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The 5-Step System to Better Toddler Sleep 
This article outlines the average 8-month-old baby schedule, including milk feedings for breastfeeding and formula-feeding babies, solids, naps, and nighttime sleep.
8 Month Old Baby Sleep Case Study now available – it includes tips on reducing and eliminating night wakings, lengthening naps, and coping with the 8 month sleep regression. Scroll down for details!
8 month old’s sleep
At this age, many 8-month-olds can sleep through the night, without a feeding, but some won’t and will continue to need 1-2 feedings up through 9+ months old. And, 8-month-old babies take 2-3 naps daily for a total of 2-3 hours per day plus 11-12 hours at night. If you’re having trouble with naps, you might be interested in helping your baby nap.
All babies vary, but here are some rough schedules you can use to make your own for your unique baby. I should warn you that I am in the camp that breast milk or formula should be the primary nutrition for the first year and solids come secondary. Below are the amounts we recommend. For more information on starting your baby on solid food, we have a series of blog posts dedicated to the subject. We include recommendations about how and when to start solids, as well as helpful information on food allergies, recommended products, baby-friendly recipes, and more.
How Many Naps for an 8 Month Old?
Most 8 month old babies take 2-3 naps each day that total 2 to 3 hours. Babies this age stay awake and have wake windows between 2 and 3 hours at a time, on average, but up to 4 hours before bedtime if they are taking two naps. This is a common age for babies to drop the third nap.
8 Month Old Feeding
The amount of food at 8 months is very similar to the 7-month baby schedule, but you will most likely go to 3 small meals per day, rather than just 2.
Amounts per day:
• At least 5 nursing sessions per day or 26-32 ounces formula or combination
• No more than 2-4 oz of water or juice (to ensure they drink enough breast milk or formula)
• 2-3 servings baby cereal or grains (1 serving cereal = 1-2 Tablespoons dry and grains include Cheerios, 2 crackers, etc.)
• 2 servings fruit (1 serving = 2-3 Tablespoons)
• 2-3 servings vegetable (1 serving = 2-3 Tablespoons)
• 1-2 servings protein (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons)
• 1 serving Dairy (1 serving = 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/3 cup cottage cheese or 1 oz grated cheese)
• You can also offer cooked egg yolk (but possibly no egg whites until 1 year old due to allergens — check with your doctor)
The first schedule is what I call a “staggered” approach. My first son did better with a full feeding and then having solids a bit in between. He was a little hungry but not famished. He just didn’t do well with stopping nursing or his bottle mid-way to eat solids.
You May Also Be Interested In baby food recipes for 8 month olds
Sample 8 month old schedule
If your baby has already transitioned to just 2 naps, please see the 9 month old baby schedule for a sample schedule.
Schedule 1
7:00 – Wake and Breast milk or Formula
8:15 – Breakfast
9:00 – Morning Nap (at least 1 hour)
10:00 – Breast milk or Formula
11:00 – Lunch
12:30 – Breast milk or Formula
1:00 – Early Afternoon Nap (at least 1 hour)
2:00 – Breast milk or Formula
4:00 – Optional Catnap (30-45 minutes)
4:30 or 5:00 – Dinner
6:15 – Begin bedtime routine
7:00 – Breast milk or Formula and Bedtime (goal to be asleep at this time)
+Plus possibly 1 nighttime feeding
If your baby doesn’t mind a more “consolidated” approach to eating, like my second son, here is another type of schedule:
Schedule 2
7:00 – Wake
7:15 – Breakfast plus Breast milk or Formula feeding
9:00 – Morning Nap (at least 1 hour)
10:00 – Breast milk or Formula
11:00 – Lunch
12:30 – Breast milk or Formula
1:00 – Afternoon Nap (at least 1 hour)
3:00 – Breast milk or Formula
5:30 – Dinner plus Breast milk / Formula feeding
6:15 – Begin bedtime routine
7:00 – Breast milk or Formula
+Plus possibly 1 nighttime feeding
Note: When giving any feedings during your bedtime routine, be careful not to create sleep associations, which we saw become important at 4 months old.
Want more information about how to help your 8 month old sleep well? Check out our detailed case study about Carrie, Ben, Elliot, and Andrew.
Read how Carrie and Ben helped 8 month old Elliot learn to sleep longer stretches at night (and, eventually, to sleep through the night completely!) and take better naps – and how they helped to change those sleep associations that were keeping Elliot awake! Just join our VIP Members Area, and access the case study instantly. And that’s not all – our VIP Members Area is packed with additional premium content and resources: e-Books, assessments, more case studies, peer and expert support, and more. It actually costs less to join than buying products separately!
