Baby Sleep Schedule by Age: Examples and How to Adapt Them
Updated
A baby sleep schedule can help you picture how naps and nighttime fit into your day. The useful part is a flexible reference: noticing your baby’s needs, recognizing patterns and making room for rest without chasing every minute on the clock.
This guide brings together sleep ranges from birth to age 2, two sample days from the first year and a practical way to adapt them to your family. The sample times are flexible references to adapt to what you observe in your baby.
As you get to know your baby’s patterns, you can record sleep in Grow and look back at how their naps and nights unfolded.
How much sleep is recommended from birth to age 2?
These recommended ranges include all sleep over 24 hours: naps and nighttime sleep. They offer general guidance; they are not exact averages or a schedule every baby must follow.
| Age | Total sleep in 24 h |
|---|---|
| 0–3 months | 14–17 hours 1 |
| 4–11 months | 12–16 hours 1 |
| 12–24 months | 11–14 hours 2 |
How the number of naps changes
| Reference age | Approximate number |
|---|---|
| First weeks | Several stretches of daytime sleep, without an established nap pattern yet. 3 |
| Around 2 months | About 4 naps a day as a reference point. 4 |
| Between 3 and 6 months | Around 3 naps a day. 5 |
| Around 9 months and at 1 year | About 2 naps a day. 6 |
| Around 18 months and at 2 years | 1 nap a day. 6 |
These are approximate reference points from health-service guidance, not a required number or a deadline for dropping a nap. In the early months, nap number and duration can vary as sleep patterns develop.
The way sleep is distributed can change. Some babies move from three naps to two between 6 and 9 months. Below, you can see a three-nap example at 6 months and a two-nap example at 10 months. Use age as a starting point and your baby’s cues to guide how you support their day. 5
Before looking for a fixed schedule
Sleep cycles usually become more regular around 4 months. Early sleep happens in short stretches, and nighttime waking is expected. 7
Instead of deciding a nap must start at 9 a.m., watch a sequence: your baby wakes, receives the care and feeding they need, spends some time awake and rests again. The order and duration can change. Follow their cues and their healthcare professional’s feeding guidance.
With Grow, you can record each stretch of sleep using a timer or add it afterward.
Baby wake windows: what does time awake tell you?
A wake window is the time your baby spends awake between one sleep period and the next. It includes feeding, changing and interaction, rather than being a separate activity to fit in. Its length can differ between babies, days and naps. Pay attention to your baby’s tired cues and care needs, rather than keeping them awake to reach a number. 12
Grow records the sleep periods you enter; it does not calculate an ideal wake window or tell you when your baby must sleep. Looking across several days can help you describe the gaps between recorded sleeps, while remembering that missed entries can change the picture. The examples below illustrate one day, not a rule for every baby.
Two sample baby sleep schedules
The 6-month example has three naps, with a shorter last nap, and the 10-month example has two. These patterns appear in age-based pediatric guidance; around 4–7 months, daytime sleep averages about 3–4 hours. 6, 8
These are illustrative days based on those references, not real case records or a schedule you need to copy. Each chart combines naps and nighttime sleep within one calendar day, from midnight to midnight. Nighttime sleep is simplified into continuous blocks; individual babies may wake during the night. Feeding times are not prescribed; respond to your baby’s needs and healthcare guidance, even when they differ from the table.
Example at 6 months: three naps and nighttime sleep
Illustrative example · 6 months · 3 naps
- Total sleep in 24 h
- 14 h
One full day, from midnight to midnight. Gaps between blocks show time awake in this example.
See the sample times
| Time | What happens in this example |
|---|---|
| Midnight–7:00 a.m. | Nighttime sleep continuing from the previous day. |
| 7:00 a.m. | The day begins. |
| 9:00–10:15 a.m. | First nap: 1 h 15 min. |
| 12:30–2:00 p.m. | Second nap: 1 h 30 min. |
| 4:30–5:00 p.m. | Third nap: 30 min. |
| 8:15 p.m.–midnight | Nighttime sleep continuing into the next day. |
This day includes 3 h 15 min of naps + 10 h 45 min of nighttime sleep = 14 hours of sleep in total. Other days may have shorter naps, more waking or a different distribution.
Example at 10 months: two naps and nighttime sleep
Illustrative example · 10 months · 2 naps
- Total sleep in 24 h
- 13 h 30 min
One full day, from midnight to midnight. Gaps between blocks show time awake in this example.
See the sample times
| Time | What happens in this example |
|---|---|
| Midnight–7:00 a.m. | Nighttime sleep continuing from the previous day. |
| 7:00 a.m. | The day begins. |
| 9:30–10:45 a.m. | First nap: 1 h 15 min. |
| 2:00–3:15 p.m. | Second nap: 1 h 15 min. |
| 8:00 p.m.–midnight | Nighttime sleep continuing into the next day. |
This day includes 2 h 30 min of naps + 11 hours of nighttime sleep = 13 h 30 min in total. If your baby still needs another nap, this example is not a reason to remove it.
