Posts Tagged ‘baby nap schedule’

This article outlines the average 4 month old baby schedule, including feedings, solids, naps and night sleep.

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4 month old baby’s sleep

Pediatricians disagree high and low about when a baby is capable of sleeping through the night and only a handful of parents who reach this page will have a 4 month old that sleeps all night without even a single feeding (those that do are LUCKY!).

At this age, if you are not lucky enough to have a baby who sleeps through the night, many 4 month olds are still waking 1-3 times to eat at night and many will continue to eat 1-2 times until 9 months old. Anything more and likely you have a sleep association problem. If your baby has recently started sleeping worse, you may want to read my article about 4 month old baby sleep. If you’re having trouble with naps, you might be interested in helping your baby nap.

Obviously, all babies vary, but here are some sample (loose) schedules you can use to make your own for your unique baby. Most babies, at this age, can’t be on a strict schedule because many babies are still taking shorter naps while their brain matures and they simply can not stay up very long to get to the next scheduled nap-time, so at this age, it’s likely naps are still on the short side, but come frequently and every day will still likely be different. Don’t worry, that will change! Most babies can get down to just 3 naps around 6 months or 7 months.

I should warn you that I am in the camp that breast milk or formula should be the primary nutrition for the first year and solids come secondary. I did not start my boys on solids until close to 6 months old. If you have or want to start solids at 4 months (some pediatricians do recommend or agree with this), below are the amounts recommended from Super Baby Food, the book I use for reference (as a guide, not as the end-all-be-all because I don’t give my kids nuts before a year or follow other things in the book, but it’s a good reference guide). Another useful reference is Wholesome Baby Food. Although I work full time, I did make most of my baby food (I’d make 1 or 2 big batchs of something each weekend in 1-2 hours), but even if you don’t, the website is useful as a guide when to introduce what food and other meal ideas.

Amounts per day:

• At least 5-6 breastfeeding sessions per day or 2 1/2 ounces formula for each pound of weight (approx. 20-30 ounces) (decrease solids if your baby is not taking in at least this much)
• Water is unnecessary (breast milk and formula have plenty of water in them). If your baby has any constipation issues, focus on “P” foods (pears, prunes, etc.)
• 1-2 servings baby cereal (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons dry)
• 1-2 servings fruit (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons)
• 1-2 servings vegetable (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons)

Note: Don’t worry about feeding this much right away! You will start with just 1 teaspoon of dry cereal (before mixing w/ breast milk or formula) and work your way up. Don’t forget to wait at least 3-4 days before introducing a new food for food allergy reasons.

Sample 4 month old schedule

This schedule assumes baby can stay up 1 hour 15 minutes before needing to sleep again. At this age, wake-time should be 1-2 hours TOPS, to avoid baby getting overtired.

6:30 – Wake and Breast milk or Formula
7:15 – Breakfast
7:45 – Nap
8:15-8:45 – Breast milk or Formula
9:45 – 10:00 – Nap
10:45 – 11:15 – Breast milk or Formula
11:45 – 12:00 – Nap
1:15 – 1:45 – Breast milk or Formula
2:00 – Nap
3:45 – 4:15 – Breast milk or Formula
4:45 – Nap
5:45 – Begin bedtime routine
6:00 – Breast milk or Formula
6:15 – Bedtime (Goal to be asleep at this time)

+Plus probably 1-3 nighttime feedings

Note: This schedule follows the eat-play-sleep routine, however, it is sometimes hard to do at this age when the amount of time between naps is not long enough and your baby wakes too early from his nap because of a feeding.

You may also be interested in tracking your baby’s sleep and schedule, feedings, medication doses, immunizations, etc. using online baby software. You can even use it on your mobile device for when you’re on the go!

If you’re looking for ways to get your baby or toddler into a healthy sleeping routine during the day, I encourage you to explore Mastering Naps and Schedules, a comprehensive guide to napping routines, nap transitions, and all the other important “how-tos” of good baby sleep. With over 40 sample sleep schedules and planning worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style. For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out Help Your Child Sleep, a Step-by-Step Guide. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night. Or, join our Members Area packed with premium content and resources: e-Books, assessments, detailed case studies, peer support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately! For those looking for a more customized solution for your unique situation with support along the way, please consider one-on-one baby and toddler sleep consultations.

What is your 4-month old’s routine?

This article outlines the average 7 month old baby schedule, including feedings, solids, naps and night sleep.

