Hi @Jenna –
Thank you for writing to us about you 9 month old! All babies are different and some can handle a flexible schedule, while others will need a stricter schedule to sleep as well as they can! YOu can certainly try out some sleeping in on the weekends and see how it goes! if it does not disrupt her naps and night sleep, then sleeping in sounds like a great idea!
It does sound like your baby could use some help getting on a better schedule! The 12 hours per night is an average, so more than this, or less than this is okay! But I’d recommend trying to get closer to 11 hours at night total, and closer to 2 hours in naps.
If you’d like help with this, please let us know! We’d love to help you get your baby on a better schedule!

Also, I read your 9 month schedule. I am just in awe. My baby NEVER sleeps for 12 hours, let alone 2 long naps during the day. She might get 2 naps in the day, but generally not 2 long ones. Maybe 1 long one and a quick cat nap here and there, or sometimes only cat naps. The reason we are looking to start the Ferber method is because her sleep schedule is shifted. She only want to got o sleep between 11pm-12:30am). We recognize that she needs to be in bed earlier, but she honestly is not a sleeper, and never has been. She can sleep through the night (although not so much recently)m but it is maybe 8 hours? And naps like I said are sporadic. I just can’t fathom the idea of her sleeping for 14-16 hours in a day. That is just not her. Is that a problem? Do we need to force her to be in bed for 12 hours at night with this sleep training?

Hi Ann,
Thank you so much for your addition to the 9 month schedule – I know a lot of other parents read the comments here to see what other babies are doing. We appreciate you visiting The Baby Sleep Site!

During naps she falks asleep easily by herself. I put her in bed, leave and shes asleep within 5 mins

Hi @Sara – Sorry to hear that your 9 month old’s schedule is been so out of whack! Don’t give up – you CAN get her sleeping at better times! You will want to move your daughter’s whole day to an earlier bedtime – meals, naps, night time sleep, everything should get moved to get the schedule shifted.
It can be tricky to do this without overtiredness, and for specific help, please consider our ebook “Shift Your Child’s Schedule.” You can read more about it here:
Good luck Sara and please contact us if you’d like more info!

Hi @Kendra – Thanks for writing! There is a wide range of typical sleep, and the schedules that we post are averages. So, she may be getting enough sleep for her needs, if she is well rested and content! If you suspect she is not getting enough sleep, she may be over-tired by bedtime, especially if she is not napping! Keep offering those naps, and don’t give up on testing out good bedtimes for her!
Good luck!

She even doesn’t nap much during the day, either. I worry because she’s not sleeping as much as most sites tell you they should at 9 months but she seems okay

@Jade – Thank you for reading our post and for sharing with us. Early waking can be a beast! There are so many things that contribute to him waking early, though. I’m assuming he’s 9 months old (or somewhere roundabout based on the title of the post). His daily sleep schedule, how he falls asleep, his environment, his development (a sleep regression is common around this age), his daily feedings, sleep associations, etc – all or some or just one of these could be the culprit. If you haven’t thought about keeping a log of sleep and activities to better pinpoint the issue, that’d be a great first step. You could also consider connecting with one of our sleep consultants for more troubleshooting. You can read more about our team here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/about/ Hang in there, Jade!