This article outlines the average 9 month old baby schedule, including feedings, solids, naps and night sleep.
9 month old’s sleep
At this age, if you are not lucky enough to have a baby who sleeps through the night, most 9 month olds can sleep all night without a feeding and take two naps. However, some babies, in my experience, do better with one feeding after 4 or 5 a.m. and sleep longer than not feed and get an early wake-time. I would need to know your specific situation to make a recommendation, but just recognize that all babies are different, but by this age I would not expect more than 1 feeding, typically, if any at all. Your 9 month old should be taking 2 naps per day for a total of about 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.
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 we recommend. For more information on starting your baby on solid food, we have a series of blog posts dedicated to the subject. We include recommendations about how and when to start solids, as well as helpful information on food allergies, recommended products, baby-friendly recipes, and more.
Amounts per day:
• At least 3-4 nursing sessions per day or 26-32 ounces formula or combination of both
• 2 servings (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons dry) baby cereal
• 1-2 servings grain (1 serving = 1/2 slice bread, 2 crackers, 1/2 cup Cheerios, or 1/2 cup whole grain pasta)
• 2 servings (1 serving = 2-4 Tablespoons) fruit
• 2 servings (1 serving = 2-4 Tablespoons) vegetable
• 2-3 servings (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons) protein
• 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 possibly no egg whites until 1 year old due to allergens — check with your doctor)
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 9 month old schedules
7:00 – Wake and Breast milk or Formula
9:00 – Breakfast
10:00 – Morning Nap (at least 1 hour)
11:00 – Breast milk or Formula
1:00 – Lunch
2:00 – Early Afternoon Nap (at least 1 hour)
3:00 – Breast milk or Formula plus snack
5:00 – Dinner
6:15 – Begin bedtime routine
7:00 – Breastmilk or Formula and Bedtime (goal to be asleep at this time)
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, 1/2 Breast milk / Formula feeding, breakfast and other 1/2 BM / Formula
10:00 – Morning Nap (at least 1 hour)
11:00 – 1/2 BM/Formula, Lunch, and other 1/2 BM/Formula
2:00 – Afternoon Nap (at least 1 hour)
3:00 – BM or Formula Feeding plus snack
5:00 – Dinner and 1/2 BM / Formula feeding
6:15 – Begin bedtime routine
7:00 – Small BM/Formula feeding and Bedtime (goal to be asleep at this time)
Note: When giving any feedings during your bedtime routine, be careful not to create sleep associations.
Want more information about how to help your 9 month old sleep well? Check out our detailed case study about Carrie, Ben, Elliot, and Andrew.
Read how Carrie and Ben helped 8-month-old Elliot learn to sleep longer stretches at night (and, eventually, to sleep through the night completely!) and take better naps – and how they helped to change those sleep associations that were keeping Elliot awake! Just join our Members Area, and access the case study instantly. And that’s not all – our Members Area is packed with additional premium content and resources: e-Books, assessments, more case studies, peer support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately! And best of all, members receive 20% of all consultation services – that savings alone can actually pay for the cost of the membership!
Looking for more sample 9-month schedules?
We have over 40 sample schedules for all ages in our e-Book, Mastering Naps and Schedules. Banish naptime battles and regain control of your day (and your sanity) starting today!
You Might Also Like:
- The 8/9/10 Month Sleep Regression Explained
- The 8-10 Month Sleep Regression Survival Guide: EXPANDED EDITION (Members Area article)
- Custom Schedule Maker (for members only)
- Mastering Naps and Schedules (Members Area digital e-Book)
- Chat Live with a Sleep Consultant (for members only)
- Night Weaning Quiz: Is Your Baby Ready To Night Wean?
- 8 Month Baby Sleep Coaching Case Study (Members Area case study)
- How To Put Your Baby On A Schedule (Members Area audio tele-seminar recording with founder)
- How to Nap Train (chapter in Mastering Naps & Schedules)
- Day-by-Day Nap Training Plan (Members Area article)
Want FREE sleep help that you can put to use right away? Download a copy of our free guide, 7 Common Napping Mistakes! The guide is available to download instantly, which means you can start using the techniques in it as early as today. So download now, and learn why your baby is not napping – and what you can do about it.
Click here to learn more about how to get your free guide.
A better daytime schedule could be just a few clicks away. So don’t wait – download now, and start your journey to better napping today!
What is your 9-month old baby’s schedule? Share below!
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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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My daughter is almost 10 months old and I think she associates formula feeding with sleep. I cant get her to nap without having a bottle.
Her routine is
7am awake and bottle
9am breakfast
11am bottle and nap
1pm lunch
3pm bottle and nap
5pm evening meal
Bedtime routine
7pm bottle and sleep (on a good day)
Can I do anything to change my routine so that she does not rely on a bottle to nap?
She sleeps well during the night, sometimes waking before 1am for dummy as teething but this is manageable for us.
Thank you
@Jade – Thank you for reading and for sharing with us. Sleep associations like needing to feed in order to be able to sleep are very, very common and almost happens naturally as many of us like the idea of feeding before sleep to keep those little tummies full throughout sleep. To help ease your way into breaking her from this association, you could work to gradually remove the bottle from directly before sleep time by introducing other tasks between the bottle and sleep (diaper change, story, etc.). We have dozens of articles available on the site for ways to get started and get through sleep coaching and various ways to decide on a method that I know will be helpful to you. Here’s one that can get you started: https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/sleep-training-5-easy-ways-to-start/ Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you need or would like more support, Jade. Hang in there!