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7 month old baby’s sleep

At this age, some 7 month olds can sleep through the night, without a feeding, and take two to three naps. Some babies don’t ever have 3 naps, but many will have 3 naps until around 9 months. The third nap is almost always a short 30-45 minute cat nap. Your 7 month old should be napping a total of 2-3 hours per day plus sleeping 11-12 hours at night. If you’re having trouble with naps, you might be interested in helping your baby nap.

All babies vary, but here are some rough schedules you can use to make your own for your unique baby. I should warn you that I am in the camp that breast milk or formula should be the primary nutrition for the first year and solids come secondary. Below are the amounts recommended from Super Baby Food, the book I use for reference (as a guide, not as the end-all-be-all because I don’t give my kids nuts before a year or follow other things in the book, but it’s a good reference guide). Another useful reference is Wholesome Baby Food. Although I work full time, I did make most of my baby food (I’d make 1 big batch of something each weekend in 1-2 hours), but even if you don’t, the website is useful as a guide when to introduce what food and other meal ideas.

The amount of food at 7 months is very similar to the 6 month baby schedule, but you can introduce egg yolk (not whites) if you want and some dairy.

Amounts per day:

• At least 5 nursing sessions per day or 30-32 ounces formula or combination
• Although some say 4-6 oz of water is okay, I usually discourage it at this age
• 1-2 servings baby cereal (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons dry)
• 1-2 servings fruit (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons)
• 1-2 servings vegetable (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons)
• 1 serving Dairy (1 serving = 1/3-1/2 cup yogurt or 1/4 cup cottage cheese)
• You can also offer cooked egg yolk (but no egg whites until 1 year old due to allergens)

The first schedule is what I call a “staggered” approach. My first son did better nursing fully and then having solids a bit in between nursing sessions. He was a little hungry but not famished. He just didn’t do well with stopping nursing mid-way to eat solids.

Sample 7 month old schedule

Schedule 1

7:00 – Wake and Breast milk or Formula
8:15 – Breakfast
9:00 – Morning Nap (at least 1 hour)
10:00 – Breast milk or Formula
12:30 – Breast milk or Formula
1:00 – Early Afternoon Nap (at least 1 hour)
3:00 – Breast milk or Formula
4:00 – Optional Catnap (30-45 minutes)
4:30 or 5:00 – Dinner
6:15 – Begin bedtime routine
7:00 – Breast milk or Formula and Bedtime (goal to be asleep at this time)

+Plus possibly 1-2 nighttime feedings

If your baby doesn’t mind a more “consolidated” approach to eating, like my second son, here is another type of schedule:

Schedule 2

7:00 – Wake
7:15 – Breakfast plus Breast milk or Formula feeding
9:00 – Morning Nap (at least 1 hour)
10:00 – Breast milk or Formula
12:30 – Breast milk or Formula
1:00 – Afternoon Nap (at least 1 hour)
3:00 – Breast milk or Formula
4:00 – Optional Catnap (30-45 minutes)
5:30 – Dinner plus Breast milk / Formula feeding
6:15 – Begin bedtime routine
7:00 – Breast milk or Formula

+Plus possibly 1-2 nighttime feedings

Note: Many people prefer to follow an eat-play-sleep routine, which is a good routine to follow, however, sometimes hard to implement at this age when the amount of time between naps is not long enough and your baby wakes too early from his nap because of a feeding. I take all of that into consideration when making my schedules. The most important part is to be careful not to create sleep associations with feedings too close to sleep times, which we saw become important at 4 months old.

You may also be interested in tracking your baby’s sleep, feedings, medication doses, immunizations, etc. using online baby software at Babble Soft. You can even install on your mobile device for when you’re on the go!

If you’re looking for ways to get your baby or toddler into a healthy sleeping routine during the day, I encourage you to explore Mastering Naps and Schedules, a comprehensive guide to napping routines, nap transitions, and all the other important “how-tos” of good baby sleep. With over 40 sample sleep schedules and planning worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style. For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out Help Your Child Sleep, a Step-by-Step Guide. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night. Or, join our Members Area packed with exclusive content and resources: e-Books, assessments, detailed case studies, expert advice, peer support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately! For those looking for a more customized solution for your unique situation with support along the way, please consider one-on-one baby and toddler sleep consultations.

What is your 7 month old’s schedule?

This article outlines the average 6 month old baby schedule, including feedings, solids, naps and night sleep.

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6 month old baby’s sleep

At this age, if you are not lucky enough to have a baby who sleeps through the night, many 6 month olds are still waking 1-2 times to eat at night. Anything more and likely you have a sleep association problem (aside from the 6-month growth spurt that should only last a few days to a week). Your 6 month old should be taking 2-3 naps per day for a total of 2-3 hours per day plus 11-12 hours at night. If you’re having trouble with naps, you might be interested in helping your baby nap.

