6 month old babies sleep an average of 13-14 hours in a 24-hour period with 11-12 hours at night and 2-3 hours during the day. A good schedule can help your baby sleep better and eat better. This post will provide sample 6 month old feeding and sleep schedules, including milk feedings for breastfeeding and formula-feeding babies, solids, naps, and nighttime sleep.
6 Month Old Baby: Sleep Needs and Development
Here is the average amount of sleep for a 6 month old baby:
How much does a 6 month old sleep at night?
Most babies this age will sleep 11-12 hours at night and go to bed between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. At this age, if you are not lucky enough to have a baby who sleeps through the night, you are not alone. Some babies will wake 1-2 times a night. If your baby is waking more than 1-2 times a night (e.g. every 2 hours), you likely have a sleep association problem.
Can you do sleep training at 6 months to teach baby to self-soothe?
If you’re considering sleep training your 6 month old, here are 5 Things You Need to Know.
Does a 6 month old have to eat at night?
Most 6 month old babies eat 0-2 feedings at night, depending on whether your baby is breastfed or formula-fed as well as any health issues such as reflux.
Breastfed babies can do a single 5-8-hour stretch and then will eat every 3 hours thereafter, on average.
Formula-fed babies can often be night-weaned by this age. If not, some will still have a dream feed but will not eat again until morning.
However, you should know there is also a 6 month growth spurt that lasts a few days to a week, though. Some people think it’s a 6 month sleep regression, however, that is not the case.
How Many Naps for a 6 Month Old?
Most 6 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.
How much should a 6 month old nap and how often?
Your 6 month old should also be taking 2-3 naps per day for a total of 2-3 hours of sleep in total. Most babies this age can stay awake 2 to 2 1/2 hours at a time, sometimes 3 hours. If your baby has transitioned to two naps this early, they might have a single 4-hour awake period before bedtime. As a sleep consultant of over 12 years, this is on the rarer side.
Having Trouble With Short Naps?
If you’re having trouble with naps, you might be interested in helping your baby nap better with our free e-Book, 7 Common Napping Mistakes.
How Much Milk or Formula Does a 6 Month Old Need?
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.
Not sure what your 6 month old can eat? Try this chart: Feeding Chart by Age
Average amounts per day:
• At least 5-6 breastfeeding sessions per day or 24-32 ounces formula or a combination (decrease solids if your baby is not taking in at least this much)
• Water is unnecessary (breast milk and formula have plenty of water in them). If your baby has any constipation issues, focus on P-foods (pears, prunes, etc.)
• 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)
Note: If you did not start solids until 6 months (I did not start until 6 months), you will work your way up to the number of servings above. Don’t worry about feeding this much right away! Most babies this age should only eat solids 1-2 times a day.
6 Month Feeding and Sleep Schedules
Obviously, all babies vary, but here are a couple of sample schedules you can use to make your own for your unique baby. Strict schedules by the clock are iffy at this age because many babies simply can not stay up longer than 2 hours to get to the next scheduled nap-time. So at this age, it’s possible that naps are still on the short side but come frequently (up to 3-4 naps a day).
Here is what I call a “staggered” approach when babies take a full milk feeding and then having solids a bit in between. Babies are a little hungry but not famished which helps them be interested and tolerate trying new foods. Some babies just don’t do well with stopping a milk feeding mid-way to eat solids.
Staggered Feeding and Sleep Schedule – Ideal for breastfed babies
6:30 AM – Wake
6:45/7:00 AM – Breast Milk or Formula
7:45 AM – Solids
8:30 AM – Nap (2-hour Nap Gap; at least 1 hour long)
10:00 AM – Breast Milk or Formula
12:00 PM – Nap (2 to 2 1/2-hour Nap Gap; at least 1 hour long)
1:00 PM – Breast Milk or Formula (when baby wakes up from their nap)
3:30 PM – Nap (2 to 2 1/2-hour Nap Gap; ~30-45 minutes at this age)
4:00 PM – Breast Milk or Formula
5:00 PM – Solids (no new foods)
6:00 PM – Begin bedtime routine
6:15 PM – Breast Milk or Formula
6:30 PM – Bedtime (2 to 2 1/2-hour Nap Gap)
+Plus possibly 1-2 nighttime feedings, including a dream feed
If your baby doesn’t mind a more “consolidated” approach to eating, here is another type of schedule:
Consolidated Feeding and Sleep Schedule
7:00 AM – Wake and Breast Milk or Formula
7:30 AM – Solids
9:00 AM – Nap (2-hour Nap Gap; at least 1 hour long)
10:00 AM – Breast Milk or Formula
12:00 PM – Nap (2 to 2 1/2-hour Nap Gap; at least 1 hour long)
1:00 PM – Breast Milk or Formula
3:30 PM – Nap (2 to 2 1/2-hour Nap Gap; ~30-45 minutes at this age)
4:00 PM – Breast Milk or Formula
4:30 PM – Solids
6:30 PM – Begin bedtime routine
6:45 PM – Breast Milk or Formula
7:00 PM – Bedtime (2 1/2 to 3-hour Nap Gap)
+Plus possibly 1-2 nighttime feedings, including a dream feed
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 that comes due. 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.
