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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.
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 8 month old baby’s schedule? Share below!
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Tash says
Hi, My 8 month old baby girl was sleeping 8 hours straight about a 2 months ago until she started badly teething(she has 6 now) Now she refuses to sleep more than 3 hours at a time at night and will only go back to sleep if i breastfeed her. Sometimes she just stays awake for 2 hours before she will finally give in. She ususally goes to bed about 8 and gets up for the day at 6.30. Then she will nap 8.30-10.30 and then 2-3.30. She is on 2 meals a day and she has 3 breastfeeds in the day as well as 1-2 at night(upto 4 at the moment) Please help
Julie says
My almost 8 month old (turning 8 months on the 22nd) will go to bed around 7pm and wake up anywhere between 5:00-5:45 AM. We’ve tried putting her to bed later to see if she will sleep longer, but no matter what time we put her down, she will wake up at the same time. She sleeps through the night (no night feedings at all). Is there any way to get her to sleep until 6:30-7:00 AM or do we just have to accept that our daughter is an early riser (like her parents!). She averages about 10 hours a night… and will take about 3 naps a day… her total nap time is about 3 hours a day. I’m pretty sure she is getting enough sleep, but would love to see if we can extend her wake up time in the mornings. Thank you!
Sara says
My almost-8 month old son’s sleeping is erratic. I can’t get him to have decent naps in the daytime, and even if I do he falls asleep at different times every day. On top of that, he’ll only have a good nap when he’s in the car. At night he’s up every 1-3 hours, with the occasional stint of 4 – 5 hours. We have a bedtime routine, I nurse him every 3-4 hours in the pitch black, we’re quiet at night, and he even falls back to sleep on his own after I feed him. Why won’t he sleep more than an average of 2 hours at a time?! Any help is appreciated!
Paula says
my 8 month old goes to sleep at about 10/11pm then he wakes up again at 1,2am but thats only recently he did start going through the night, he doesnt wake for a feed or change he just wakes and plays then goes back to sleep when he wants.
He wakes 11am, has porridge and 7oz bottle
Naps for half hour
Banana for lunch at 3pm then 5oz bottle
Naps for half hour
Baby powder dinners/jars or home made at 6pm
Baby pudding at 7pm
5oz bottle at 9pm
And thats him finished until the next day.
Claudia says
My 8 month old baby seems to be changing his sleep patterns.
He used to sleep at around 8.30-9.30pm (depending on whether he takes a 3rd nap in the day) and wake up at around 7-7.30am. (So about 10 hours of sleep at night) He will have 2/3 naps totally about 3hrs. His 1st morning nap was fairly predictable, usually 2.5hrs after he first wakes up.
Past few days, he has been waking up at 8-8.30am instead (so getting about 11 hours of sleep at night) and he will fight sleep for his morning nap (keeps crying) so I started letting him take his morning nap 3.5-4hrs after he wakes up.
While I understand that baby sleep patterns change as they grow… i have also read that we should fix a routine for a baby and that begins with a fixed bedtime and morning wake time and naps will change and consolidate as baby grows.
Question –
Should I wake him up at 7.30am regardless? Or is this a natural shift in his sleep patterns where he starts sleeping more at night and consolidating his naps into 2 short naps of about 1hr each in the day?
Heather says
I realize that I have a great sleeper, and I owe it in part to your website. So first, thanks!!
My 8-month-old is on a great schedule. She still takes 3 naps a day, for a total of 4.5-6 hours. She is in bed by 7pm, and sleeps till 6:30-7am. So all in all, she is getting around 15.5-18 hours of sleep!! (YAY!)
I have two questions:
1. Is this too much sleep? I really don’t think so, but it seems to be way more than most are sleeping here.
2. How will I know that she is ready to transition to 2 naps instead of three?
Thank you for all your help!!
Kitty says
When my son was younger, he refused to sleep through the night, he would have two naps during the day, one around 10am for 2 hrs, then another around 3pm for a 1hr or so, and we would put him to bed around 8pm, and he would be up every 2-3 hours crying and whining, sometimes nothing would help him go back to sleep, and i would have to take him into the living room to calm him so my husband could sleep (he works, I don’t) and then he would wake up around 8am, but recently, my husband suggested that we try something different to see if that would work better at making him sleep through the night, we decided on 1 2hr nap, and put him to bed at around 9-10pm, IT WORKED! The only problem, is now he sleeps until around 11am, (which makes it VERY hard for me to catch the UPS guy when my husband orders stuff) but I don’t get much sleep, so I have enjoyed the sleeping in, but I’m not sure if it’s healthy for him, should i try to change his bed time back? or should I just let him choose his own schedule for now?
April says
My 8 month old daughter has been sleeping very well since she was 3-4 months old. We have stuck to the same nightly routine and seems to be working well! We start at about 7am. I get her ready and drop her off to the sitter by 7:30. She eats a 5-7 oz bottle and then cereal mixed with fruit. By 9:30-10am she goes down for a nap (about 1-1 1/2 hours). 11:30, she eats another 6 oz bottle and meat/veg. She plays until 1:30-2 and then goes down for another nap. 3:00 takes another 6 oz bottle. 6:30 takes a 6 oz bottle, cereal and fruit. 7:00, I give her a bath, get her ready for bed, read a story, and then place her in her crib still awake. Within a couple minutes, she falls asleep to her music (by 7:30). She sleeps through the night until I wake her @ 7am.
I recommend placing them in the crib still awake and let them soothe themselves to sleep! They may cry for the first few nights, but if you stick to the same routine and are consistent, you will have a child sleeping well through the night!
Mary says
My 8mo has been sleeping great since she was 3-4mo old and continues to sleep 12hrs at night from 630pm to 630am and transitioned from 3 naps a day to 2naps a day in December. About the same time, she got her 2bottom teeth in and she’s lost her ability to nap! She was napping well both mid morning ( 9-10a) and mid afternoon ( 1-3p). Now, even though her teeth are ” in” & I can’t see any new ones, I can only get her to sleep about 30minutes ( 930-10a & 130p-200p). As a result, she is super cranky in the late afternoons and is dying for sleep around 5pm, but I keep her up until 545pm and then start her bedtime routine. Any suggestions? I was thinking of pushing back her naps to start at 10am & 2pm. Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Dyan says
Hi!
I have posted on here several times before and had a few questions answered, but I wanted to let you know about what happened recently.
My son is now 14 months old. At about 8 months we learned quite a bit from this site, especially about his being overtired making his nighttime sleep poor and causing early wakings.
At about 9 months (crawling) he started to wake at night and would stay up for about 2 hours. He never needed anyone but he had trouble falling back asleep. This lasted until 11 months. I assumed it was the learning to crawl, but it continued after he learned.
At about 12 months this started up again on and off. He learned to walk at 13 months but he was still waking up every night. I went to a chiropractor for my neck/back and they checked my son for me. His neck was out of alignment. That night he didn’t sleep but for over a week after his adjustment he slept from 8 pm to 8 am. He began to wake up again a week ago and I took him back to the chiro when I went. Another adjustment (neck again) and he is sleeping soundly again.
I wish I had taken him earlier, just to get checked. It seems to have made a world of difference. Next time, I will wait for the phase to pass, then if it doesn’t I will try the chiro again!