Baby Schedules 101
One of THE MOST COMMON questions I get as a sleep consultant is, “What is the best schedule for my baby’s age?” or “When can I get my baby on a schedule?”
Today, I am here to answer those questions...and a few others!
My sleep journey started with my first baby. By the time she was 8 months old, my Nova had us absolutely exhausted. While part of our issue at that age was the need for independent sleep skills, the other big thing I needed to fix was her schedule. I always thought she was tired after only two hours of awake time, and then would assist her to sleep for a nap. She would only sleep for like, 30-45 minutes, and we would repeat that cycle ALL. DAY. LONG. Does this sound familiar to you?? It was not sustainable for me - she was 8 months old and taking 4 naps a day. Looking back, I now know I wasn’t allowing her to build enough sleep pressure to take decent naps - and teaching her independent sleep skills is a whole other story for another day!
When I think back to Nova as a newborn, she was always fussy in the evenings. In retrospect, I was actually keeping her awake too long during the day at that age, and continuing a cycle of overtiredness, simply because I didn’t know any better. Sorry, Nova!
When I had my second child, I was in a much better place. I was able to use an age-appropriate schedule right from birth and the difference was HUGE. If I nailed her awake window just right, I could even lay her down awake and she would put herself to sleep! Appropriate schedules can make all the difference.
Enough about my experience - let’s get into the questions you have about baby sleep schedules!
Schedules ARE important.
Children, in general, thrive with routine. Schedules provide routine. As time goes on, your little one will learn that first this happens, then that, and finally, this other thing. Predictability helps your little one know what is happening next and also provides comfort in knowing what to expect. Have you ever done something out of your child’s normal routine and instantly regretted it - because for them, it was THE END OF THE WORLD?? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, give it a year or two - I promise you it will happen and you will know exactly what I’m talking about.
You can start with a “loose” schedule from day one. Us sleep consultants refer to the time between sleeps as “wake windows” or “awake windows” - and there are different windows for different ages. I recommend following the concept of awake windows until your baby is ready to be on a two nap schedule, sometime between 6-9 months.
These windows will vary from baby to baby, and sometimes need to be tweaked to find exactly what works best for your baby. And, just when you think you have it figured out, your baby will change things up on you. The important thing to remember is that babies grow and develop rapidly, and in turn, their sleep needs can change rapidly too. When using awake windows, you follow the pattern of {awake time-nap time-awake time-nap time-awake time-nap time-awake time-bedtime} according to your child’s current awake window. Some naps may be longer than others, and the amount of naps can vary from day to day, especially during the newborn phase. As your baby gets older, and their awake windows stretch, there will be less naps.
Implementing a Schedule
If your child is 6/7 months or younger, I’d recommend starting with following their correct awake windows, and adjusting your day from there. This is not a set schedule, but more of a loose routine.
If your child is 8/9 months or older, I’d look at starting with a two nap schedule, having naps occur at the same time each day. One in the morning, and one in the afternoon.
Around 14-15 months (but anywhere from 12-18 months) your child may be ready for a one-nap schedule, with a nap occurring right in the middle of the day.
It’s typical for children to completely drop the nap between 2.5 and 3.5 years old. At this point I’d recommend implementing quiet time.
When to Change the Schedule
There is one major rule when it comes to even *thinking* about changing your child’s schedule. Give it two weeks. 14 days. If any of the following are still occurring for an independent sleeper (if your child isn’t an independent sleeper yet, this is most likely your first problem) 10 out of 14 days and you’re able to rule out illness, teething, a milestone development, or a language burst, then it’s time to adjust the schedule:
Early mornings
Fighting naps or bedtime for more than 20 minutes
Nap refusals
And if you’re still not sure, reach out to yours truly. It’s better to be totally certain that this is the next step, because we don’t want an overtired baby on your hands.
What is the best schedule for your child?
This is dependent upon a few things; specifically your child’s age and development. Children are not robots. The information I’m providing you are averages, based on age. Your child may need a bit less or a bit more. If you haven’t already, I’d recommend subscribing and downloading my free guide, “3 Easy Steps to Building Your Baby’s Ideal Schedule” and starting there with a step by step process to get you going. You can tweak the averages from there.
And if you’re still finding it to be a struggle, I’d love to help. You can book a free Discovery Call with me at this link.
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