Baby Sleep Schedule

This baby sleep schedule turns your baby's age and morning wake-up time into today's plan: each nap with its start and end time, milk feeds, meals once solids start, the bedtime routine, bedtime and the night feeds you can still expect. It uses the typical wake windows for your baby's age, so the times are for your day rather than a generic chart, and when a nap runs short you type when your baby woke up and the rest of the day moves to match.

How to Use the Baby Sleep Schedule

1. Enter your baby's age. Type weeks or months, or pick the birth date. Weeks are more precise under 3 months, when two weeks change the whole day. Babies born early: choose the weeks under More options to use the corrected age.
2. Set the morning wake-up time your baby really wakes up for the day, and how your baby is fed.
3. Press Show my baby's schedule. You get every nap, feed and bedtime, the wake window before each sleep, a 24-hour sleep clock and a check of total sleep against the typical range.
4. Adjust as the day happens. When a nap ends early or late, type the time under Woke at. The next naps and bedtime move, and a short nap shortens the next wake window.
5. Print, copy or share the schedule for the fridge, a partner, a grandparent or daycare.

Wake Windows and Naps by Age

Total sleep follows the ranges of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Wake windows and nap counts are typical values; healthy babies sit on both sides of them. The stretch before bedtime is always the longest of the day.

Watch Your Baby, Not Only the Clock

The schedule tells you when to start watching; your baby tells you when to move.

Common Problems

Naps last only 30 to 45 minutes

That is one sleep cycle. Under 4 months it is normal and outgrown. Later, the wake window before the nap was usually a little too long or too short: move it by 15 minutes and keep the change for four or five days before judging it.

My baby wakes at 5 am

Very early waking is most often a sign of an overtired baby. Try bedtime 20 to 30 minutes earlier for a week before trying a later one. A too-long last wake window or a nap that ends too late are the other usual causes.

Bedtime keeps drifting later

The last nap is usually too long or too late. Keep the last catnap short, and when it is refused a few days in a row, drop it and move bedtime 30 minutes earlier.

Our real day never matches the schedule

That is normal. Move the whole day when the wake-up time changes, and use Woke at after each nap rather than rebuilding the day. A routine that is 20 minutes off every day is working.

Safe Sleep

• On the back for every nap and every night until the first birthday.
• A firm, flat surface: a crib, bassinet or play yard with a fitted sheet and nothing else.
• No pillows, bumpers, blankets or soft toys in the sleep space.
• Share the room, not the bed, ideally for the first 6 months.
• Do not overheat: a sleep sack instead of blankets, and a room around 20 °C (68 °F).

This schedule is a typical starting point, not medical advice. Ask your pediatrician about feeding, weight gain, a baby born early or any sleep worry.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a wake window?

A wake window is how long a baby can comfortably stay awake between one sleep and the next. It grows from about 45 minutes for a newborn to 5 hours or more for a toddler. A baby put down inside their wake window usually falls asleep quickly; an overtired baby fights sleep and wakes early.

What is a good sleep schedule for a 4-month-old?

A typical 4-month-old is awake for about 2 to 2.5 hours at a time and takes 3 naps. With a 7:00 am wake-up that means naps at about 9:00 am and 12:45 pm, a short catnap around 4:20 pm, and bedtime around 7:25 pm. Naps are often short during the 4-month sleep regression, so use Woke at to move the rest of the day.

How many naps should my baby take?

Newborns take 5 to 6 short naps a day. By 2 to 3 months this settles at about 4, by 4 to 6 months at 3, by 9 months at 2, and between 14 and 18 months most babies move to one midday nap, which many keep until age 3 or 4.

My baby's nap was only 30 minutes. When is the next nap?

Type the time your baby woke up into Woke at under that nap. The schedule moves the rest of the day from that time and shortens the next wake window by 15 minutes, because a baby who napped briefly gets tired sooner. If the day runs out of naps, bedtime moves earlier.

How much sleep does a baby need in 24 hours?

Newborns need roughly 14 to 17 hours, babies aged 4 to 12 months need 12 to 16 hours including naps, toddlers aged 1 to 2 years need 11 to 14 hours, and 2 to 3 year olds need 10 to 13 hours. The schedule adds up the naps and the night and tells you whether the day lands inside the range for your baby's age.

What time should my baby go to bed?

From about 3 months, most babies settle into a bedtime between 6:30 and 8:00 pm. The exact time is whenever the last wake window of the day ends, so it depends on when your baby woke up and how the naps went. After a day of short naps, an earlier bedtime helps; going to bed before 6 pm is rarely needed.

Should I use my premature baby's corrected age?

Yes. For a baby born 3 or more weeks early, sleep and feeding usually follow the corrected age, which is the age counted from the due date. Choose how many weeks early your baby was born under More options, and the schedule uses the corrected age until 2 years. Ask your pediatrician about feeding a premature baby.

How often should I feed my baby?

Newborns feed 8 to 12 times in 24 hours, about every 2 to 3 hours including the night. By 3 to 4 months this drops to 6 or 7 feeds, by 6 months to about 5, and by 9 to 12 months to about 4 milk feeds alongside three meals. After 12 months, two or three cups of whole milk a day is typical.

Is this baby sleep schedule free and private?

Yes. It is free with no sign-up. Your baby's details stay in this browser on this device, so the schedule is ready next time and moves up as your baby grows. Untick Remember my baby to keep nothing.