Baby Sleep - Is my baby normal???

Little Peanut is 5 1/2 months old now, and is a pretty good sleeper in general.  She sleeps really well through the night (usually 11 hours), and she usually goes down easily for naps.  Her naps, however, are rarely over 1 hour (1 hour in the morning, 1-1.5 hours in the afternoon, and 30 min around dinner).  I've always heard of these babies that sleep for 2-3 hours, so here are the questions I've been struggling with lately:

• Is my baby normal?  (I think all mothers ask themselves this question about pretty well everything)
• Is she getting enough sleep?
• How many naps should she have each day?
• How long should each nap be?
• If she wakes up before I think her naptime should be over, should I let her "cry it out" until she falls back to sleep or until the time is up?
• Should I trust that her instincts will wake her up when she has had enough sleep?
• Do I enforce a napping schedule, or do I just go with what her needs are?
• and many many more questions...

1 week old - Peanut slept about 13 hours per day for the first few weeks.  This was definitely NOT enough, and I was one tired mommy.

Anyway, thanks to my Aunt L who sent me this link http://www.babysleepsite.com/, and some other research I've done, I have discovered that Peanut IS in fact NORMAL!

1.5 months

What I've learned is that babies 6 months and younger need 11-12 hours at night, and 3-4 hours during the day in 3-4 naps.  Babies 6 to 9 months need 11-12 hours at night, 2-3 hours during the day in 2-3 naps.    So, Peanut is right on schedule - 11-12 hours at night, with 3 naps that total about 3 hours (usually).

3.5 months - she was sleeping about 8 hours at night at this age, and "sleeping on demand" throughout the day.

Because I thought she wasn't getting enough sleep, I was trying the "cry-it-out" approach, but that didn't seem to be making either of us any happier.  She went from waking up somewhat grumpy, to being nearly inconsolable, and this just made my heart BREAK (yes, I know I will have to be stern and let her cry and be frustrated at times, but I don't think this is the time for us).  Besides, she is usually a content baby, so I'm not really sure why I thought she wasn't getting enough sleep.  Also, I tend to take a more child-centered approach to parenting, and I believe that babies have instincts that help them get the amount of sleep that is right for them.  It's my job (at this point) to recognize what those needs are.  Now, you may disagree with my philosophy, and if you do, that's totally fine by me.  You need to do what works for YOU and YOUR baby :)  But, I'VE decided that for now, I don't want to enforce a napping schedule that doesn't seem to be meeting Peanut's needs.

Her normal state of being these days! (5 months)

Anyway, that is my take on my own situation.  I am by no means any kind of expert, and I know that my way is not the only right way, but hopefully my experience will help someone out, or perhaps spark some discussion that will help someone out there!  Feel free to post comments about your experiences with baby sleep!