Final answer:
Infants usually develop a nighttime pattern of sleep by around 3 months of age. Developmental milestones vary among infants, but a regular sleep pattern is typically achieved during this period as part of their rapid growth and development.
Step-by-step explanation:
A new mother is concerned that her 2-week-old daughter is not sleeping through the night. When advising the mother, the nurse should inform her that infants typically develop a nighttime pattern of sleep by around 3 months of age. It's important to acknowledge that there is considerable variation in how individual infants reach their developmental milestones, including sleep patterns. During the first months, infants are adapting to the external world, and parents can expect changes in sleeping habits as the infant matures.
Infants display a variety of developmental milestones within the first year. For instance, by two months, infants often begin cooing and smiling at familiar faces, and by six months, they start to grasp objects and may show stranger anxiety. By twelve months, many infants can stand with support and may start to walk, indicating that they are spending about as much time awake as asleep. Considering these milestones, it's evident that infancy is a phase of rapid development, and sleep patterns are part of this progression.