7 month old babies need an average of 14 hours of sleep a day with 11-12 hours of sleep at night and 2-3 hours during the day. Most babies this age can stay awake for 2-3 hours in a stretch. However, some babies are on a 2-nap schedule while others are still taking three naps. Separation anxiety also affects babies this age. This article outlines the average 7-month-old baby’s sleep schedule, including milk feedings for breastfeeding and formula-feeding babies, solids, naps, and nighttime sleep. As a sleep consultant for over 10 years, I will also share typical sleep habits and tips to get your baby to sleep through the night. Or, you can simply skip to the schedule.
7 Month Old Baby’s Sleep Habits and Expectations
At this age, many 7-month-olds can sleep through the night, without any feedings. This is especially true of formula-fed babies, however, if your baby is breastfed, you may still have one feeding at night.
Regardless of how many naps your baby takes, your 7-month-old should be napping a total of 2-3 hours per day plus sleeping 11-12 hours at night. The average total sleep in a 24-hour period is around 14 hours. However, always keep in mind that some babies will need more or less sleep than the average.
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How Many Naps for a 7 Month Old?
7-month-old babies take two to three naps during the day. Typically, most 5 month olds will transition from four to three naps but then babies will transition to two naps anytime between 6 and 9 months old. If there is a third nap, it is almost always a short 30-45 minute catnap.
Babies this age have wake windows between 2 and 3 hours at a time, on average. A few are dropping the third nap and on a 2-nap schedule sometimes staying awake 3 to 4 hours before bedtime.
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- How to Manage Your Baby’s Nap Transitions
- Sleep Regressions: Ages and Everything You Need to Know to Handle Them
- 7 Reasons Your Baby or Toddler Stopped Sleeping Through the Night
7-Month-Olds: Average Milk and Solid Food amounts Per Day
Your baby will sleep better if they are getting all the nutrition they need, obviously. However, it’s easy to accidentally overdo it with solid food if your baby likes it! Keep in mind that breast milk and/or formula should be the primary nutrition for the first year and solids come secondary. Solid food should not decrease milk intake very much if at all. Below are the average amounts we recommend:
- At least 5 nursing sessions per day or 26-32 ounces formula or combination
- Although some say 4-6 oz of water is okay, I usually discourage it at this age
- 1-2 servings baby cereal (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons dry)
- 1-2 servings fruit (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons)
- 1-2 servings vegetable (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons)
- 1 serving Dairy (1 serving = 1/3-1/2 cup yogurt or 1/4 cup cottage cheese)
- You can also offer cooked egg yolk (but possibly no egg whites until 1-year-old due to allergens — check with your doctor)
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Putting it all together, all babies are unique, but here are sample schedules you can use to make your own for your unique baby.
Sample 7 Month Old Baby Sleep Schedules
The first sample schedule is what I call a “staggered” approach. My first son did better nursing fully and then had 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 solid food at all.
Sample Schedule 1: Staggered Approach
| 7 Month Old Sleep Schedule With Feedings | |
|---|---|
| Time | Activity |
| 7:00 AM | Wake and Milk |
| 8:15 AM | Breakfast |
| 9:00 AM | Morning Nap (at least one hour long) |
| 10:00 AM | Milk (upon waking) |
| 12:30 PM | Milk |
| 1:00 PM | Early Afternoon Nap (at least one hour long) |
| 3:00 PM | Milk |
| 4:00 PM | Catnap (30-45 minutes; can be “on the go”) |
| 4:30/5:00 PM | Dinner (if you offer a second solid meal; sometimes not offered until 8 months old) |
| 6:30 PM | Begin your bedtime routine |
| 7:00 PM | Milk and Bedtime (goal to be asleep by this time) |
+ Plus possibly 1-2 nighttime feedings
If your baby doesn’t mind a more “consolidated” approach to eating, like my second son, here is another type of schedule:
Sample Schedule 2: Consolidated Approach
| 7 Month Old Sleep Schedule With Milk and Solid Feedings Together | |
|---|---|
| Time | Activity |
| 7:00 AM | Wake |
| 7:15 AM | Breakfast + Milk (offer half milk feeding, then solids, then remaining milk) |
| 9:00 AM | Morning Nap (at least one hour long) |
| 10:00 AM | Milk (upon waking) |
| 12:30 PM | Milk |
| 1:00 PM | Early Afternoon Nap (at least one hour long) |
| 3:00 PM | Milk |
| 4:00 PM | Catnap (can be “on the go”) |
| 4:30/5:00 PM | Dinner + Milk (if you offer a second solid meal; sometimes not offered until 8 months old) |
