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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 over 10 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.
Need Nap Help For Your Baby or Toddler? The Baby Sleep Site® Is Here For You!
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Essential Keys to Your Newborn’s Sleep is THE newborn sleep book that will help you to not only improve your newborn’s sleep using gentle, sleep-inducing routines – it will also answer your feeding and newborn care questions. You can even buy a bundle package that includes the e-book AND a Personalized Sleep Plan™ PLUS a follow-up email to use for further support!
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.
Need help knowing where to start? Visit our Help Me Choose page for help choosing the Baby Sleep Site® resources that are right for you.
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 10+ years of experience. Our team of expert consultants 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.
For those persistent toddler sleep struggles, check out The 5 Step System to Help Your Toddler Sleep. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your toddler sleep through the night and enjoy a better daytime schedule.
Or, join our VIP Members Area packed with exclusive content and resources: e-Books, assessments, detailed case studies, expert advice, peer support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately! As a VIP member, you'll also enjoy a weekly chat with an expert sleep consultant. And the best part - members receive 20% off all sleep consultation services!
Claire says
Hi there, my 12 week old baby has never slept more than 3.5 hours at night but for the past 2 weeks has been waking every 1.5 or 2 hours from bedtime (630/7).
He naps during the day mainly in the car seat because he has always had wind issues and I’m often pushing the buggy round the block – I have two older kids so often en route to school etc. He has had some naps in his cot but only self settled past the 45 mins a couple of times that way. I do think he wakes at night sometimes because he is hungry and sometimes trying to do a poo, he has had lots of bowel issues too – but sometimes definitely it is habit and my husband and I don’t know how to break the cycle . Please help! I’ve not had more than 2 hours sleep in a row since he was born!
Neosha says
@Claire – Thank you for stopping by our sleepy little village and for sharing with us. I know how exhausted you all must be with such frequent night waking – no more than 2 hours is rough for sure. Your little guy is definitely more alert nowadays, which makes sleep harder in general for him, and you didn’t say how much sleep he gets during the day total, but if he’s not getting enough nap sleep he could be a bit too tired to sleep better for you at night. At 12 weeks, it is quite possible that he wakes from hunger during the night as his tummy is still quite small and requires frequent fill-ups. He could be waking a bit due to sleep associations as well. Any attempt to wean him away from needing your help to get back to sleep at this point should definitely follow a more gentle approach. See this article for more tips: https://www.babysleepsite.com/how-to-get-my-baby-to-sleep/how-to-get-my-11-12-or-13-week-old-to-sleep/
If you find you need more support in helping your little guy get better sleep, please read a bit more about our team of sleep consultants here:https://www.babysleepsite.com/about and consider working with one of these sleep experts to gently help you develop a plan of action. Hang in there, Claire!
Winny Winny says
My 12 weeks old baby girl, started to fuss 55 mins-1 hour since she awaken between naps. Tried to keep her longer so that she can only have 5 naps on the day have bedtime on 8/8.30. But she was always struggle for the bedtime. Did I accidentally make her overtired by extending the awake time between each nap. She usually has 1.5 hour of nap.for the first nap and then followed by catnaps. Should I just let her sleep when she started to fuss and just add 1 more nap around 7 pm? Seems like she still have bedtime of around 8.30/9 pm
Neosha says
@Winny – Thank you for stopping by our sleepy little village! If your precious little girl is seeming to be a bit tired after being awake an hour, this is completely normal and it’s perfectly okay for her to go down for a nap at that point. Many babies this age can’t stay awake longer than 1-1.5 hours and as they get older (sometimes in just a few weeks!) they’ll be able to stay awake and enjoy the day a bit longer with you. A catnap around 6:30/7p is also just fine! You can check out this sample schedule for a 3-month old baby as an example: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/3-month-old-baby-sleep-and-feeding-schedule/ Hang in there, Winny, and please come back to see us again soon!