Looking for more sample 8-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!
You Might Also Like:
- The 8/9/10 Month Sleep Regression Explained
- The 8-10 Month Sleep Regression Survival Guide: EXPANDED EDITION (Members Area article)
- 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?
- 8 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)
- 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.
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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!
What is your 8 month old baby’s schedule? Share below!
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shelley says
My son is 8 months, and the first half of his day basically follows your sample schedule. I think he is on the verge of dropping the 3rd nap. The schedule says optional nap at 4, which would only be two hours since his last map and he is not tired enough. I try to put him down at 4:30 but he fights me until he finally sleeps at 5. But then it is pushing his bedtime to 8pm. If I give up and he skips the third nap, 5 hours until 7pm is way way too long of a wake window for him. But I am concerned if I put him down too early, he will wake up at 5am!! How do you best handle this?
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Shelley, thanks for your comment. I am sorry you’ve been struggling with your son’s schedule recently, nap transitions are so tough! (I’m in the middle of a transition with both of my children currently, so I feel your pain!!) Here is a link to an article that can provide some tips on nap transitions and how to handle them: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-naps-2/how-to-manage-baby-toddler-nap-transitions/
If you are still struggling trying to figure out a schedule that works for him, I think you would really enjoy our ebook, Mastering Naps & Schedules. You can read more about it and purchase online here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/mastering-naps/
I hope this helps!
Caoimhe says
Hi, I have an 8 month old son and I’m struggling to get him into any form of sleep routine.
He goes to bed between 8-8:45 he has to be held while I walk around with him in my arms until he falls asleep then I put him into his cot, it feels as if he’s never in a deep sleep he wakes about 6 times a night some times more I either have to pick him up and walk with him to settle him or give him some water or his soother.
I generally have to feed him a 4oz bottle between 4/5am and settle him again till 7/7:45am
We get up and has a small bit of readybrek and then about a half hour later 4-7oz of formula.
After this he crawls and plays and He could then go for a nap about an hour and a half after he wakes and this nap could be anything from 25minutes-40 minutes although it could take a half an hour to get him to go asleep.
Then when he wakes he’ll either have a rusk and fruit usually about 11.30am. 4-7oz Formula about 12:30 and he crawls and plays
Then I try to get him to go for another nap with can also be anything from 25 minutes- 1 hour. (If we are outside walking he could sleep for 2 hours in his buggy)
Then about 3-4pm he’ll have a jar of food or homemade dinner and about 4oz of formula. He crawls and plays And between 4:30/5:30 I’ll try get him to have another nap that can be anything from 25minutes-1hour.
Then he will have some tea beans/fruit and rusk usually about 6/7 o’clock he crawls and plays and then after that a bed time bottle 4-6oz.
And then bed for 8/8:45
I just need to find a way for him to nap properly as he’s constantly tired and moaning during the day because of how long It takes him to actually go to sleep every day his routine is different with times and feeding.
Neosha says
@Caoimhe – Thank you for stopping by our sleepy little village and for sharing with us! Napping during the day can be tough for active little crawlers (and for us mommas!) but it can be done. 🙂 Many babies can be cued for sleep by their pre-sleep routines. If the same (or very similar) sequence of events happens right before sleep time is expected, then babies will eventually learn that when that sequence of events begins then it’s time for their bodies to get ready for sleep. If you don’t have a sleep time routine in place, getting your little guy into a routine could help him nap better and more consistently for you. This article gives several tips for crafting a routine – it is written for “bedtime” routines for will work for any sleep time routine: https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/bedtime-routine-baby-toddler/
And, if you’re interested in helping your little guy learn more independent sleep habits (falling asleep without your help), then you can read this series of articles for tips on how to teach him the skills that he needs to be able to learn how to sleep on his own. It will also give you an overview of sleep coaching techniques: https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/sleep-training-from-no-cry-to-cry-series-part-1/ Once you’ve read this, you can see what type of sleep coaching (if any) you would like to try.
I hope this helps, Caoimhe. Hang in there!
Frances says
It is not actually advised to withold any kind of foods based on allergies, the current advise is actually the opposite. Allergenic foods should be introduced as soon as possible especially peanut as this has been shown to prevent peanut allergy (esp if your child has eczema and egg allergy). Making comments about not introducing egg whites until 1 year old is inaccurate and detrimental.
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hello @ Frances – Thanks for sharing! Advice regarding food allergies changes a lot, so we do recommend always checking with your pediatrician when introducing foods to your baby. Thanks again for visiting!