Looking for more sample 6-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:
- Custom Schedule Maker (for members only)
- Mastering Naps and Schedules (Members Area digital e-Book)
- 3 Signs It May Be Time For Night Weaning Your Baby
- Night Weaning Quiz: Is Your Baby Ready To Night Wean?
- Chat Live with a Sleep Consultant (for members only)
- 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)
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!
What is your 6-month old’s schedule? Share below!
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Tovah says
Hi! I have a 6 month old. He eats 3 large meals a day (over 6tbs of food minimum per meal) and drinks over 9oz of formula every 4 hours (over 50oz/day) and naps twice a day for a total of 3 hours. He eats dinner at 5:30pm and has a bottle at 6:30pm and goes to bed at 7pm. He has no issue falling asleep alone but will not sleep the night. He wakes up every 4 hours like clockwork to feed. After eating he falls right back to sleep again. How can I get him to sleep longer stretches?
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Tovah – Thanks for writing to us! It sounds like you’ve got a great eater and a pretty good sleeper in your 6 month old baby! Sorry to hear that he’s waking more than you’d like! I think this article is a great place to start and can help you determine how much he might need to eat and how to help minimize night feeds!:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-training/night-feedings-by-age-when-do-you-night-wean/
If you find that you’d like more help with this, please contact us for more info!
Charlotte says
Hi I have a 6 month old little girl and our routine is pretty good through the day she’s breastfed and usually up by 7/7.30am naps at 9am for 1-2 hours then milk and another nap usually about 1/2 depending on where we are etc… slowly introducing food but she’s not too fussed some days…. it’s the bedtime I am struggling with… we will bath and then I will feed her roughly about 6.30/7 and she will fall asleep feeding sometimes for half an hour to an hour but when I put her down will wake…. the next couple of hours is literally feeding and rocking until she will finally go to sleep about 9/10pm! She’s waking up about twice through the night and once she’s asleep does sleep well it’s just getting her there!!! If I leave her to settle herself she gets herself in such a state!!!
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Charlotte – Thanks for writing and sorry to hear that your 6 month old is having a tough time self-settling at bedtime! It sounds like she may need some more time and help learning to fall asleep on her own! Since she gets so worked up, you can definitely work more gently towards her falling asleep on her own! For help with this, please contact us for more information on our products and services and we’ll help you find the perfect fit! Thanks Charlotte!
Christy Graham says
Hello! 🙂 My little guy is about 1 week shy of being 7 months old. He is breastfed and we started incorporating solids into his schedule twice a day (breakfast and dinner) when he reached 6 months. He also takes about 2 naps a day with hopefully a cat nap in the late afternoon/early evening so he can make it until bedtime and keep his awake time less than 3 hours between naps. He has definitely had his struggles with sleep especially around the 4 month sleep regression, but he has since then learned to self sooth at bedtime and was down to 1 to 2 feeds a night with him going to bed usually between 7-8pm and sleeping (with the 1 -2 feeds mixed in) in his crib until about 7:15-7:30am the next morning. A few weeks ago, he started waking again about every three hours and wanting to wake up anywhere between 5:30-6:45am. His pretty consistent sleep schedule at night has now been him waking around 11pm and eating for about 20 minutes and sometimes even longer. He does fall asleep during this feed, but goes back into his crib without a fuss and will sleep until about 1:30-2:30am. Our pediatrician told us our son should be able to sleep for at least 4 hours between feeds at night, so when he wakes up around this time, I typically let him cry it out until he goes back to sleep which he does (a few times I have fed him a third time or held him for a few seconds), but then usually an hour to an hour and half later he wakes up again crying (around 2:00-2:30am). At this point I do go in and feed him, because I am worried he is hungry. At this point he seems very awake, is moving around and playing with my hair, etc. while he eats for about another 15 minutes. When I put him in the crib after this feed, he is always awake and moves around for about 15 minutes until he puts himself back to sleep, but he does so without screaming or crying. So his crying is always when he wakes and not when he goes back to sleep. Then he sleeps again, but only for about another 3 maybe 4 hours from the start of that last feed. I have been letting him stay in his crib at this point until at least 7:15am. He typically just roles around and babbles. I am struggling to determine what has caused this change and if he is actually hungry or just wanting to see a familiar face when he wakes up before he goes back to sleep? Or if maybe his naps are too short or too long (usually naps about 2.5 hours total a day) with some naps being 1.5 hours and some being .5 hours, but no consistency or set patterns yet no matter how hard we try. Just wondering if you had any thoughts or first steps we should be taking to help him sleep again longer at night and not wake up so much fussy. Thanks so much! ?