Obviously, all babies vary, but here are some sample schedules you can use to make your own for your unique baby. Schedules are iffy at this age because many babies simply can not stay up past 2 hours to get to the next scheduled nap-time, so at this age, it’s likely naps are still on the short side, but come frequently. Over the next several weeks, you can work on getting down to just 3 naps to get closer to the 7 month schedule.

I should warn you that I am in the camp that breast milk or formula should be the primary nutrition for the first year and solids come secondary. Below are the amounts recommended from Super Baby Food, the book I use for reference (as a guide, not as the end-all-be-all because I don’t give my kids nuts before a year or follow other things in the book, but it’s a good reference guide). Another useful reference is Wholesome Baby Food. Although I work full time, I did make most of my baby food (I’d make 1 or 2 big batches of something each weekend in 1-2 hours), but even if you don’t, the website is useful as a guide when to introduce what food and other meal ideas.

Amounts per day:

• At least 5-6 breastfeeding sessions per day or 24-32 ounces formula or combination (decrease solids if your baby is not taking in at least this much)
• Water is unnecessary (breast milk and formula have plenty of water in them). If your baby has any constipation issues, focus on P-foods (pears, prunes, etc.)
• 1-2 servings baby cereal (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons dry)
• 1-2 servings fruit (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons)
• 1-2 servings vegetable (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons)

Note: If you did not start solids until 6 months (I did not start until 6 months), you will work your way up to the amount of servings above. Don’t worry about feeding this much right away!

Sample 6 month old schedule

Here is a what I call a “staggered” approach. My first son did better with a full feeding and then having solids a bit in between. He was a little hungry but not famished. He just didn’t do well with stopping nursing or his bottle mid-way to eat solids.

Schedule 1

6:30 – Wake and Breast milk or Formula
7:45 – Breakfast
8:30 – Morning Nap (at least 1 hour)
10:00 – Breast milk or Formula
11:30 – Nap (often 30-45 minutes at this age)
1:00 – Breast milk or Formula
2:00 – Nap (often 30-45 minutes at this age)
4:00 – Breast milk or Formula
4:30 – Catnap (30 minutes)
5:00 – Dinner
6:00 – Begin bedtime routine
6:30 – Breast milk or Formula and Bedtime
7:00 – Goal to be asleep

+Plus possibly 1-2 nighttime feedings

If your baby doesn’t mind a more “consolidated” approach to eating, like my second son, here is another type of schedule:

Schedule 2

7:00 – Wake and Breast milk or Formula, then Breakfast
9:00 – Morning Nap (at least 1 hour)
10:00 – Breast milk or Formula
12:00 – Nap (often 30-45 minutes at this age)
1:00 – Breast milk or Formula
2:30 – Nap (often 30-45 minutes at this age)
4:00 – Breast milk or Formula
5:00 – Catnap (30 minutes)
5:30 – Partial Breast milk or Formula Feeding, then Dinner
6:30 – Begin bedtime routine
7:00 – Bedtime
7:30 – Goal to be asleep

+Plus possibly 1-2 nighttime feedings

Note: Many people prefer to follow an eat-play-sleep routine, which is a good routine to follow, however, sometimes hard to implement at this age when the amount of time between naps is not long enough and your baby wakes too early from his nap because of a feeding. I take all of that into consideration when making my schedules. The most important part is to be careful not to create sleep associations with feedings too close to sleep times, which we saw become important at 4 months old.

You may also be interested in tracking your baby’s sleep, feedings, medication doses, immunizations, etc. using online baby software at Babble Soft. You can even use the software on your mobile device for when you’re on the go!

If you’re looking for ways to get your baby or toddler into a healthy sleeping routine during the day, I encourage you to explore Mastering Naps and Schedules, a comprehensive guide to napping routines, nap transitions, and all the other important “how-tos” of good baby sleep. With over 40 sample sleep schedules and planning worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style. For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out Help Your Child Sleep, a Step-by-Step Guide. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night. Or, join our Members Area packed with exclusive content and resources: e-Books, assessments, detailed case studies, expert advice, peer support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately! For those looking for a more customized solution for your unique situation with support along the way, please consider one-on-one baby and toddler sleep consultations.

What is your 6-month old’s schedule?

