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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Kristin says
Hi, I wanted to confirm this schedule is accurate with a feeding at noon and 1:30? Typically my 5 month old goes 2.5 to 3 hours between formula feeds (however he still wakes at least once during the night for a feeding). Just wanted to make sure that wasn’t a mistake and I am to offer another bottle in that short time frame.
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Kristen – Thank you for writing to us! Some babies do take larger feedings than others, and do not need to feed as often, so feel free to make the schedule your own! It sounds like your little one has more consolidated feeds, and perhaps this schedule might be a better fit:
https://www.babysleepsite.com/schedules/6-month-old-baby-schedule/
Thanks again and good luck! : )
Alexis Prado says
My 5mo, no matter what we do, only naps almost exactly 45 min. I’ve read that this is the length of their sleep cycle. Is there any hope that he will eventually grow out of this on his own? We have a good routine established. Dark/cool room, not hungry, white noise etc. etc. Although he does need to be rocked to sleep for naps/bedtime, he normally goes down without much fuss. Sleep training is on my radar, but kind of as a last resort. Any advice?
Danielle says
Hi Alexis,
Thank you for your comment and for visiting The Baby Sleep Site! It is still pretty normal for a 5 month-old to be taking those short naps. Some babies will extend the nap earlier, but many don’t start taking longer naps until about 6 months-old. We have an article with more info here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-naps-2/short-baby-naps-explained/
I hope this helps, but please let us know if you have any questions!
Virda says
Hi there, my baby girl is 5 months old. She goes in to her cot drowsy but awake between 7.15 and latrst 7.30pm and self soothes without crying just abit of moving around for atound 15 to 20 mins. I go in a couple of times just to tuck ger back in and say night night. She then gets up around 3.30/4am but only wants her pacifier and once she has it she self soothes and wakes up for a bottle anytime between 5 and 6am. She then goes back to sleep after bottle waking up properly around 7.45/8am, she has a play then feeds between 8.30 and 8.55am. Goes diwn for a nap around half 9 for 45 mins then another nap for 11 until 12.15. Bottle then play. Another nap for half 1 until 2.50/3pm. Bottle then nap for 4.30 until 5.15pm. Bedtime routine begins at 6pm with bath, bottle, book and cuddles. She is doing really well but i will be introducing solids next week as we feek she is ready. Can you advise how incan incorporate the weaning with her current routine at 5 months and 3 days old.
Thank you
Virda
Danielle says
Hi Virda,
Thank you for your comment, and for using The Baby Sleep Site as a resource! I’m so glad to hear everything is going so well for your family – it sounds like sleep is great! I’m sorry, but I’m not a sleep consultant or a medical professional, and so I don’t have any feeding resources for this age past what’s in this sample schedule. If you do need help adjusting your current schedule, we’d recommend talking to your baby’s pediatrician, or you’re welcome to speak with a sleep consultant directly during our weekly Members Area chat – I know she would be more than happy to help! Good luck!
Natasha says
My baby is just shy of 5 months but having really crummy naps. 20-30 minutes most of the time, sometimes 45 min sometimes 2 hours but not too often. I watch for sleep cues/time to make sure he isn’t overtired but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. Bed happens about 7:15 and he is sleeping until 5:30ish sometimes later. Any tips to help encourage a better schedule? I can tell he isn’t always as rested as he should be.
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Natasha, thank you for visiting the Baby Sleep Site! I’m sorry you’ve been struggling with naps with your little one. I found both of my boys did awesome at nights and then struggled with naps until they were a little older (closer to 6 or 7 months). So it may take time to get into a rhythm, but of course you can continue working at them now (and just because my boys struggled until 6 months doesn’t mean yours will!!). Here is a link to a free guide with tips for nap help: https://www.babysleepsite.com/free-baby-nap-guide/
I hope this helps! If you’re still struggling and need more resources you may want to check out our ebook that’s all about naps called Mastering Naps and Schedules which you can purchase and instantly download here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/mastering-naps/
Let us know how things turn out!
Glad says
Hi, our little boy is nearly 5 months old now. Once we passed the newborn babysleep stage, he was sleeping quite well for a time, sometimes sleeping through the night for up to 10 hours. That has stopped now, although most nights he only wakes up once to nurse. What is proving difficult is getting him down to sleep at night. During the day he tires about 1.5 hours after each wake-up and nap times vary from 30 minutes to 4 hours!!! So the number of naps he has in a day is variable and the daily “schedule” is therefore non existent. In the evening the 1.5 hour rule flies out the window and although he seems tired around 7 or 8 p.m. I can never get him down until much later. When he shows signs of being tired, we take him up for a bedtime routine and finish by either nursing or rocking him to sleep. Most often when we put him down he wakes up and this is repeated until about 11 p.m. or midnight when we finally manage to put him down. So far we have had no success with putting him down drowsy but awake as he always ends up crying (hard) and the only way to calm him is to pick him up. I think I will try the fixed points to add a little predictably to the schedule. But I just don’t know how to get him down in the evening. Putting him to bed earlier just results in a late catnap which keeps him up later yet. Any advice would be welcome.
