5 month old babies need an average of 10-12 hours of sleep at night and 3-4 hours during the day. This article outlines the average 5-month-old baby 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 if you prefer.
5 Month Old Baby’s Sleep and Development
At 5 months old, most babies are sleeping 10 to 12 hours of sleep at night though not necessarily straight through. If you are NOT lucky enough to have a baby who sleeps through the night, many 5-month-olds are still waking 1 to 3 times to eat at night. Anything more and you most likely have a sleep association problem. Babies with sleep associations that involve a parent tend to wake up frequently at night, usually every 1-2 hours all night long.
5 month old babies typically have 2-3-hour wake windows throughout the day between naps and before bedtime. If your baby struggles to stay awake longer than two hours at a time, that’s NOT unusual at this age. Not all babies can stay awake 2 1/2 to 3 hours just yet at this age.
Also, at this age, baby bedtimes are typically between 6:00 and 8:00 PM unless you have a baby who likes to sleep late in the morning.
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How Many Naps for a 5 Month Old?
Your 5-month-old is most likely taking 3 to 4 naps per day for a total of 3 to 4 hours of sleep per day plus 10-12 hours at night. The number of naps your baby takes at this age most often depends on how long they can stay awake between sleep periods. The shorter they can stay awake, typically, the shorter the naps. A 2 to 2 1/2-hour wake window is common and that typically leads to a 3-nap schedule. There are a few babies this age who take two 2-hour naps and sleep 10-11 hours at night. If your baby does this, that’s just fine!
Most 5 month old babies take 2-3 naps each day that total 2 to 3 1/2 hours. Babies this age stay awake and have wake windows between 2 and 3 hours at a time, on average.
5 Month Old Feeding
5 month old babies typically eat every 3 to 4 hours during the day. Please be aware that breast milk and/or formula should be your baby’s primary nutrition for the first year and solids come secondary.
Below are the average amounts per day IF your pediatrician recommends solids before 6 months, the age at which most are recommending now.
Average amounts per day:
- At least 5-6 breastfeeding sessions per day (4-6 during daylight hours, and 1-3 at night) or 24-32 ounces formula or 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).
And, if your pediatrician recommends solids this young (it is generally recommended at 6+ months):
- Up to 1-2 servings baby cereal (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons dry)
- Up to 1-2 servings fruit (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons) If your baby has any constipation issues, focus on P-foods (pears, prunes, etc.)
- Up to 1-2 servings vegetables (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons)
Note: If you do not start solids until 6 months, you will work your way up slowly to the number of servings above.
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.
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Sample 5 month old schedule
Obviously, all babies vary, but here are sample schedules you can use to make your own for your unique baby. Schedules are hit-and-miss at this age because many babies simply cannot stay up past 2 hours to get to the next scheduled nap time. Therefore, at this age, it’s likely naps are still on the short side but come frequently. Over the next several weeks, you can work on getting down to just 3 naps to get closer to the 6 month schedule.
5 Month Old Schedule With Short Wake Windows
This schedule works best for babies who become overtired quickly and can stay awake for about 1.5 – 2 hours between naps:
| 5 Month Old 4-Nap Sleep Schedule With Feedings | |
|---|---|
| Time | Activity |
| 6:30 AM | Wake and Milk |
| 7:15 AM | Solids (if your pediatrician has directed you to start this young) |
| 8:00 AM | Morning Nap (at least 1 hour) |
| 9:00 AM | Feed (upon waking; no need to wake baby up!) |
| 11:00 AM | Late Morning Nap (often 45-60 minutes) |
| 12:00 PM | Feed (upon waking) |
| 2:00 PM | Early Afternoon Nap (often 30-45 minutes) |
| 3:00 PM | Feed |
| 4:30 PM | Catnap (~30-45 minutes; can be “on the go”) |
| 5:30 PM | Snack Feed (if necessary) |
| 6:00 PM | Start Your Bedtime Routine |
| 6:15 PM | Feed |
| 6:30 PM | Bedtime (goal to be asleep by this time) |
+ possibly 1-2 night feedings
5 Month Old Schedule With 2-hour Wake Windows
This schedule works well for babies who can stay awake for 2 hours between sleep periods:
| 5 Month Old 4-Nap Sleep Schedule With Feedings | |
|---|---|
| Time | Activity |
| 6:30 AM | Wake and Milk |
| 7:30 AM | Solids (if your pediatrician has directed you to start this young) |
| 8:30 AM | Morning Nap (at least 1 hour) |
| 9:30 AM | Feed (upon waking; no need to wake baby up!) |
| 11:30 AM | Late Morning Nap (often 45-60 minutes) |
| 12:30 PM | Feed (upon waking) |
| 2:30 PM | Early Afternoon Nap (often 30-45 minutes on a 4-nap schedule) |
| 3:30 PM | Feed |
| 4:30 PM | Catnap (~30 minutes; can be “on the go”) |
| 6:00 PM | Start Your Bedtime Routine |
| 6:15 PM | Feed |
| 6:30 PM | Bedtime (goal to be asleep by this time) |
+ possibly 1-2 night feedings
5 Month Old Schedule With Longer Wake Windows
This schedule works best for babies who can stay awake for 2 to 2.5 hours between naps and are taking 3 naps rather than 4 naps:
| 5 Month Old 3-Nap Sleep Schedule With Feedings | |
|---|---|
| Time | Activity |
| 6:30 AM | Wake |
| 7:00 AM | Milk (you may want to delay this so the nap isn’t shortened by a feeding) |
| 7:30 AM | Solids (if your pediatrician has directed you to start this young) |
| 8:30 AM | Morning Nap (at least 1 hour) |
| 10:00 AM | Feed (upon waking; no need to wake baby up!) |
| 12:00 PM | Midday Nap (at least 1 hour) |
| 1:00 PM | Feed (upon waking) |
| 3:30 PM | Afternoon Nap (~30-45 minutes) |
| 4:00 PM | Feed (upon waking) |
| 6:00 PM | Start Your Bedtime Routine |
| 6:15 PM | Feed |
| 6:30 PM | Bedtime (goal to be asleep by this time) |
+ possibly 1-2 night feedings
If your baby is able to stay up longer between naps or has transitioned to two naps, and is not as sensitive to overtiredness, you may want to take a look at our 6 month schedule, and modify your schedule above to more closely match the 6 month schedule.