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Christy – Thanks for writing about your son, and sorry to hear that sleep has taken a tough turn lately! It really sounds like you are so very aware of his sleep needs, and in teaching him good sleep habits! You can certainly see if adjusting his daytime schedule a little helps him sleep a little better at night! It would be tough to say here what caused the sleep disturbance, and how to help. We’d really need to have a sleep consultant take an in depth look at everything sleep related and at his whole sleep history. If you’re not interested in one on one support with email or phone consultations, I think a great DIY option for you would be to join our VIP Members Area. This gives you access to all of our e-Books as well as audio tele-seminar recordings, case studies, and do-it-yourself tutorials, including a workbook designed to help you create your own sleep plan. My favorite feature is the access to our weekly “members only” expert chat sessions, where one of our sleep consultants will answer your specific questions live via chatroom! You can also write a message on any of the pages within the VIP Area, and a Sleep Consultant will reply!
The Members Area subscription grows with your baby, is affordable, and available in sizes to fit every budget. Members also receive 20% off of all personalized sleep consultation services, should you find that you would like more personalized assistance.
You can read more about our Members Area here:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/diy
I hope that this helps Christy! Good luck!
Alex Alsson says
OMG You guys have a lot of info about it “)
Betty says
I have a 6 month old daughter and she takes 2-3 naps daily ( daytime)
She will only nap for about 30 -45 minutes daily .
She drinks milk 4 oz. ( formula) every 3 hours . She’s also eating 4 oz. Baby food at every feeding .
My question is:
how do I get her to fall asleep at night ? She thinks nighttime is playtime… She usually does fall asleep at night until 1am .
I also a first time mom
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Betty – Thanks for writing, and so sorry that you are struggling with your 6 month old’s short naps and very late bedtime! It does sound like she needs some adjustments to her schedule so that she can get to be earlier. You can first determine if she is tried and just fighting bedtimes, or maybe she is not tired at bedtime due to a late nap, or perhaps even overtired and this pushes her bedtime out so late?
This article shoudl help:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-sleep-patterns/summer-bedtimes-baby-toddler/
I hope that this helps! Please consider working with one of our expert sleep consultants if things do not smooth out! She can definitely help determine what is going on and make a Plan with you to get naps and bedtimes on track!
Hang in there Betty!
Aish says
Hi,my son is 6 months old and still breastfeeding.He is not sleeping through the night every 2 hour he gets hungry.I cannot sleep through the night feed him when he wants.He sleeps 10 hour at night and day time he takes nap 2 to 3 time daily.I give him solid food 1 time a day 2 to 3 spoon.I don’t understand his night routine hungry every 1 to 2 hour.pls tell me how long I feed him before bed any other idea to sleep through the night with full belly.
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Aish – Thanks for writing, and so sorry to hear that your 6 month old baby is waking every 1-2 hours to eat! That’s so tough! He likely has a habit of eating every time he wakes/partially wakes, and you can start by feeding him more in the day. Helping him learn to fall asleep without eating till asleep or almost asleep will be key too – if you are not already doing this. We can help you teach him how to sleep better and help you get him on a better schedule! Please contact us for more information about how you can get one on one help to get past this tough place! And hang in there Aish!
Tamara Allen says
My baby boy is 6 months old and I’m having a hard time getting him on more of a set nap schedule. He typically sleeps about 11 hours at night with 1 overnight feed and pretty consistent wake up and bed times. He has started lengthening out his naps to at least an hour but sometimes still has a short catnap of about 30-35 minutes. The problem I’m having is that his nap can be anywhere from 35 min to up to 2 hours and it seems to vary daily. This makes keeping the next nap time difficult as I may have to move it up or back depending on how long he slept. So it seems his naps can occur at different times every day. On top of that I feel that his wake times have become a bit erratic recently. Some days he can easily be awake 2-2.5 hours and other days he seems to get fussy and ready to nap after only 1.5 hours. I feel this is messing with his body clock and I’m not sure how to combat it to get into a more stable daytime rhythm.