Many people wonder when they can put their baby on a schedule. Today’s sleep quick tip is that babies will vary, but the average age that I recommend to start trying a sleep schedule is around 6 months old. Depending on how consistent they are, how sensitive they are to becoming overtired and how over-tiredness affects their napping will drive when a schedule is comfortably achievable. Of course, many people try schedules sooner and some will succeed, but if pushing them to be awake too long makes them nap worse, you aren’t helping you or him get enough sleep. The main obstacle in short-napping in babies under 9-10 months old is over-tiredness. When they are over-tired, they have more trouble settling down to sleep. This is usually done by keeping them up too long between naps. Strange, but true!

Would you like to learn more about baby schedules?

If you’re looking for ways to get your baby or toddler into a healthy sleeping routine during the day, I encourage you to explore Mastering Naps and Schedules, a comprehensive guide to napping routines, nap transitions, and all the other important “how-tos” of good baby sleep. With over 40 sample sleep schedules and planning worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style. For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out Help Your Child Sleep, a Step-by-Step Guide. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night. For those looking for a more customized solution for your unique situation with support along the way, please consider one-on-one baby and toddler sleep consultations.

When did you put your baby on a schedule?

This article outlines the average 8 month old baby schedule, including feedings, solids, naps and night sleep.

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8 month old’s sleep

At this age, many 8 month olds can sleep through the night, without a feeding, but some won’t and will continue to need 1-2 feedings up through 9+ months old. And, 8 month old babies take 2-3 naps daily for a total of 2-3 hours per day plus 11-12 hours at night. If you’re having trouble with naps, you might be interested in helping your If you’re having trouble with naps, you might be interested in helping your baby nap.

All babies vary, but here are some rough schedules you can use to make your own for your unique baby. I should warn you that I am in the camp that breast milk or formula should be the primary nutrition for the first year and solids come secondary. Below are the amounts recommended from Super Baby Food, the book I use for reference (as a guide, not as the end-all-be-all because I don’t give my kids nuts before a year or follow other things in the book, but it’s a good reference guide). Another useful reference is Wholesome Baby Food. Although I work full time, I did make most of my baby food (I’d make 1 big batch of something each weekend in 1-2 hours), but even if you don’t, the website is useful as a guide when to introduce what food and other meal ideas.

The amount of food at 8 months is very similar to the 7 month baby schedule, but you will most likely go to 3 small meals per day, rather than just 2.

Amounts per day:

• At least 5 nursing sessions per day or 26-32 ounces formula or combination
• No more than 2-4 oz of water or juice (to ensure they drink enough breast milk or formula)
• 2-3 servings baby cereal or grains (1 serving cereal = 1-2 Tablespoons dry and grains include Cheerios, 2 crackers, etc.)
• 2 servings fruit (1 serving = 2-3 Tablespoons)
• 2-3 servings vegetable (1 serving = 2-3 Tablespoons)
• 1-2 servings protein (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons)
• 1 serving Dairy (1 serving = 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/3 cup cottage cheese or 1 oz grated cheese)
• You can also offer cooked egg yolk (but no egg whites until 1 year old due to allergans)

The first schedule is what I call a “staggered” approach. My first son did better with a full feeding and then having solids a bit in between. He was a little hungry but not famished. He just didn’t do well with stopping nursing or his bottle mid-way to eat solids.

Sample 8 month old schedule

If your baby has already transitioned to just 2 naps, please see the 9 month old baby schedule for a sample schedule.

Schedule 1

7:00 – Wake and Breast milk or Formula
8:15 – Breakfast
9:00 – Morning Nap (at least 1 hour)
10:00 – Breast milk or Formula
11:00 – Lunch
12:30 – Breast milk or Formula
1:00 – Early Afternoon Nap (at least 1 hour)
2:00 – Breast milk or Formula
4:00 – Optional Catnap (30-45 minutes)
4:30 or 5:00 – Dinner
6:15 – Begin bedtime routine
7:00 – Breast milk or Formula and Bedtime (goal to be asleep at this time)

+Plus possibly 1 nighttime feeding

If your baby doesn’t mind a more “consolidated” approach to eating, like my second son, here is another type of schedule:

Schedule 2

7:00 – Wake
7:15 – Breakfast plus Breast milk or Formula feeding
9:00 – Morning Nap (at least 1 hour)
10:00 – Breast milk or Formula
11:00 – Lunch
12:30 – Breast milk or Formula
1:00 – Afternoon Nap (at least 1 hour)
3:00 – Breast milk or Formula
5:30 – Dinner plus Breast milk / Formula feeding
6:15 – Begin bedtime routine
7:00 – Breast milk or Formula

+Plus possibly 1 nighttime feeding

Note: When giving any feedings during your bedtime routine, be careful not to create sleep associations, which we saw become important at 4 months old.