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 sample 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 during the 4 month sleep regression.
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- How To Put Your Baby On A Schedule (VIP Members Area audio tele-seminar recording with founder)
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Bethany says
I have a 5 month baby girl who generally sleeps well and doesnt need much cuddling to settle, though she has begun to wake a couple of times a night for her pacifier. She sleeps between 14 and 15 hrs in a 24 hr period, 9-10 at night and around 4-5 hrs in the day over 4 or 5 naps. But i notice she should be sleeping more at night and consolidating her naps down a bit by her age. How do i work with her to sleep a couple more hours at night, and less naps in the day?
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Bethany –
Thank you for writing to us! it sounds like your 5 month old is doing pretty well. That’s great! Feel free to adjust her bedtimes and/or wake times to help achieve a bit more sleep a night! I think a great resource would be our Mastering Naps and Schedules Ebook. This Ebook includes over 45 sample sleep and feeding schedules, as well as tons of tips for everything nap and schedule related! You’ll also get a detailed case study, and an audio seminar all about naps and schedules.
If you’d like to buy the Ebook, you also have the option to purchase the book along with an Express Sleep Plan. The Express Plan is great for families that want sleep help that is more customized than what you will find in a book or an article, and feel confident about implementing the plan at home without a consultant’s help. Simply fill out a brief survey, hit the Submit button, and your Express Sleep Plan will be ready instantly – no waiting!
You can read more about the Mastering Naps eBook packages here:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/mastering-naps
I hope that this helps Bethany! Please let us know if you have any questions or if you need any assistance at any time!
Kayla says
Hey I have to almost 5 month old twins who wake at 3am and one (alternates) does not want the bottle.
As they have woken up they stay awake for an hour screaming playfully with eachother. How do I get this to stop?
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Kayla – Thank you for writing to us about your 5 month old twins! A schedule can be tough when trying to balance two babies!! If they are waking so completely at night and staying awake playing for a while, you may want to take a close look at their overall schedule and see if they are getting the right amount of sleep in their naps and night sleep! Adjusting their schedules may help! If you find that you need more help, please contact us at any time!!
Andrea says
Is there anything for helping a mom with 3, 3 and under? My 5mo has sleep associations bad, but in his defense life with my 3yo and my 1.75yo is frequently leaving him overtired. I successfully and gently sleep trained my older two with this site. In my current position, I’m lost. 5mo will not go to sleep off of me. He demands to breastfeed to sleep and cosleeping at night. Cosleeping just happened in desperation for rest. He wakes almost immediately after setting in crib. He gets angry and screams when I set him in awake. His brother sleeps next door.
Danielle says
Hi Andrea,
Thank you so much for being a loyal reader! I’m so glad to hear you’ve had success sleep coaching your older two, though I’m sorry your youngest is a tougher sleeper. He may just be a more intense personality, and/or you could be dealing with the 4 month sleep regression. We do have an article on helping your baby sleep in the crib here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/how-we-sleep/baby-wont-sleep-crib/
But if you need more help, we do offer our 3 Step System to Help Your Baby Sleep ebook, which is an affordable way to solve one sleep issue at a time as your baby grows. Please hang in there!