| 6:30 PM | Begin your bedtime routine |
| 7:00 PM | Milk and Bedtime (goal to be asleep by this time) |
+ Plus possibly 1-2 nighttime feedings
If you prefer an Eat-Play-Sleep Schedule, here’s another sample:
Sample Schedule 3: Eat-Play-Sleep
| 7 Month Old Eat-Play-Sleep Schedule With Feedings | |
|---|---|
| Time | Activity |
| 7:00 AM | Wake |
| 7:30 AM | Milk |
| 8:15 AM | Breakfast |
| 9:00 AM | Morning Nap (at least one hour long) |
| 10:30 AM | Milk |
| 12:30 PM | Early Afternoon Nap (at least one hour long) |
| 1:30 PM | Milk (upon waking) |
| 4:00 PM | Catnap (30-45 minutes; can be “on the go”) |
| 4:30 PM | Milk |
| 5:00 PM | Dinner (if you offer a second solid meal; sometimes not offered until 8 months old) |
| 6:30/7:00 PM | Begin your bedtime routine |
| 7:00/7:30 PM | Milk and Bedtime (goal to be asleep by this time) |
+ Plus possibly 1-2 nighttime feedings
Note: Many people prefer to follow an eat-play-sleep routine, which is a good routine to follow, however, sometimes hard to implement at this age when the amount of time between naps is not long enough and your baby wakes too early from his nap because of a feeding. I take all of that into consideration when making my schedules. The most important part is to be careful not to create sleep associations with feedings too close to sleep times, which we saw become important at 4 months old.
If your baby has already transitioned to two naps, please consider using one of our 8 month old schedules or 9 month old schedule. It’s not always so simple as dropping the last nap. You might need to move the other two naps!
Looking for more sample 7-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!
- Custom Schedule Maker (for members only)
- Mastering Naps and Schedules (Members Area digital e-Book)
- Chat Live with a Sleep Consultant (for members only)
- 3 Signs It May Be Time for Night Weaning Your Baby
- Night Weaning Quiz: Is Your Baby Ready To Night Wean?
- 6 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)
- Nap Transitions (Members Area audio tele-seminar recording with Q&A)
- 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!
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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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Tanya says
Thanks again for you response. I have another question (sorry!). So my son typically sleeps an hour to an hour & a half for the first nap. Does that mean the second nap should shift to 1:30 pm on days he sleeps the hour and a half and stay at 1:00 pm on the days he sleeps an hour OR do I keep the schedule the same regardless of how long his nap is?
He typically sleeping 1-1.5 hours in the morning and 1.5-2 hours in the afternoon. So a total of 3-4 hours. He’s almost 7 months and he dropped his 3rd nap at 6 1/2 months.
Thanks!
Neosha says
@Tanya – You’re very welcome! If your little guy is getting enough sleep throughout the day (at least a total of 2-3 hours per day plus sleeping 11-12 hours at night) then you shouldn’t feel compelled to change his schedule. Keeping a fixed schedule or being more fluid with his sleep schedule is a choice – we usually suggest doing what works best for your family. So, if you’re currently flexing his schedule based on his sleep/wake times and that works for your family’s schedule and his sleep needs, you can most certainly keep doing that. And vice versa for staying on the fixed schedule. Should you find that you have more specific questions, please consider working with one of our expert sleep consultants. They are most certainly better trained at helping with specific sleep situations than we are on the blog. You can read about our lovely ladies here:https://www.babysleepsite.com/about Thanks for being a dedicated reader!
Tanya says
Hi. I have a 6 1/2 month old son and he’s good with naps and sleeping. Thankfully after we sleep trained! The issue I have more has to do with the wake, eat, play, sleep routine. I try my best to follow it but lately he wants to nurse before naps. He doesn’t fall asleep while nursing. He finishes, we do a song and I put him in his crib awake.
Is it bad to be nursing prior to naps? Is this a sleep association even if he’s not falling asleep while nursing?
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Tanya – Thanks for writing! it sounds like you are doing a great job at teaching healthy sleep habits! It is great to hear that your 6 1/2 month old baby is sleeping well! If you are both doing well with having the nursing close to sleep time, then there is no need to change it! Many families keep the feeds to near nap and bedtime and that is just fine! As you mention, keeping him awake for that feed, and singing a song after and putting him in bed awake is what matters! As long as he knows how to drift off to sleep on his own, that is great! Keep it up!