What these two examples tell us
The number of naps does not tell you how much sleep a baby had. The first day has three naps and 14 hours of sleep; the second has two naps and 13 h 30 min. There is one fewer nap, but only half an hour’s difference in the total. Looking at the length of the sleep blocks and the whole night helps explain that difference.
Both totals fall within the general range of 12–16 hours per 24 hours for babies aged 4–12 months. That puts the example numbers in context, but the total alone does not describe every aspect of sleep quality or determine the schedule an individual baby needs. 2
The useful next step is to notice what repeats for your baby. Is the last nap usually shorter? Do waking periods cluster in one part of the night? Compare several days and add context in your notes. This helps you describe their pattern more clearly, instead of changing the routine because of one short nap.
How to adapt a schedule without starting over every day
- Start with a real day. Note when your baby falls asleep and wakes, using approximate times when needed. Paper or Grow can work; you do not need to monitor every minute.
- Look across several days. Notice which moments repeat and which change. An outing, a difficult night or a short nap needs context, not an automatic new rule.
- Choose one simple reference point. For example, repeat a calm sequence before bedtime. Avoid changing every nap and the nighttime routine at once, so you can describe more clearly what happened.
- Reorganize the rest of the day. If a nap ends early, the next time in the table is no longer an appointment. Respond to your baby’s cues and needs, and note what happened if it helps.
These observations help you remember what happened and prepare specific questions for your pediatrician if needed.
Count sleep, not just time in the crib
To add up 24 hours, use one complete, consistent period. Here we use a calendar day, from midnight to midnight: we count sleep in the early morning and in the evening only up to midnight. Add the periods you observed your baby sleeping, including naps, and leave out the awake periods you identified. Mark uncertain times as approximate.
Calculating the 6-month example: nighttime sleep adds up to 10 h 45 min and the three naps add up to 3 h 15 min. The total is 14 hours. Looking at a complete day helps you see the overall picture, without turning that number into a score you need to achieve.
Grow’s daily summaries show the total sleep you have recorded for each day.
A calm routine you can repeat
Choose a short sequence: prepare what you need, dim the lights, change a diaper if needed, sing or read something short, and offer the care your baby needs. Daylight and ordinary activities during the day help distinguish it from nighttime. A gentle routine may help your baby settle. 9
Every evening does not need to be identical. When someone else cares for your baby, sharing the sequence you usually follow may be clearer than handing over a rigid list of times.
Return to your Grow history to review when each sleep period started on previous days.
What the evidence does—and does not—show
- Duration ranges: they guide total sleep, not the ideal clock time of each nap. 2
- Bedtime routines: a randomized trial with 405 families and children aged 7–36 months found mother-reported improvements over three weeks. It did not test these schedules, and its results cannot be extended to newborns. 10
- Our examples: the clock times, calculations and day-review steps are editorial aids. They are not patient data or a personalized plan.
Safe sleep belongs in every schedule
For naps and nighttime, place your baby on their back on a firm, flat surface designed for infant sleep, without pillows, toys or loose bedding. Share a room, with a separate sleep surface, for at least the first six months. 11
If you are concerned about sleep, feeding or how your baby seems, speak with their pediatrician. If lack of rest is overwhelming you, that deserves support too. This guide provides general information and illustrative examples; it does not replace guidance from your baby’s healthcare professional.
One place to start today
Pick something you want to understand: “How were the naps spread out?” or “What did we do before bedtime?” You can add a note in Grow about what happened and read it again when you review your baby’s sleep records.
If you prefer paper, you can also use Grow’s printable logs. The goal is to understand your baby’s day, not make it look exactly like an example.
Sources
- Australian Government Department of Health · Recommendations for infants, toddlers and preschoolers. Updated 2026.
- AASM · Recommended Amount of Sleep for Pediatric Populations. 2016.
- Nemours KidsHealth · Naps. Reviewed 2020.
- HSE · Naps for babies and toddlers. Reviewed 2026.
- Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network · Sleep recommendations for babies (0–12 months). Updated 2026.
- HSE · Child’s sleep needs at 6 months to 2 years. Reviewed 2026.
- American Academy of Pediatrics · Getting Your Baby to Sleep. Updated 2024.
- Nemours KidsHealth · Baby Sleep: 4- to 7-Month-Olds. Reviewed 2022.
- NHS · Helping your baby to sleep. Reviewed 2025.
- Mindell et al. · A nightly bedtime routine: impact on sleep in young children and maternal mood. 2009 · Sleep 32(5):599–606.
- NICHD · Updated safe infant sleep recommendations. 2022.
- Cleveland Clinic · What Are Baby Wake Windows?. April 25, 2024; checked November 1, 2026.
Original sources consulted October 26, 2026; the wake-window source was checked November 1, 2026. The sample schedules are editorial illustrations.