Baby sleep schedule by month: nap and hours chart from 0 to 12 months

"Is this normal for their age?" is probably the most repeated question about baby sleep. Here's a full month-by-month reference chart, to have a real point of comparison — without replacing your own baby's rhythm.

Sleep chart by month

These are reference ranges, not a test to pass. Some babies naturally sleep more, others less, within a perfectly healthy range — what matters most is the general trend, not comparing a single day against the chart.

How a typical day shapes up, month by month

• 0-3 months: no fixed schedule — the baby eats and sleeps guided by hunger and sleepiness, in short, unpredictable cycles.
• 4-5 months: more regular patterns start to emerge, with 3-4 naps spread across the day.
• 6-8 months: a 3-nap schedule usually settles in and then drops to 2, with a long midday nap anchoring the day.
• 9-12 months: 2 more stable naps (morning and afternoon), with night sleep already concentrated into one long stretch.

Sample days by age

To turn the chart into something concrete, here's what a day often looks like at each stage. These are rough examples: shifting everything by half an hour to fit your family's routine is perfectly fine.

• 4 months: 3-4 naps of varying length, with wake windows of about 1h30-2h in between, and bedtime somewhere between 7 and 9 p.m.
• 6 months: 3 naps (some babies already drop to 2), wake windows of 2-2h30, and a short late-afternoon nap to make it to bedtime.
• 9 months: 2 naps — one mid-morning and one after lunch — with wake windows of almost 3 hours.
• 12 months: 2 naps, or the move to 1 long nap after lunch, with wake windows of 3h30-4h.

To fine-tune how long your baby can stay awake before getting overtired, check the wake windows by age chart.

Sleep timer — a real screen from the Alfonso app.

Logging every nap with the sleep timer shows you your baby's real pattern, not the chart's: Alfonso predicts the next nap, and the widget shows total sleep for the day without opening the app.

What age does a baby sleep through the night?

It varies a lot from baby to baby, but there's a general pattern: many start doing long nighttime sleep stretches (5-6 hours in a row) between 3 and 6 months, and some don't consolidate a full night until closer to a year. "Sleeping through the night" for babies usually means that — a long stretch without waking, not necessarily 12 hours straight like an adult.

Two factors that tend to speed up or delay that milestone: whether the baby is still waking for real hunger (see when night weaning makes sense), and whether their daytime naps are well covered — an overtired baby during the day sleeps worse at night, not better.

Why this chart is only the starting point

Every baby has their own temperament, their own circadian rhythm, and their own way of moving through each stage. A 6-month-old still taking 3 naps, or a 9-month-old who's already down to 1, can be perfectly within the expected range. The chart is here to orient you, not to trigger alarm if your baby doesn't fit exactly into one row.

How to build a bedtime routine that actually helps

A short, predictable routine tells your baby that sleep is coming. It doesn't need to be long or perfect — what helps most is repeating the same steps, in the same order, every night:

• A bath or a quick wash, pajamas and a clean diaper.
• Dim lights and less stimulation: no screens or rowdy play.
• The last feed, calmly.
• A song, a story or the same goodnight phrase.
• Into the crib, ideally drowsy but still awake, if that works for your baby.

About 20-30 minutes is usually enough. A shorter version of the same routine before each nap also gives the day some anchors.

Safe sleep, at any hour

The schedule can change; safe sleep rules don't. They apply to the morning nap just as much as to the night:

• Always on the back to sleep, naps included (if they already roll over on their own, see what to do if your baby sleeps on their tummy).
• A firm, flat mattress with a fitted sheet and nothing else in the crib: no pillows, bumpers, loose blankets or stuffed animals.
• Share the room, not the bed: that's what many guidelines recommend for the first months.
• Don't overdress: a room at a comfortable temperature and suitable clothing, no hat for sleeping indoors.

When the schedule falls apart (and that's normal)

Some weeks nothing above seems to work. There's almost always a temporary reason behind it:

• A sleep regression, which often lines up with developmental leaps.
• A nap transition — from 3 to 2, or 2 to 1 — that scrambles the day for a while.
• Teething, a cold, a trip or a change in the routine at home.

In those cases it helps to gradually return to the same anchors — wake-up time, bedtime routine — without rebuilding everything from scratch. If the changes drag on, or your baby sleeps noticeably less than expected and is cranky during the day, talk to your pediatrician.

To see a full day laid out, check the 4-month-old daily schedule example, and to work out the next nap, use the nap calculator.

Full daily timeline — a real screen from the Alfonso app.

Start logging today

Create your baby's profile in 30 seconds, no account or password needed, and log the next event as it happens — to see the real pattern, not just remember it. Syncs automatically with your partner.

Frequently asked questions

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ℹ️ This article is informational and doesn't replace a pediatrician's judgment. If you have specific concerns about your baby's sleep, always check with a healthcare professional.