/settling-routines/helping-babies-sleep-settle-3-6-months
