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We get nap questions really frequently from our clients – particularly these three questions:
- How many naps does my baby need?
- How long should my baby’s naps be?
- How much sleep should my baby get during the day so they sleep at night?
Well, we’re answering all of them in today’s article. How many naps your baby takes will depend on their age and unique development. All babies develop at their own unique rates.
How long your baby’s naps are also depend on age but once your baby is past 4 months old, we want at least one nap that’s an hour or longer. Once past 6 months old, we want at least two naps that are an hour or longer. And, once your baby transitions to one nap, we want a nice, long 2 to 3-hour nap.
We hope you’ll use this chart as an ongoing reference tool since it covers nap totals and lengths from the newborn stage all the way through age 3. Print off a copy for yourself and use it as an easy reference tool – and consider printing off a few for your friends or family members who have struggling nappers at home!
Baby Nap Chart: Naps By Age
| Age | # of Naps | Total Amount of Daytime Sleep | Length of Each Nap | Awake Time Between Naps | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 – 11 Weeks | 6-8 Naps | 4-5 hours | 10 or 15 minutes – 4 hours | 30 mins – 1 hour | Naps are all over the map at this age, so don’t fret about short and erratic naps in this newborn stage. Instead, focus on daily feeding and sleep routines and use those to shape your day. |
| 3-4 Months | 4-5 Naps | 3-4 hours | 30 minutes-2 hours | about 1-2 hours | Watch for the 4 month sleep regression right around this time; it will throw off even the best napper! |
| 5-6 Months | 3-4 Naps | 2.5-3.5 hours | 30/45 minutes-2 hours | about 2 hours | Short naps are normal in the first 5-6 months of your baby’s life, but starting around 6 months, your baby’s nap sleep should start to consolidate into more predictable, regular naps. |
| 7-8 Months | 2-3 Naps | 2-3 hours | 1-2 hours | 2-3 hours | Another sleep regression strikes at around 8 or 9 months, and a nap transition sometimes happens around this same time – from 3 naps to 2. |
| 9-12 Months | 2 Naps | 2-3 hours | 1-2 hours | about 3-4 hours | By this point, your baby should be napping pretty predictably. See our sample nap and feeding schedules for help building a more consistent nap schedule, if you’re still struggling with erratic naps. |
| 13-17 Months | 1-2 Naps | 2-3 hours | 1-3 hours | 3-5hours | Resist the impulse to transition to 1 nap when your baby turns 12 months old. Most babies don’t make the transition to 1 nap until closer to 15-18 months, so hang on to that second nap as best you can for this stage. |
| 18 Months-3 Years | 1 Nap | 1-3 hours | 1.5-2.5 hours | 5-6 hours | Watch your toddler’s awake time between the end of the afternoon nap and bedtime – as your toddler grows, he’ll need longer and longer afternoon wake time, which means you’ll need to time the nap carefully to be sure it doesn’t push bedtime too late. Additionally, some children will drop the afternoon nap entirely before age 3. |
How Did We Make This Nap Chart?
The above chart is derived from 15 years of experience as a sleep consultant, with thousands of families, in conjunction with the following two books:
Solve Your Child’s Sleep Problems by Dr. Richard Ferber
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth M.D.
While you can obviously read multiple 200+ page books, we strive to bring you practical information at your fingertips that you can put to use right away.
Baby and Toddler Sleep Resources That Work – Guaranteed!
If you are tired of wading through stacks of baby sleep books that just aren't working, if you are beyond exhausted and just can't solve your child's sleep problems on your own...then personalized sleep consulting is for you. We have been around since 2008 and invite you to tap into our many years of experience. Your expert sleep consultant will create a Personalized Sleep Plan® just for your family and then support you through every step of implementing your plan. We encourage you to consider our personalized, one-on-one baby and toddler sleep consultation packages if you want to see real, meaningful results now. Your consultation package also includes ample follow-up help, designed to help you troubleshoot problems and tweak your plan as needed.
For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out The 3 Step System to Help Your Baby Sleep. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night.
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 45 sample sleep schedules and planning worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style.