You may also be interested in tracking your baby’s sleep, feedings, medication doses, immunizations, etc. using online baby software at Babble Soft. You can even install on your mobile device for when you’re on the go!

If you’re looking for ways to get your baby or toddler into a healthy sleeping routine during the day, I encourage you to explore Mastering Naps and Schedules, a comprehensive guide to napping routines, nap transitions, and all the other important “how-tos” of good baby sleep. With over 40 sample sleep schedules and planning worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style. For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out Help Your Child Sleep, a Step-by-Step Guide. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night. Or, join our Members Area packed with premium content and resources: e-Books, assessments, detailed case studies, peer support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately! For those looking for a more customized solution for your unique situation with support along the way, please consider one-on-one baby and toddler sleep consultations.

What is your 8 month old baby’s schedule?

Many new parents want to know when their newborn will sleep on a schedule or what the baby’s sleep pattern will be. This post will outline the average newborn’s schedule and sleep patterns.

Newborn Day / Night Confusion

When your son or daughter was in mom’s womb, mom’s movements lulled baby to sleep and when mom rested, you may have noticed he or she perked up. Once she is born, she does not automatically know she is supposed to do precisely the opposite! It takes a few days to several weeks for this to be sorted out, but it will get sorted out. Of course, this is tiring for us, parents!

Newborn Sleep Patterns

When your baby is first born, he will sleep more than be awake. They sleep about 16 hours per day and wake time includes any feedings. As the weeks go by, they will be able to stay up longer, but still sleep 14-16 hours in a 24-hour period by one month of age. By 3 months old, the average amount of sleep in 24 hours is still 14 hours.

A newborn will also cry 1-2 hours per day (in total, not all at once, usually). This is normal. It is the only way she can communicate to tell us whether they are hungry, tired, uncomfortable, wet, etc. Unfortunately, some babies will develop colic (bouts of intense crying that’s difficult to soothe and the causes unknown) when they are just a few weeks old. The crying might last hours per day and colic usually ends around the 3 or 4 month mark, hopefully not longer.

Newborn Sleep Schedules

Depending on your baby’s sensitivity level to being overtired, a schedule may not form until after he is 6 months old or longer. My first son, who is the primary reason this site even exists, did not get “good” at a schedule until 7 1/2 months because he just could NOT stay up long enough without becoming so cranky.

Many parents desire a schedule much sooner, but if your baby is sensitive to overtiredness, you will only sabotage your own efforts because he will get overtired and fight sleep more, not less. This is one of the most misunderstood facts of a baby’s sleep needs, in my experience. Many people might tell you to keep your baby up such that he will sleep more at night and other advice like that (I heard a lot of it when my son was such a challenging sleeper!). Unfortunately, this will only lead to more and more sleep deprivation that will make him fight sleep more and thus lose more and more sleep until he’s one big overtired cranky mess. If that is what has brought you to this site today, try to keep wake times short and become in tune with when baby needs to sleep just as much as you are in tune with when he needs to eat and some of your problems may be resolved as simply as that.

Consistency

For some babies, they may be consistent from the very beginning while others remain inconsistent the rest of their lives. Depending on your personality, this can be very frustrating. If you get frustrated by your baby’s inconsistency, take a look within and ask yourself these questions:

• Do I go to bed at the same exact time every night?
• Do I wake up at the same time every morning?
• Do I wake up to go to the bathroom at night at the same time?
• Do I get hungry and eat meals at the same exact time every day?

If you answered no to any of those questions, you are likely realizing that your baby isn’t much different than maybe you are! If you answered yes to all of them and your baby does not follow suit, ask your partner or make sure you brought the right baby home. Kidding! I have no scientific basis for thinking this is a hereditary, just a hunch.

My first son was and still is highly inconsistent. Although I am too, it’s still hard to parent sometimes, especially given my “planning” personality. I used to log and track and track and log looking for patterns and all I found was that he had none. It took a long time, but I finally had to let it go and realize the only thing consistent about him would be that each day would be different. And, it was. Looking at myself and my own patterns helped me take the pressure off him to be the same every day. Regardless if your baby is consistent or not, the same sleep patterns generally emerge from all newborns. It still helped me a lot to track his sleep because it helped me know how many hours per day he’d typically sleep and I did start to see a pattern of when he’d wake in relation to dinner, not bedtime.

For more help on your newborn’s sleep, please see my post outlining 10 tips to help your newborn sleep.