Having such a hard time with our 9 month olds night times at present
Current schedule
6.30-7 up breastfeed
8am breakfast
9.30-10am breastfeed and nap until
11.30 -12
12 breastfeed
1.30 lunch
2.30 breastfeed and nap
5pm wake and bf
5.30 dinner
6.30 bath bed by 7.30
9pm screaming awake won’t settle unless bf
Have tried the pick up put down method but he does not calm down and screams until he is choking. This goes on every two-3 hours and has done since he was born. Also involving at least two nappy changes as he gets very wet.
He shares a room with our 3 yr old who luckily sleeps through his non stop waking so far.
My partner has to get up at 4am for work so I’m mindful of trying to keep him quiet and invariably he ends up in bed with us at 3am so I don’t have to keep walking the landing in the dark.
He has had reflux and constant colds, also has a soother but only to go to sleep with
Any advice would be greatly received we don’t have the money for a package.
Hi @Elizabeth –
Thank you for writing us today and I am sorry to hear about your baby’s sleep issues and his crying before bed and night wakings! It sounds like he needs some help learning how to fall asleep on his own, and the pick-up-put down method does not work for some babies. Some babies get “angry” and cry more! You may want to try different ways of helping him learn to fall asleep. We have hundreds of articles on our blog that can help you learn more, and a great search bar so that you can search our site for specific help! We help families with these same issues, and we’d love to help you too if things do not smooth out!
For families on a tight budget, our biggest bang for the buck is our Members Area. Our Members Area gives you unlimited access to all of our e-Books as well as all tele-seminar recordings, case studies, and do-it-yourself tutorials! My favorite feature is the access to a “members only” expert chat. During the expert chats, one of our expert sleep consultants will answer your specific questions about your little guy’s sleep. You can read more about the Member’s area and sign up from here:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/diy/
If you find that you need affordable sleep help that is more customized than what you will find in a book or an article, and you feel confident about implementing the plan at home without a consultant’s help, you will definitely want to check out our Express Sleep Plan. Simply fill out a brief survey, hit the Submit button, and your plan will be ready instantly – no waiting! You can learn more about the Express Sleep Plan here:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-toddler-sleep-consulting-services/#esp
Hang in there Elizabeth!!
This entire site is so helpful!!! Thanks!
My son just turn 9 month two days ago hes the best baby he sleep all night and he wake up around 8 am hes a very happy baby at the beginning he did have a few night with trouble but after that hes doing just find i want to see what kind of solid food will be good and nutrient for him he eat mash potato and fruits but i will like to know about meats and vegetables
Hi Isa,
Thank you for commenting on The Baby Sleep Site! I’m so glad to hear your son is sleeping so well for you 🙂 We mostly work with baby sleep an would refer you to your pediatrician for questions about feeding. We do have a chart on when to introduce certain kinds of solids, like meat, if that would be helpful: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-solids-how/solid-food-feeding-schedule/
Good luck!
My 9 month old is a terrible sleeper at night. He has always been a late sleeper. (Sleeping at 2 am was normal for him at 3 months because of mine and my husbands schedules) His typical schedule as of lately has been sleeping at 730/8 AM until about 6 PM, nap at 730 PM until 1030 PM, another nap at 12 Am until 2ish AM and then awake until he goes back to sleep again. Sometimes taking another nap between 2 and 4 AM. His sleep is very backwards. He’s up at night and sleeps during the day. I have tried everything to change it but nothing has helped. What do I do?
Hi @Princess – Thank you for writing, and I am sorry that you are struggling with your 9 month old’s schedule! This schedule is likely very different than the one that you want him to have, and because you’ve already tried changing this on your own, and since you want to flip the schedule around completely, I think it would be a good idea to get one on one help from a Sleep Consultant here to help you through this in a way that will disrupt all of your sleep the least! She can help you with specific plans that you can follow, and help all along the way too!
You can read about all of our sleep consultation packages and purchase directly online here: http://babysleepsite.com/baby-toddler-sleep-consulting-services/
I hope that we can have the opportunity to help your family sleep! Please let me know if you have any additional questions.
Hi Rabiya here.
My son is 9 months and 15 days old. He wakeup 7.30 am have breastfeed and sleeps again then at 8.30 or 9 am wakes up has his breakfast and plays for while. Later on sleeps at 10.30 for about 15 to 20 mins. Then sleeps at 1 pm for again 10 to 20 mins. He takes 2 or 3 naps a day but all are about 1 hour a day. And sleeps at 10 pm or 11 pm at night. I am so worried about his sleeping routine. Please guide me what to do. Our days are long then uk and usa.
Hope I’ll get a guide for my lil one
Hi @Rabiya – Thank you for writing to us. I’m sorry to hear your family is not sleeping well! It does sounds like your little guy may need a bit more sleep, and we’d love to help!
Based on what you have shared and wanting a guide just for you, I would recommend that you consider our Express Sleep Plan. Our Express Sleep Plan provides custom sleep – instantly. Once you purchase an Express Sleep Plan, you will take a brief survey and provide easy information about your son, and your current sleep issues. Then, once you hit the ‘Submit’ button, your plan will be ready instantly – and your Plan will include a schedule just for you! You will be able to read the plan immediately, and start putting the strategies to work. You can learn more about the Express Sleep Plan here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/express-sleep-plan/
Hang in there Rabiya!