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Barb says
Hi there,
I have a 3 month old baby boy. He sleeps great at night.we feed,rock a bit and into the crib he goes,falls asleep by himself usually between 10-30 min. He absolutely refuses to nap during the day,He will nap in my arms and when I try to put him down he wakes up right away. I’m trying to teach him to fall asleep on his own,I watch his awake times, so he is not overtired when he goes to nap. I swaddle him,draw the blackout curtains,put on the white noise,rock him and sing until his eyes are heavy but he is not sleeping yet. I put him down,he doesn’t cry but he makes noises, sometimes he is silent.The problem is he doesn’t actually fall asleep. How can prevent him from getting overtired,when I’m trying to teach him how to sleep in his crib?
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Barb – Thank you for writing to us! So sorry to hear that you’re struggling with your 3 month old’s naps! We know how tough that can be. Don’t give up and keep offering those naps!! This article is a great place to start to figure out why he’s not napping and how you can help:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-naps-2/baby-wont-nap-7-reasons/
I hope that this helps Barb – and please contact us if you need more help!
Marek says
My 11mo will still wake up routinely throughout the night, wether it be due to a wet diaper, or a minor feeding.
During the day, if I put him in his crib he will only sleep for about 35 minutes, but if my mother in law puts him to sleep on the couch, he will sometimes sleep for an hour +.
I am looking to get him on a more consistent pattern, and would really like some advice on how to accomplish this. Thank you.
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Marek – Thank you for writing to us about your 11 month old. Sorry to hear he’s waking quite a bit in the night and taking short naps for you! We know how tough this can be! We welcome you to continue to peruse our blog with hundreds of free articles or, if you prefer to bypass some of that, we have E-books and premium resources available where the research has been done for you. Or, for the fastest service, we have expert sleep consultants who can help you determine why your baby is not sleeping well if you’re interested. We are able to tap into our 10+ years of experience with thousands of families to quickly diagnose your sleep problems.
In our consultation packages, we will work with you on a step-by-step plan to which you can commit and feel good about. All of our email consultation packages for new clients include a Personalized Sleep Plan, which is a detailed guide customized just for your family!
You can read about all of our sleep consultation packages and purchase directly online here:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-toddler-sleep-consulting-services
Thanks again for visiting us Marek! Please feel free to contact us at any time if you need anything or if you have any questions!
Audra says
I have a 4 month old who always sleeps well for her first nap but takes shorter naps the rest of the day. I normally wake her after an hour and a half in the morning but I’m wondering if I should let her sleep up to 2 hours before waking her? How do I know when to let her keep sleeping and when to wake her?
Danielle says
Hi Audra,
Thanks for writing! It’s hard to know the answer to your question without more information about your daughter’s schedule, but we have some good resources to help you figure out nap timings at this age. First, this article on how to know when to wake baby: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-sleep-patterns/4-times-wake-your-baby-sleep/
And also, our 4 month sample schedule, which you can use to get a sense of what the average baby is doing at this age: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/4-month-old-schedule/
I hope this helps!
Samantha Blakey says
Hello, love your site! My 4.5month only takes 32 min naps. I did do wake to sleep and this worked for a couple weeks but stopped working. Will the awake times be a lot shorter if they only have short naps? So will need more daily naps? If they are only having short naps she only gets around 2.5-3 Which isn’t enough. Thanks
Danielle says
Hi Samantha,
Thank you for visiting The Baby Sleep Site! I’m sorry you’re having trouble with your baby’s naps. In general, short naps will not affect how long the baby stays awake, but will create overtiredness over time. If your baby seems overtired, doing some gentle sleep coaching at this age can help lengthen naps, especially since some of the short naps are probably related to the 4 month sleep regression: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-sleep-patterns/4-month-sleep-regression/
I hope this helps, but please let us know if you have any questions, and good luck!
Jennine says
I have a 7 month old with really bad acid reflux so we have to hold her up after each feed for 30 minutes. This has been since birth. She has never been a good nap taker since day one and it doesn’t help when we have to hold her up. She tends to fall asleep during the 30 minute hold but once we put her down she screams. I try everything to get her back to sleep but she won’t. I started trying to sleep train about a week ago and she still cries so much. I know I’m a sleep prop since she is held up but I don’t have a choice as it is medically necessary for her. I do have to say that she sleeps great at night and usually is able to put herself back to sleep any time she wakes up then. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Jenine –
Thanks for writing to us! Sorry that your struggling with your baby’s naps! Reflux can definitely make sleep more challenging – you’re not alone! We have some sleep tips for babies with reflux in this article that should be helpful!:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/baby-infant-reflux-gerd-sleep-better-tips/
Good luck Jenine!