Tanya says
Thank you for your response. I do have a follow up question. When he wakes up, should I be feeding as well? Reason I ask, is that I know I’m supposed to be nursing him before he gets solids.
This would mean that he’ll get about 7 nursing sessions a day. He still wakes up once at night.
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Tanya, thanks for getting back to us. I think it’s fine to go ahead and nurse after. 🙂 As you can see from the sample schedule there are still 7+ nursing sessions a day (depending on how many night wakings you have at this age) and as that is the most important nutrition for the first year, I’m in the camp that believe it’s better to start with that and then top off with solids after. Hope that helps!
Veronica says
Hi I have a 7 mo old son. He has been doing well napping, taking 3 naps a day (around 9, 12:30, and 3:30- the first 2 tend to be about an hour and a half and the last one is usually shorter- 45 minutes-ish). He goes down easily at naptime and falls asleep on his own in a couple minutes.
But bedtime is awful! We start bedtime routine around 645 but no matter what we do he cries and screams at bedtime. Going in to comfort him doesn’t do much to settle him. He takes a long time to settle and its every night. Any suggestions?
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Veronica – Thanks for writing, and sorry that you’re struggling with bedtimes with your little guy! A few minutes of crying before sleep is not uncommon, though if he is taking a long time to fall asleep after the tears he could be over or under-tired or may need a bit more help unwinding from his day. This article may help you help him to relax before sleep:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/bedtime-stories-2/relax-baby-bedtime/
We hope that things smooth out quickly! Please contact us if you find that you need more help!
Chelle Bilan says
My baby does not sit up properly. She has a hard time controlling her posture and her head from falling forward. She is 7 months old. Doe’s she need therapy?
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Chelle Bilan, thanks for visiting the Baby Sleep Site. I am sorry to hear you are concerned about your baby’s development. I would be sure to reach out to your daughter’s doctor and see what they suggest. I’ll tell you from personal experience that I went through a similar thing with my little guy too. My pediatrician did recommend we do craniosacral therapy because he was really only ever looking to the left (and I totally didn’t notice, he could look right, just never did and didn’t have as good of a range). Shortly after starting we began to see improvements which was super encouraging, but it did slow things down for him – he didn’t roll, crawl, sit up, and walk until after he should have been (we started therapy at 4 months). He’s 2 now and fine, but I am glad we did the therapy, it was not scary like I thought it would be and didn’t last too long – I think maybe 2-3 months – but I know that it’s different for everybody. I hope that can be some encouragement to you!
Lydia McF says
I heard that there was something called sleep training. It is supposed to help your newborn to get on the right schedule when it comes to sleeping. I want to know if anyone has heard about this.
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Lydia – Thank you for writing to us! If you haven’t yet, you can sign up to receive our free guide written just for families with young infants here:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/15-free-baby-sleep-facts-new-parents-must-know
This should be very helpful for you and answer your questions about everything newborn sleep related! Good luck!
Kristen Cook says
Hi!
I have a just turned 7 month old. I have been trying for awhile to get her on a schedule but nothing has worked there are no set times I just go by “ok in two hours from now” etc. she also cat naps 45 minutes during the day she may take one long 1 1/2 hour to 2 1/2 nap but not every day. It also depends on if I am rocking her or laying with her or if I put her down which I normally put her down. She sleeps longer with me. She is in bed by 7:30 and asleep. However she wakes up about an hour later then I put her back to sleep and she sleeps for the night. We do co sleep. She likes to nurse at night but never actually wakes up. Nursing and formula during the day. She does not wake up on her own until between 8 and 9 am. Should I start waking her and trying to follow a better routine or just start the routine as she wakes? Should I be worried about her nap cycles? Also I wonder if she is just relying on me as a comfort to sleep too much. Thank you !
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Kristen Cook, thanks for writing to us. I remember struggling with both of my children’s nap schedules around that age and it took me a while to nail it down. Here is a link to a free guide with tips for nap help: https://www.babysleepsite.com/free-baby-nap-guide/
In regards to your other questions about waking her earlier to get her on a more normal schedule, that definitely may help and be worth a try. May be a rough couple of days as she adjusts but it may make the schedule a little more set which might give you a better piece of mind in the long run.
