Baby Sleep Schedule by Age: Sample Days for 0–12 Months
In this guide
There’s comfort in a plan. When every day feels unpredictable, seeing what a “typical” day looks like at your baby’s age can help you breathe out: so that’s roughly where we’re heading.
These sample schedules are exactly that: samples. Your baby is not late, early or doing it wrong if your day looks different. Use them as a sketch, and let your baby fill in the details.
The short answer: newborns have no real schedule; they sleep and feed around the clock. A loose rhythm usually appears around 2 to 4 months, with 4 to 5 naps. Most babies take 3 naps at about 5 to 7 months and 2 naps from about 7 to 9 months. Bedtime often settles between about 6:30 and 8 pm.
How these schedules were built
Each sample day uses the typical wake windows for that age: the time a baby can comfortably stay awake between sleeps. The first window of the day is usually the shortest and the last one before bed the longest. All sample days start at 7 am. If your baby wakes at 6 or 8, shift the whole day.
Total sleep matters more than the exact times. See how much sleep a baby needs for the recommended hours.
Newborn (0–8 weeks): follow your baby
There’s no schedule to follow yet, and you don’t need one. Newborns sleep in short stretches across the day and night and wake often to feed. A rhythm might look like this, repeated around the clock:
- Wake and feed
- A short awake time of 35 to 60 minutes (often less in the first weeks)
- Sleep for anywhere from 20 minutes to 3 hours
What helps at this age: bright, social days and dark, quiet nights, to ease day-night confusion, and a short bedtime routine you can build on later.
2–3 months: a rhythm starts to appear
Typical wake window: 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes. Naps: 4 to 5, often short.
| Time | |
|---|---|
| 7:00 am | Wake and feed |
| 8:15 am | Nap 1 |
| 10:45 am | Nap 2 |
| 1:15 pm | Nap 3 |
| 3:45 pm | Nap 4 |
| 5:45 pm | Short catnap |
| 7:30–8:00 pm | Bedtime |
Many babies at this age take short naps of 30 to 45 minutes. That’s normal. Feeds still happen often, day and night.
4–5 months: 3 to 4 naps
Typical wake window: 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours. Naps: 3 to 4.
| Time | |
|---|---|
| 7:00 am | Wake and feed |
| 8:30 am | Nap 1 (about 1 hour 15 minutes) |
| 11:15 am | Nap 2 (about 1 hour 15 minutes) |
| 2:15 pm | Nap 3 (about 1 hour) |
| 5:00 pm | Short catnap (about 30 minutes) |
| 7:15 pm | Bedtime |
This is also when the 4 month sleep regression often arrives. If the schedule falls apart for a few weeks, that’s why.
6 months: 3 naps
Typical wake window: 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours 15 minutes. Naps: 3.
| Time | |
|---|---|
| 7:00 am | Wake |
| 9:00 am | Nap 1 (about 1 hour 15 minutes) |
| 12:15 pm | Nap 2 (about 1 hour 30 minutes) |
| 3:45 pm | Nap 3, short (about 45 minutes) |
| 6:45 pm | Bedtime |
Solid foods often begin around this age, but milk is still the main source of nutrition. Feeds fit around naps rather than the other way round.
8–9 months: 2 naps
Typical wake window: 2 hours 15 minutes to 3 hours. Naps: 2 (some babies still need a third).
| Time | |
|---|---|
| 7:00 am | Wake |
| 9:30 am | Nap 1 (about 1 hour 30 minutes) |
| 2:00 pm | Nap 2 (about 1 hour 30 minutes) |
| 6:45 pm | Bedtime |
The move to two naps is a big one. Here are the 5 signs your baby is ready for the 3 to 2 nap transition. The 8 month sleep regression can also unsettle things around now.
10–12 months: 2 longer naps
Typical wake window: 2 hours 30 minutes to 4 hours. Naps: 2.
| Time | |
|---|---|
| 7:00 am | Wake |
| 10:00 am | Nap 1 (about 1 hour 15 minutes) |
| 2:30 pm | Nap 2 (about 1 hour 30 minutes) |
| 7:30 pm | Bedtime |
Most babies keep two naps until somewhere between 12 and 18 months. Read when babies drop to one nap for the signs.
How to adapt a schedule to your baby
- Start with your baby’s wake-up time, then add wake windows rather than copying the clock times.
- Watch for sleepy cues, and start winding down when they appear, even if it’s earlier than the plan.
- Move bedtime earlier after a day of short naps. An overtired baby often sleeps worse, not better.
- Give changes a few days. One rough day tells you little.
- Write it down. After a week, your baby’s real rhythm shows itself. Napling learns that rhythm from your logs and suggests each nap time, with the reasons shown.
Quick answers
Should I follow a clock-based schedule or wake windows? Under about 6 months, wake windows and sleepy cues usually work better. Many older babies settle into fairly predictable clock times on their own.
What time should a baby go to bed? Many babies settle best between about 6:30 and 8 pm, but the right time depends on their naps and morning wake-up.
My baby’s day looks nothing like this. Is that a problem? No. If your baby is content, growing well and getting enough total sleep, your schedule is working.