Kayla says
Hi i have a 8 month old and am currently experiencing a lot of seperation anxiety with him. His dad only sees him for 45 minutes in the evening, he works a lot. In the evenings our son only wants me and gets vwry clingy. He will scream bloody murder if he cant see me. I want to take him out more and interact with other people and kids i just find it very hard with his naps to get anywhere and be able to spend a decent amount of time. Any suggestions? Id like to havr him doing two longer naps a day so theres more time to do stuff in between but if he doesnt get his two morning naps hes miserable. Heres his schedule.
830- bottle hang out
930- nap he even wants to sleep before this but i push
1100- veggies and bottle play and snack in between this time frame.
1230- nap he also is grumpy for it before 1230 but i push.
200- bottle yogurt play and snack in this time frame.
400- nap
445 500- bottle and veggies play in this time frame
730- bottle wind down
8 830- bedtime dim lights snuggle up read a couple books.
Sleeps through the night since 7 weeks (was only 6 hours at a time to start)
With the 8 830 bedtime since he’s started experiencing seperation anxiety he is very hard to put down now he loses it cries and screams i thougjt maybe he was afraid of the dark for a bit… but no even during the day hell get upset if he cant see me… maybe i need to tweek his naps in order to get out during the day and interact… some suggestions please ladies i dont know what to do and my so feels aweful when our baby only wants me at night. 🙁
Janelle Reid says
@Kayla, Thank you for writing to us. I am so sorry that your son has been experiencing separation anxiety again. It can be so tough in the beginning to get out and socialize your baby when they are constantly eating or naping – I can 100% relate to much of what you shared (down to the husband that works a lot too). As your son gets a bit older, it will definitely get easier as he drops his third nap. If he still needs it, that is fine!
Here is a link to another article we have on how to handle separation anxiety: https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/baby-toddler-sleep-separation-anxiety/
Even if you can’t find a time to get out of the house just yet, that is ok, this too shall pass (I tell myself that a LOT). And remind your husband of that too. I know it can hurt dad’s feelings sometimes when babies don’t want to see them after they’ve been at work all day, but your son will come around in time! Hang in there! Thank you for using the Baby Sleep Site as a resource for sleep. 🙂
CHRISTINE says
sos! My daughter wakes at 6am (sometimes 5:30am) with a poop and won’t go back to sleep. She naps and wakes with a poop by 1:30pm and won’t go back to sleep. She will not do an later afternoon nap to catch up. She is in a permanent state of overtired and really difficult all ay because of it. She just turned 8 months old and typically sleeps 6:30pm-5:30 or 6am (wakes with a poop).
Danielle says
Hi Christine,
Thank you for using The Baby Sleep Site as a resource! I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling with this issue, but you are definitely not alone. On the change you’re a Member, we actually have an entire article on bowel movements and sleep training with a lot of info here: https://members.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/how-to-handle-bowel-movements-during-sleep-training/
Usually, babies this age change their bowel movement schedules every few weeks, so it’s possible this is developmental and will pass. If you’re feeding any solids, you might also consider whether she could be either constipated or too “loose” due to her diet – sometimes you can alter what she’s eating and improve the poop schedule 🙂 Another tip is that some babies will sleep through a bowel movement if you put a lot of diaper cream on before nap, to protect her skin. I hope this will help, but please let us know if you have any other questions, and good luck!
Kaitlyn says
My daughter will be 8 months old in a week. This is her schedule so far.
– 5:50am (every time) wake and bottle fed 60ml , gets 10min with her Dad before work.
– 7am porridge
– 9am first nap with another 80ml of bottle.
– 10am wake up, but will not want a bottle
– 11am, we have fruit for lunch
– 1pm/2pm nap, 180ml of her bottle
– 2pm/3pm wake up with a bottle
– 5pm dinner time, solid dinner of meat and veggies
– 7:30/8:30pm, bottle and hopefully bed only been able to last til 9pm the lastest
We have one dream feed a night but it’s always at random, her window is from 11pm til 2am. This is the worst bit as I can’t even get used to the sleep at night cause it’s always random when she has a feed at night.
My daughter has refused a dummy since she was born and sucks on her fingers when she’s tired, she doesn’t have anything that she sleeps with, and simply just sleeps with cars driving past every now and again. I put her in bed when I see her suck her fingers and sit next to the cot until she falls asleep. My partner and I have tried to cut out her last nap of the day to try and get her to sleep around 6-7:30pm the lastest but will wake up and stay up until 9/10 if we do this.