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Tamara Allen, thanks for writing to us, I’m happy to help! I’m sorry you’ve been struggling with naps recently, but it does sound like you are handling it well and adjusting his schedule accordingly. Try not to be too discouraged, you are doing a great job and naps can be similar to what you described for a while (both of my kids didn’t get on a really solid nap schedule until closer to 8-9 months). Here is a link to a free guide with additional tips on naps that may help: https://www.babysleepsite.com/free-baby-nap-guide/
If you need more help we do have an ebook as well all about mastering naps and schedules that you can read about and purchase directly from our site if you are interested in more detailed information: https://www.babysleepsite.com/mastering-naps/
Hope this helps!
Alice says
I have recently started to introduce a schedule to my 6 month old. However, I have a 3 year old also and this makes it difficult to get my baby down for a morning nap 2 hours after waking as this always coincides with preschool drop off or playgroup. They both wake at 630 so ideally baby would go for his morning nap at 830 but we are always in the car at this time. Is it ok to push his morning nap back to 930/10? This would mean he’s awake for 3 hours + in the morning… it also means he has 3 rather than 4 naps per day (another nap at 1230/1 and catnap at 4 then bed at 7).
Neosha says
@Alice – Thank you for reading and for sharing with us! Juggling a baby and a preschooler’s schedules can become quite a nightmare, we know. It can definitely be managed with a bit of patience and creative thinking, though. If working their schedules into the 930 nap and the 3-a-day nap works for your family and doesn’t lead to overtiredness for your little guy, there’s no reason to try to make anything else work. Do what works for your baby and for your family! And if you find you need more scheduling support, we’re here for you! Hang in there, Alice, and please keep reading!
Marie says
My grandson is almost 7 months old he lives in my home! His mom insist on propping his bottle! Then when he’s done the bottle he usually falls asleep, he doesnt take more than a 30 min nap at a time. His mom is used to him sleeping all the time due to being premature, he’s 7 mths old he should be on a schedule! I had him a few days and the first day was ruff but I got him to take a 2 hour nap in the AM and 1hr&30 mins in in the afternoon after his lunch, she buys the baby food and only gives it to him once a day! I’m watching him this evening and she put him to bed propped his bottle and went out! I say she’s just lazy! I thought feeding was bonding time! Oh and did I mention he’s had reflux and is on meds for it!
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Marie, thank you for writing to us. I’m sorry to hear you are frustrated with how your daughter has been with her son. It sounds like you are doing a great thing to help him and her. You are absolutely right, babies do thrive on routine and schedules, and it sounds like he got a great nap in with you. Since you are commenting on the 6 month schedule I am assuming you making notes of his adjusted age (so his age based on his due date rather than his actual birthday since he was premature) so just keep that in mind for a while until it seems he’s fully caught up with his actual age’s milestones. If you need any help and support since it sounds like you are carrying a lot of this, let us know! We are here for you and would be happy to help through this journey.
Emie says
Hi, I have a little boy turning 6 months this week and is on this routine about 2 weeks now. It is working a treat and does not wake through the night at all. Should I be adding in a lunch also I started weaning at 4 months as he is a long baby and was looking for food. He seems to want food more then the bottle around lunch time? He is also refusing full 7oz bottles at that time he has about 26oZ a day roughly he is also teething so he isn’t really wanting to take it all in one sitting!
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Emie, thanks for writing to us. I’m glad to hear the schedule has been working out so well for you. If you feel your baby is growing past it in terms of solids etc then feel free to check out the other schedules and keep in mind that they are samples so it may vary slightly from baby to baby. We do still recommend breastmilk/Formula being the primary source of nutrition through the first year as they both contain so many important vitamins that are difficult to get when they are that little and not eating full meals like we as adults are. If he adjusts how much he wants in a specific serving, I think that’s fine, I’d just reduce the size of the bottle but try to offer those extra ounces later (personally). Of course also speak with his doctor to make sure he is getting all he needs as your Dr. knows your baby and his needs better than I do. 🙂 Thanks again for visiting the Baby Sleep Site and let us know if you need anything else!