Sara says
Hi!
I have a 5 week old that struggles with afternoon naps and falling asleep at bedtime. Afternoon naps are pretty much nonexistent unless we go for a car ride/walk, or if I try to put her down for a nap she’ll cry and scream for over an hour even with multiple soothing techniques (pacifier, swaddle, singing, shushing, rocking, cuddling). And if she does finally fall asleep, she cat naps for about 30 minutes, wakes up, fusses, and might take another longer nap. Night time is just as bad. I know she’s super tired by nap and bed time and that’s part of the problem. Any suggestions? Also, what time should I try to put her down for afternoon naps and bedtime at this age? Thanks! ?
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Sara – Thanks for writing and congratulations on the arrival of your baby! Sorry that she’s struggling with falling asleep! Afternoon naps can be tougher, since baby may not be as tired as she was for the morning naps. Some babies do have a tougher time at this age – I know that neither of my children were ever those newborn babies that seemed to sleep all of the time! This link to our sample newborn schedules by the week should really help you plan the day:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-toddler-sleep-consulting-services/
Hopefully following the guidelines on that page, and giving her more time will help! Good luck!
Manuella says
Hello, my baby is now 9 1/2 months and she is following this chart exactly. Only, after we traveled to visit relatives, she has been waking up at 5am! So she should be asleep by 5 or 6pm, but I just can’t do it: the sun is too high at this time and we are not even home by then, let alone through with her bedtime routine. Yesterday she fell asleep on her daddy’s lap before even nursing. The result is that she is overtired in the evening and is sleeping very poorly at night, awaking with nightmares all night long. Is there a way to shift her schedule by two hours?
Danielle says
Hi Manuella,
Thank you for visiting The Baby Sleep Site! I’m sorry to hear you’re dealing with early wakings, but the good news is that if her schedule is great except for being early, it should be pretty easy for you to shift her forward. We have an article about early waking that goes through a method for adjusting the schedule that I hope will help you here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/how-we-sleep/baby-waking-too-early/
Good luck, and please let us know if you have any questions!
Katie says
Hi
Re linking day time sleep cycles:
My 4.5 month can self settle at night and at nap time however she has never been able to link her day 35-40 min sleep cycles.
If we are out in the car or pushchair, she can sleep 2 hours but this is rare. She is currently on 4 naps of 35-40 mins but I think she needs longer sleeps as in a better mood and sleeps better in the night if she has had a big sleep in the day.
She is swaddled and likes it, we use white noise
Any suggestions or tips please on linking sleep cycles in the day?
Thanks!
Katie
Danielle says
Hi Katie,
Thanks for visiting The Baby Sleep Site! I’m sorry you’re having some trouble with short naps. This can be normal at this age, as some babies won’t start taking longer naps until closer to the 6 month mark. One option that works for some families is the “wake to sleep” method, where you basically help your baby through the sleep cycle transition during naptimes to support them learning it independently. We have an article explaining this method here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/wake-to-sleep-help-baby-short-naps/
I hope this will help, but please let us know if you have any questions!
Hannah says
My 6 week old seems to only sleep while being held. As soon as I put her down in her bed or any where to nap or sleep, she wakes up right away. How can I get her to stay asleep once I put her down? I can NOT hold her all of the time
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Hannah, congratulations on your new baby! I remember my boys did this as well. Here is a link to a free guide that may provide some tips to help: https://www.babysleepsite.com//15-free-baby-sleep-facts-new-parents-must-know/
I don’t know if you are, but swaddling was always a really great tool for me and it allowed me to walk away from my babies and get some stuff done or rest myself. Additionally, I really loved wearing my babies when they were particularly fussy and not okay with me putting them down. I only did this when they were really little to not build any crazy bad habits, but I treat those early weeks as survival mode until I know they can do more on their own without so much help from me. If you need more information, please let us know! Feel free to contact us directly at [email protected] and we can send over more resources should you need it. Hang in there!