Jessica Diller says
@Kaitlyn, thank you for taking the time to comment. I’m sorry that your daughter has been fighting sleep. I know how hard this must be for everyone in the household. From what you’ve described in her schedule, it appears that she is waking for the day rather early (5:50am) and this may be causing her to be a bit overtired for her naps and nighttime sleep. If possible, try getting her to sleep a little later by treating this early wake-up as you would a night waking. With some patience and consistency, you may find that she will fall back asleep until 7am, her desired wake-up time for this age. Best of luck!
Brandy says
My son will be 8 months on November 9th. For the last few months we have followed the same schedule. He goes to bed at 7 pm (asleep by 7:15 pm) and usually wakes around 5:45-6 am. But, the last week he has been waking around 4:45 am or 5 am. He’s not hungry. He has been napping 3 times a day – 8-9:30 am, 12-1 pm, and 3:30-4 pm. At daycare, he sometimes does not go down for that last nap. I’m trying to get him to be more consistent in waking in the morning (6 am, or 6:15 am would be preferred). Should we drop the last nap? It doesn’t seem to matter if he has the last nap or not in terms of him sleeping until around 6 am the next day.
Janelle Reid says
@Brandy, Thanks for commenting! I am sorry you’ve been struggling with early wakings from you son. It sounds like he may be transitioning out of that 3rd catnap, which will hopefully help with his early rising. He is also approaching another sleep regression which hits in the 8/9/10 month range. Here is an article with more information on that one: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-sleep-patterns/8-9-10-month-old-baby-sleep-regression/ If it is the regression, remember to be consistent, and try to treat his early waking as if it was a night waking to stretch him a little longer. Hang in there and let us know if you need any additional help!
Debbye says
@ Tash- You may want to try adding a 3rd catnap to the schedule. 3:30 til 8:00 is a long time for her to stay awake. If not a 3rd nap, maybe an earlier bedtime will help her sleep better. Of course if she’s got a sleep association with nursing back to sleep, you may have to teach her how to fall asleep and back to sleep without nursing.
Good luck!
@ David- The part of your schedule that you wrote looks good! Thanks for sharing!
@ Jennifer- Thanks for sharing your story. It sounds a lot like my son’s first months of life. I know how exhausting it is! His recent sleep problems are quite common. Here is a link to an article that may shed some more light on the situation for you: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-sleep-patterns/8-9-10-month-old-baby-sleep-regression/
Often things will smooth out, and it does sound as if you’ve done your homework and are on top of things.
Hang in there and Best wishes!
Jennifer says
Hoping this can be of some help to anyone in the same crazy boat that we are in…
Our little boy, now 8 months, was over 5 weeks premature and had terrible reflux, so painful. The first 2 months we had to wake him every 2 hours to feed and from about 4-6 months he wanted to eat every hour or two!!!! He was in our room right next to me in a bassinet or across the room in a special play pen this whole time. It was so exhausting that there were days that I thought I was dying :)).
At 6 months, we started him on solids (rice cereal, then veggies, then fruit) and put him in his own room and his own crib for his night sleep and both day naps. I would really recommend this to anyone who can do it!!!! The constancy seems to help as does a night routine of dinner/bath/book/sleep without a feed. I also have a large ticking clock on the wall of his room and give him a little sooky blanket with a teddy bear attached to it to help him soothe himself back to sleep. (He also sucks his thumb, no soothers.) He went through a phase from 6-7 months where he would wake every hour from 1-6am!! So, we stopped using a sleepy sheep to help him fall asleep at night once we realized he was developing a need to hear the sheep to get himself back to sleep…it was a big problem. Also, we stopped picking him up to comfort his ‘little noises’ when we realized we were actually waking him up. It worked better to let him make the noise and just check on him/fix his blankeys.
Hi sched since about 6 months (since he’s been in his own room) seems to have been:
– up at 630-730, play, eat, nap 1.5 hours after waking (usually from 9-11am)
– up, play, eat, play, nap from 2-4
– up, play, eat around 6-630pm, bath routine between 7-730 for bedtime at 730-8pm
We had a couple weeks there where it seemed he was actually sleeping from 730pm-7am with 2 good day naps. Now he seems to be going through separation anxiety, waking 1-3 times a night with uncontrollable rocking and screaming for cuddles. Just checking on him seems to work better than actually getting him up to reassure him we are there….but it’s so hard.
David says
Hello,
Just a few things I was looking to have cleared up
My daughter is 8 months old, her pattern has now gone into up at 6am, breakfast at 7am, rusk and her 7 ounce bottle of milk, nap at 9am normally an hour, lunch at 12, 7 ounce bottle and a yogurt