Baby Sleep Schedule by Month: Naps, Night Sleep and Safe Sleep
Safe sleep first, schedule second: every sleep, day or night, happens flat on the back in a bare cot. After that, a baby sleep schedule by month is mostly about awake windows. A newborn can only stay happily awake for 45 to 60 minutes, a 9-month-old for about 3 hours, and total sleep drifts from 14 to 17 hours a day at birth to 12 to 16 by the first birthday.
Before you read the chart
- Position: flat on the back for every sleep, never on the side or tummy
- Cot: firm flat mattress, fitted sheet, nothing else. No pillow, razai, bumper, toys or rolled towels.
- Never: propped, wedged or tilted, not for cold, cough, blocked nose or reflux. Hold the baby upright while awake instead.
- Where: in their own cot in your room for at least the first 6 months
- Numbers: ranges, not targets. Some healthy babies sleep less.
Prefer to listen? This post as a 6 min video · Video page with transcript
Safe sleep for babies: the rules that don’t bend
This comes before any nap chart, because the biggest risk to a sleeping baby is sudden unexpected death in sleep and suffocation, not a bad routine. Most of what raises that risk is in the cot.
- Lay the baby on their back, feet touching the foot of the cot (feet to foot), so they can’t wriggle down under a cover.
- Use a firm, flat mattress that fits the cot with no gap wider than two fingers at the sides.
- Keep the cot bare: one fitted sheet. If you use a cover, a thin cotton sheet tucked in no higher than the shoulders, or a baby sleeping bag of the right size.
- Keep the room around 16 to 20 °C. No hat indoors at night. Check warmth at the back of the neck, not the hands.
- Move a baby who falls asleep in a car seat, swing, bouncer, jhula or on the sofa onto the flat cot.
- Stop swaddling as soon as the baby shows signs of trying to roll, which is often around 2 to 4 months.
- Once a baby rolls both ways on their own, you don’t need to turn them back; still lay them down on their back each time.
Sharing a bed raises the risk, and it rises sharply if anyone in the bed smokes, has had alcohol or sedating medicine, is very tired, or if the baby was premature or small. Never sleep with a baby on a sofa or armchair. For winter layers and the razai question, see baby winter clothes and safe sleep.
Bare cot, flat back, own space. Everything else is a preference.
Baby sleep schedule by month: naps and night sleep chart
Most babies fall somewhere in here. A baby at the low end who feeds well and is cheerful when awake is getting enough.
| Age | Total sleep in 24 hours | Awake window | Naps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 6 weeks | 14 to 17 hours | 45 to 60 minutes | Many, no pattern |
| 2 to 3 months | 14 to 17 hours | 1 to 1.5 hours | 4 to 5 |
| 4 to 5 months | 12 to 16 hours | 1.5 to 2.5 hours | 3 to 4 |
| 6 to 8 months | 12 to 16 hours | 2 to 3 hours | 2 to 3 |
| 9 to 12 months | 12 to 16 hours | 3 to 4 hours | 2 |
Most babies drop to one nap somewhere between 12 and 18 months, so a 1-year-old still on two naps is normal.
0 to 3 months: no schedule, just rhythm
Newborns sleep in short bursts of 2 to 4 hours around the clock, because they need to feed. Their body clock isn’t running yet. Did you know? The day-night rhythm usually starts to show at around 2 to 3 months, which is why the first weeks feel chaotic no matter what you do. Help it along with daylight for daytime naps and dim, boring feeds at night. And the grunts, twitches and eye flickers? Babies spend about half their sleep in active (REM) sleep, far more than adults, so a noisy sleeper is usually a normal one.
The 4-month change
Around 3 to 5 months many parents find a baby who slept well suddenly waking every hour or two. This isn’t a step backwards. Sleep cycles are becoming more adult, with lighter phases between them, so a baby fed or rocked fully asleep may wake between cycles wanting the same help. It usually settles over 2 to 6 weeks. Laying the baby down drowsy but awake for some sleeps, often the first sleep of the night, helps many babies link cycles.
6 to 12 months: a sample day
For a 9-month-old waking at 6:30 am: nap one at about 9:30 to 11, nap two at about 2 to 3:30, bedtime at 7 to 7:30 pm. Night feeds are still normal for many babies at this age, particularly breastfed ones. New skills like crawling often bring a patch of broken nights at 8 to 10 months.
A bedtime routine that works from about 6 to 8 weeks
Same steps, same order, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Dim the lights about 30 minutes before bed and turn off the TV.
- Bath or a warm top-and-tail wash (a full bath 2 to 3 times a week is plenty).
- Nappy, sleep clothes, a light massage if your baby likes it.
- Feed in a quiet, dim room.
- A lullaby, a short dua or the same few words each night.
- Into the cot, on the back. Drowsy but awake when you can manage it; asleep is fine when you can’t.