Kelly says
My little girl had always been not a great sleeper. Shes just turned 5 months and its been shocking the last month. Shes breastfed. I will either feed her our give a bottle of expressed milk before bed. She is a sleep at 7 goes to sleep with a comforter and a dummy usually puts herswlf to sleep or she may need a few pats. She is then wake around 8 and 9 to be resettled she screams absolute murder. I have ti hold her down sometimes to pat her to calm her down and to keep dummy in her mouth. I feed her about 1030/11 when she wakes again but ahe doesn’t even feed properl shes mainly comfort sucking. She will then wake 2 and 430/5 then awake again at 630/7. I dont know what.to do with her ? she rolling so shes arms out of the sleeping bag. Is this normal?? My son used to do a good stretch in the beginning of the night but she just wakes constantly.
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Kelly – Thank you for writing to us about your 5 month little girl! I am so sorry that she is waking so many times at night! I know how tough this is, so hang in there Kelly! You are definietly not alone! We hear from families every single day who struggle with the same or even more night wakings! If you haven’t read this yet, I’d recommend taking a peek at this article on our blog:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/how-we-sleep/4-month-old-sleep-regression/
This can help explain why she may be waking so much this last month.
If you’d like help at any time, we’re here! Just let us know and we’ll help you get started on the path to better sleep!
Roslyn says
Hi Kelly, I’m going through the same thing. Just wondering what you’ve done to ease the situation and if it has gotten better since you posted this?
Brittany says
I thought I was doing something wrong with my 5-month-old waking up at least 3x a night wanting to feed when he is with me or in his crib, However, with his grandparents, he only wakes once or less than when he is with me or in his crib. I was told to feed him more so he can sleep more at night. He is exclusively breastfed with eating solids but eats breastmilk the most. It’s so much information out there that contradicts other studies that are hard to decipher which is best. I did read the free e-books and found out I am doing these things already. I just make sure he naps better for he wakes up within 30 min, but if I rock him back to sleep he sleeps for at least an hour(which is great in my opinion) and he wakes up on his own to be fed. Any other tips I am missing?
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Brittany –
Thank you for writing to us and for using The Baby Sleep Site as a resource for sleep! I’m sorry to hear that sleep has been rough for your son lately. You’re not alone as this age can be a difficult one for many babies, since at around 4 months their sleep is permanently changing from a “newborn’s” sleep, and this often leads to more frequent wake ups at night and disrupted naps. It’s also common for baby to sleep differently for different caregivers, but the good news is that you know he is able to sleep a little better for his grandparents, so you can now work on helping him do the same while at home!
If you would like personalized help to work through these struggles, we can definitely help! Please consider one of our Personalized Sleep Consultation packages for more help. One of our trained expert sleep consultants will craft a Personalized Sleep Plan for you and your son, based on both your unique family history and on our own 10+ years of experience working with tens of thousands of parents from around the world. Then, your consultant will help you implement the plan at home, and will answer any follow-up questions you may have. The consultant will also make changes to the plan as necessary. You can read about all of our sleep consultation packages and purchase directly online here:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/services/
Hang in there Brittany, and please contact us if you need more help at any time!
Krista says
My son just turned 5 months old and is now waking 2-3 times a night to eat. He was doing great a few weeks ago, sleeping from 7-330am; one feeding; right back to bed until 645-7am. Now he feeds 630pm before bedtime, sometimes 9pm, 12am, 3-330am, 545am. He drinks 5-6oz formula bottles every 3-4 hours. He has 2 teeth (he got them around 3 months). I am not sure if this is a growth spurt, teething, sleep regression, or what. Any tips would help! Thank you!
Neosha says
@Krista – Thank you for reading and for sharing with us! 5 months is a really great age for personality development but not as much for sleep! Babies hit a growth spurt around 4 and 6 months and a sleep regression around 4 or 5 months so you could be seeing one or both at this time. The best advice we can give is to feed your little guy if he’s truly hungry but not to develop any long-term associations that you will want to break out of short-term – so no new “bad” habits for this short-term period. Hang in there!
Koshi says
Hi, my girl just got 5 months. And she recently started feeding only while drawsy. before that she fed well just after wake up. She is breastfeeding since born. I struggle to make her sleep when she seems sleepy, and then feed her. Sometimes i get success but sometimes she felt asleep while sucking but in empty tummy. Because of this i cannot take her to feed, play, sleep schedule which was finely followed before . Please help. Thank you
Neosha says
@Koshi – Thank you for reading and for sharing with us. The feeding to sleep association is a very common one – many babies use this time for “comfort” as well as nursing, which makes it a bit harder to “fix” especially if your little lady is fairly persistent. Ensuring she gets enough nutrition throughout the day is critical so she stays healthy and developing well so please keep that at the forefront of your mind – even though she may only want to really nurse when she’s sleepy you can work to get her milk in here and there throughout the day as well. Well-fed babies sleep better than hungry ones, too! If your hope is to move back to the Eat-Play-Sleep schedule, you’ll want to keep working on adding more time or things to do after her feeding before her sleep. Please consider working with one of our expert sleep consultants who regularly help families get on this type of sleep schedule for their families. You can read more about our lovely ladies here:https://www.babysleepsite.com/about Hang in there, Koshi!