Amy says
I have a 2 year old that was going down for bed so easily and sleeping all night 6:00-6:30, thanks to your techniques. At exactly 2 years he all of a sudden started fighting going to bed, needing a light on, and books in bed with him. We pushed his bedtime to 7, but doesn’t fall asleep until 7:30-8 and still sometimes cries or yells. We have a 5 month old…. so that’s not ideal. Now he’s waking up at 5 and won’t go back to bed! He still naps at 12:30 and needs it because he is very active. He does nap for 3 hours on his own, but wakes up grumpy. Is this all sleep regression or is he napping too long? Should I wake him up after a certain amount of time?
Janelle Reid says
@Amy – Thank you for your comment! I am so glad to hear our site has been helpful for your toddler’s sleep! I remember going through a really difficult time with my son when he hit 2 as well! There is a regression at this age so it’s possible things will smooth out in a few weeks. Here is a link to an article on 2 year old sleep that may help: https://www.babysleepsite.com/toddlers/5-things-about-2-year-old-toddler-sleep/
The other thing to point out (and this is discussed in the above article as well) is that your son may not need as much sleep as he use to, so you may have to find a balance for him to redistribute his sleep – that may involve waking him from his nap as he likely doesn’t need 15 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period. Here is a link to a sample toddler schedule that outlines how much the average toddler needs in a 24 hour period, so you may try to limit his daytime sleep in hopes that increases his sleep in the early mornings: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/toddler-schedule/
Lastly, here is an article with tips on what to do if/when these early wake ups happen: https://www.babysleepsite.com/how-we-sleep/baby-waking-too-early/
I hope some of these resources help! Let us know how things turn out and if you need anything else! Thank you for using the Baby Sleep Site as a resource for sleep!
Krystle says
Hello I have a 3 month old . I was wondering if this is to much for her. she says up for and hour or two sleeps for 3-4 hours each nap and has 6 naps a day roughly . she does sleep through the night till about 4 or5. Her last feeding is about 11 pm. I was just wondering if this is to much sleep.
Danielle says
Hi Krystle,
Thank you for using The Baby Sleep Site as a resource! I’m sorry, but I’m trying to do the math in your comment to figure out how much your daughter’s sleeping per 24 hours, and having some trouble. Surely she’s not sleeping 3 hours for each of the 6 naps, or there would be no night left? 🙂 Babies who are going through growth spurts can sleep a *lot*, so if this has only been going on for a week or so, and she’s eating enough and gaining weight, it is likely okay, but if you’re not sure, please do talk to your doctor about it. We’d also love to help further if you could email us with an example of her daily schedule at [email protected]. I hope this helps!
Bianca says
My 14 month old is having 1:30-2 hour morning naps. And sometimes skipping her 30min- 1 hr afternoon nap. She sleeps well from 7:00-7:00 Is she ready for one nap?
Janelle Reid says
@Bianca, Thank you for your comment! Dropping down to one nap a day can be such a tricky time for parents to figure out when to go all in! The average age to transition is between 15-18 months so your daughter is getting close to that range so it’s possible it is time. Here is an article that will help you determine if she is transitioning now: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-naps-2/signs-nap-transition-is-approaching/
And here is a link to our toddler sample schedule, and you will see examples for 1 nap or 2 naps so you can begin to make adjustments as needed to her schedule when you decide she is ready: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/toddler-schedule/
I hope that helps! Thank you for using the Baby Sleep Site as a resource!
Chloe says
Hi. I have 11 week old twins who are co sleeping. They are napping beautifully in the day drop off on their own (thanks to your awake/sleep chart) But when it is their 7pm (bedtime) bottle they will not settle by themselves and cry really loudly.
Also I’m wondering how do i know if when they wake if it is due to startle reflex or if they are ready to wake up?
Many Thanks
Chloe
Jessica Diller says
@Chloe, thank you for commenting. I’m glad to hear that our awake/sleep chart has been so helpful for your twins. It’s true that newborn sleep can be sporadic and unpredictable. However, there are things you can do to help your newborn sleep better. I recommend reading our free guide specifically geared towards newborns and their sleep challenges. You can read more about and sign up for our free guide here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/announcements/newborn-baby-sleep-guide-free/
Forhana says
My baby is 9months old and naps twice a day between 30 minutes to if I’m lucky 2 hours as it varies. However, even though she is on solids now I would have thought her night sleep would improve. Unfortunately, I seem to be struggling again to from the was a new born as she wakes up nearly every 4 hours at night. For instance, if she sleeps at 8pm she would wake up around 12am-2am. I usually change her nappy that time and she doesn’t go back to sleep unless she has some milk otherwise she just plays about in her cot making a rackit. Some days she’s able to soothe herself to sleep some days I have to give her milk. Then she will wake up again between 5-6am before she used to wake up at 8 now it’s seemed to have gotten earlier. Please help as I’m unsure in what to do as I get little sleep now as well cos of this.