Missed the routine? A late wedding, a guest, a long drive: just do the last two steps and put the baby down. One night off changes nothing. If a nap is missed, bring the next sleep forward by 20 to 30 minutes rather than pushing through to bedtime, because overtired babies fight sleep harder.
The busy-family version: same bedtime within half an hour, dim room, feed, cot on the back. That’s enough.
Many families rock babies to sleep in a cloth jholi or jhula, and a rai (mustard seed) pillow is still given for a “round head”. The rocking is fine while you’re watching and the baby is awake or just drifting off. But a hanging cloth cradle curls the baby’s body so the chin can drop onto the chest, which can narrow the airway. Move the baby to the flat cot once asleep. The rai pillow goes, because any pillow is a suffocation risk under 1 year. A flat patch on the head is prevented by plenty of awake tummy time and changing which end of the cot the head goes, not by a pillow.
Sleep training, night wakings and what’s normal
Sleep training means teaching a baby to fall asleep without being fed or rocked all the way. It’s a choice, not a requirement. Some families use gentle methods (sitting beside the cot, moving the chair out night by night), some use timed check-ins, many never bother, and all three can raise a happy baby. Most doctors suggest waiting until at least 6 months and until your baby is growing well. Don’t leave a young baby to cry for long, and never train a baby who is unwell.
What doesn’t help, despite the advice: cereal or suji in the bottle (a choking risk that doesn’t lengthen sleep), and keeping a baby awake all day so they sleep at night (it backfires).
A baby who cries in long evening bouts in the first months may have colic, and there’s a calming routine for colic and reflux that fits alongside this schedule.
Myth: a baby with a cold or reflux should sleep propped up
It feels logical, and it’s the most dangerous myth on this page. A propped or tilted baby can slide down into a curled position or roll against the pillow or towel, and neither reflux nor a blocked nose makes back-sleeping unsafe; healthy babies protect their airway when they spit up on their back. So: flat on the back, always. For a blocked nose, clear it with home saline (half a level teaspoon of salt in 250 ml of boiled, cooled water) before sleep, and hold the baby upright on your chest while they’re awake.
Go to hospital straight away if your baby is floppy, hard to wake or unusually drowsy; stops breathing for 20 seconds or more, or turns blue or grey around the lips; breathes fast or grunts with the chest sucking in; has a fit; or has any fever under 3 months. See a doctor soon for snoring with pauses or gasping, a baby who sleeps far more than usual and won’t wake for feeds, fewer than 6 wet nappies a day, or sleep problems alongside poor weight gain. Never give any medicine, herbal drops or sleeping syrup to make a baby sleep.
More baby and child guides in Bachon Ki Sehat.
Baby sleep questions parents ask
How much should a newborn baby sleep?
About 14 to 17 hours in 24, in short stretches of 2 to 4 hours broken up by feeds. Newborns don’t know day from night yet. Some healthy babies sleep a bit less; what matters is that they feed well and are alert when awake.
What is a good sleep schedule for a 3 month old?
Expect awake windows of about 1 to 1.5 hours, 4 to 5 naps of varying length, and a bedtime somewhere between 7 and 10 pm, with 1 to 3 night feeds. A fixed clock usually isn’t realistic yet; follow sleepy cues like yawning and staring away.
Can my baby sleep on the side or tummy?
No. Put your baby down flat on the back for every sleep. Side sleeping is not a safe middle ground, because babies roll from the side onto the tummy. Once a baby can roll both ways alone, you can leave them in the position they choose, but still lay them down on the back.
Can I use a pillow for my baby’s head shape?
Not under 12 months, and that includes rai or “flat head” pillows. Pillows raise the suffocation risk. Prevent flat patches with awake tummy time every day and by alternating which end of the cot the baby’s head faces.
Is it normal that my 4 month old suddenly wakes every hour?
Yes, it’s very common. Sleep cycles change around 3 to 5 months and many babies wake more often for 2 to 6 weeks. Keep the routine steady and try laying the baby down drowsy but awake for the first sleep of the night.
When do babies sleep through the night?
There’s no fixed age. Many babies manage a 5 to 6 hour stretch by 3 to 6 months, and many still wake once or twice at 12 months. Night waking in the first year is normal, especially for breastfed babies.
At what age can I start sleep training?
Most doctors suggest waiting until at least 6 months, when night feeds are less of a need and the baby is gaining weight well. It’s optional. Choose a method that fits your family, and pause it if the baby is ill or teething badly.
Is a jhula or baby swing safe for sleep?
Fine for soothing while you’re watching, not for sleep. Swings, bouncers and cloth jhulas hold a baby curled or tilted, which can let the chin drop to the chest. Once the baby dozes off, move them flat onto the back in the cot.
Can I give gripe water or drops to help my baby sleep?
No. Nothing but breast milk or formula goes in before 6 months, and no medicine or herbal product should ever be given to make a baby sleep. A baby who can’t settle night after night needs a doctor’s check, not a sedative.