If you need more help, let us know! She probably does really love sleeping with you best, and when you decide to transition her to her own sleeping space it may be difficult, but it won’t be impossible! If/when you’re ready for that and you need help, let us know and we’d love to walk through that with you should you need it. Hopefully it will be smooth though! Feel free to contact us directly anytime at [email protected] and we can let you know of additional resources we have available should you need. 🙂
Bryony says
I have 7 month old twins and they still are not sleeping through the night and wake up without fail at 5am, I try and keep them in their cots until at least 6am ( they share a room as I only have a 2 bed house) but sometimes they are screaming by that time, they then have milk and breakfast, then play and I usually put them down for a nap around 8.15 ish and they will only stay down for around 30-45mins.
We then get up, play, milk at 10am and then go down for what used to be a 2 hour nap but now I’m lucky if we get 45 mins.
They then play, get milk at 2pm, play , dinner at 5pm, play, bath, bottle bed. They are normally in bed by 19:30, but then often stir throughout the night, sometimes being wide awake at 2am and will not resettle no ,after what we do, and then wake up at 5am.
What do I need to do to make this better?
Thanks,
Bryony
Danielle says
Hi Bryony,
Thank you for using The Baby Sleep Site as a resource! I’m sorry you’re having so much trouble getting your twins to sleep through the night. I am not a sleep consultant, but based on your comment, it sounds like you may have a combination of a scheduling issue, and/or are bumping into the 8 month sleep regression. We would need more information about your babies’ overall health and daily schedule to make a recommendation, but we’d love to help! This is exactly the kind of situation our sleep consultants help with all the time 🙂 Please email us at [email protected] and we’d be happy to help you find a package that can work for your family. Hope this helps!
Alicia says
Do you adjust their schedule if they normally wake up at 7am but start waking up earlier ( like 6-6:30 am)? If you do, how do you adjust it?
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Alicia, yes I would! If your baby usually wakes at 7, but instead wakes up at 6:30, I’d bump everything back a half hour. If the wakings get earlier than 6 then there may be another factor to consider, as we consider anything before 6 too early. If that ends up being the case (which it doesn’t sound like it is just yet) here’s a link for more info that you’ll hopefully never need, ha!: https://www.babysleepsite.com/how-we-sleep/baby-waking-too-early/
Hope this helps!
Natalie says
Hi, my 7 month old has a fairly consistent routine during the day consisting of 3 naps but we seem to have a problem with early waking. He reliably wakes between 5 and 5.30. bedtime is always 7pm and his last nap is always around 4pm no longer than 45 mins. When he wakes in the morning he’s only happy for about half hour before showing signs of tiredness however I keep him awake until 8am otherwise it puts us out for the rest of the day routine wise. However he then seems to need a really long nap around 2 hours sometimes more to make up for his early waking. He’ll then have about 1.5 hours around lunch time. Is he napping too much? How do I get him out of the habit of waking so early? I tried just leaving him in his cot but he gets so noisy (and I have a 3 year old I’d rather he didn’t wake up).
Danielle says
Hi Natalie,
Thank you for your comment! I’m sorry to hear you’re dealing with early waking from your son. It is pretty common at this age, and we have an article explaining early waking and how to help it here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/how-we-sleep/baby-waking-too-early/
I hope it will help you solve your problem, but please let us know if you have more questions – good luck!
Juliet says
Hi, my 7 month old has always been a poor napper. He is currently at daycare and while he used to do 3 – 30 min naps, he is now down to 2 – 30 min naps. He then goes down for bed around 7 and usually wakes up by 5:45 am, or on a good day, 6:00 am. I’m worried that he’s not getting enough sleep. Is there anything I can do to help him sleep longer during his naps and sleep an additional hour for his overnight sleep? Thanks in advance.
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Juliet, thank you for writing to us. I am sorry you’ve been struggling with short naps and early wakings from you son. There are definitely ways to get your baby taking longer and more restorative naps and helping with the early wake ups. Without knowing the full schedule and seeing a full sleep history on your son it would be difficult to know exactly what things need to be addressed, and all of this is what you would receive in a personalized consultation package where you can work one-on-one with a sleep consultant who can get your son’s sleep back on track in a way you feel comfortable implementing (we also frequently work with families who have their children in daycare so we can take the daycare’s schedule into account as well. Here is a link to read more about the different options of support we offer: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-toddler-sleep-consulting-services/
We also have many other resources available if you’d prefer more of a do it yourself approach. To learn more about those, please contact us directly to [email protected] so we can point you in the direction of resources that would be the best fit.
I hope this helps and you’re able to get help soon!