Danielle says
Hi Forhana,
Thank you for using The Baby Sleep Site as a resource! I’m sorry to hear that your daughter is having so much trouble with her night sleep If she used to sleep well, and has only recently developed this night waking pattern, then you may be looking at the 9 month sleep regression. This can cause short naps, extra night waking, and other sleep issues for several weeks around this age. We have an article that explains what’s going on and how to address it here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-sleep-patterns/8-9-10-month-old-baby-sleep-regression/
If this has been an existing pattern for more than about a month, then you are more likely dealing with either a sleep association with the sucking, or possibly a scheduling issue with her eating – she could be waking from true hunger if she’s not getting enough calories during the daytime. We would need a little more information about her current schedule, but please feel free to email us at [email protected] if the sleep regression doesn’t seem like a good fit for your troubles. Good luck!
Mandy says
What would you say about a 15 week baby taking 30 minute naps all day? She is worn in a baby wrap all day as this has been easiest to also deal with my 3 year old. she always wakes crying at the 30 minute mark and very rarely can I bounce her back to sleep. Sometimes she will fall back asleep nursing so it seems like 30 minutes does not leave her rested. Is this normal and something I just have to deal with until she starts having longer naps? Should I be trying to get her sleeping in her crib for naps at this age instead of the baby wrap? Thanks!!
Emily DeJeu says
@ Mandy – Hmmmm….well, erratic and short naps are fairly normal at this age, but if the naps are ONLY 30 minutes each time, that’s on the short side for sure. It may be that the 4 month sleep regression (https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-sleep-patterns/4-month-sleep-regression/) is striking early for you; in this case, just wait a few weeks and then you can work on lengthening naps (https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-naps-2/short-baby-naps-explained/) All in all, this isn’t a huge problem, given how young your baby is. However, if you want to work towards a more consistent schedule, you can start using our sample 4 month schedules to accomplish that: https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/4-month-old-schedule/
Finally, when you feel ready to work on sleep coaching, our free guide, 5 Ways To Help Your Child Sleep Through The Night, is a great place to start! You can find it here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-sleep-through-night-free-ebook/
Best of luck to you, Mandy! Thanks for commenting 🙂
Emily says
My 17 month old has 1 nap but sometimes its only 1.5 hours. How do I get her to sleep longer as I’m not sure 1.5 hours in the day is enough for her.
Emily DeJeu says
@ Emily (great name!! 😉 — 1.5 hours can be adequate, depending on her bedtime, as well as the quality and length of her nighttime sleep. If she goes to bed fairly early, and sleeps soundly through the night, then you’re probably okay 🙂
Amanda says
My 10 month old is still between 2-3 naps. Most days she struggles to stay awake for 2.5 hours before her first nap. She sleeps well at night, ~7:30pm – 6:30am waking 1-2 times to eat. She’s BF and loves solids. Any tips on how to help her transition to 2 naps while avoiding overtired?
Emily DeJeu says
@ Amanda – we have an article on nap transitions that might help: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-naps-2/how-to-manage-baby-toddler-nap-transitions/ In general, it’s usually best to juggle the two schedules – so in your case, you’d use a 3-nap schedule for a day or two, and then a 2-nap schedule for a day or two, and then back to 3. That can help ward off over tiredness. You can also shift the timing of the naps so that the 3rd nap happens later and later, and is more of a catnap.
If you want more detailed help, I’d suggest you consider becoming a member – we have a ton of nap resources in there, including a much lengthier article on nap transitions. You can learn more here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-toddler-sleep-consulting-services/
Thanks for commenting, @ Amanda – best of luck to you!