Janelle Reid says
@Glad – Thank you for visiting the Baby Sleep Site! I am sorry to hear your once great stretches of sleep have now turned into a bedtime battle each night. I know how frustrating that can be!! Here is a link that may help give you a few ideas to help stick to the fixed points on the schedule: https://www.babysleepsite.com/baby-sleep-patterns/4-times-wake-your-baby-sleep/
Hopefully if you can get the naps a little more regulated you’ll be able to find the sweet spot for his bedtime to go down easily. It may take some time, but hang in there! If you don’t see any improvement or just want more help, please let us know! We have a ton of resources including one-on-one sleep consulting if it comes to that and you need a little or a lot of personalized support to get you through this, we will have an option for you. If you’re interested in any of that or our other resources please feel free to contact us directly anytime at [email protected]
I hope this helps and you see an improvement soon!
Melanie says
Hello!
Thanks for the great resources. My son is starting daycare soon when they nap 10:30-12pm and 1:30-3pm. I’ll be dropping him off at 8am and was wondering what wake up time is best and where to get in 1-2 additional naps?
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Melanie, I’m glad you find the resources helpful! You may just try to adjust the wake up based on the new nap times so the times he spends awake between morning wake up and his nap is the same amount of time as our sample schedule. If you want more details and options you may want to check our our ebook, Mastering Naps and Schedules which has tons of sample schedules and information to help. Here is a link to read more about the ebook and purchase online: https://www.babysleepsite.com/mastering-naps/
I hope the transition to daycare goes well for your son!
Sarah says
How long is nap at 2pm
I started following this routine today – we’ve been about 30 minutes behind the schedule
So nap started at 230.
Again how long is the duration of the 2 pm nap 🙂
Debbye @ The Baby Sleep Site says
Hi @Sarah – Thank you for writing and for using The Baby Sleep Site as a reference for your 5 month old’s schedule! Often, at this age, naps are still quite short, and that 2pm nap may be 30-60 minutes. Feel free to make the schedule your own, and find what works best for you and your family!
Thanks again for visiting!
Saumu Nassoro Ali says
Hello there my friend’s daughter is 4 months and really wakes up at night crying a lot we really need help takes milk a lot but never sleeps long.
Janelle Reid says
hi @Saumu Nassoro Ali, thanks for writing to us on behalf of your friend. I’m so sorry to hear they are struggling. At 4 months there’s a big developmental leap and change that happens in the baby’s sleep, so there’s a chance that’s what’s going on. Here is a link that you or your friend can sign up to download a free guide with tips to help your child sleep through the night: https://www.babysleepsite.com/sleep-through-night-free-ebook/
I will say that at 4 months, 1-3 wake ups are still totally normal, but anything beyond that (like every 1-2 hours, needing to be rocked/nursed to go back to sleep, etc.) is likely a bad habit and the guide will provide tips to help eliminate the wake ups that are coming from habit and not hunger.
If she needs more help, please let her know we’d love to hear from her and walk through this with her. She can contact us directly at anytime at [email protected] and we can help provide additional resources for her.
Annisa says
Hi,
According to the examplebof schedule above, can I clarify what do you mean by breakfast time? Or do you have another example maybe?
I have 5 months old baby and she hasnt started solids yet. The problem that I have is the same with most mom’s here.
Thanks!
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Annisa, thanks for writing to us. Good question! We include a breakfast time for the parents that have already introduced solids, but know many families wait. I apologize for the confusion! You can just skip that part and whenever you do introduce solids then you can take account for it in this schedule or in the future months. 🙂 I hope that helps!
Rachel says
Hi, my 5 month old, is usually asleep by 7pm, but it’s getting earlier each day at the moment, today- 6pm. She’s only napped twice today- one for 1 hour and another for 45 mins.
She’s been waking at 2am most nights and is awake for 2.5 hours.
I always get her up at 7am.
I’ve started weaning her and she has breakfast and dinner, all her milk and milk at 10pm and when she wakes in the night.
I need a bit of guidance as to what her nap schedule in the day should be to enable her to sleep at night if possible.
Danielle says
Hi Rachel,
Thank you for using The Baby Sleep Site as a resource! I’m sorry to hear you’re having trouble with these long night wakings. The schedule above does offer a sample of what many 5 month-olds are doing, and we also have a great chart about naps and day sleep that I think will help here: https://www.babysleepsite.com/naps/baby-naps-chart-how-many-how-long/
At this age, we do recommend that breastmilk or formula be the primary food source, actually up to 1 year-old. If you have questions about how much milk she should be getting, or if you feel like her night waking might be related to hunger, please check in with your pediatrician. I hope this helps!
Rachel says
Thank you. I’m following this from today in the hope her night time sleep improves.
For the last nap, what is the latest time you’d recommend putting her down for 30 mins? In order for it not to disturb nighttime sleep? Or does this not matter at this age?
Janelle Reid says
Hi @Rachel, thanks for getting back to us! You’ll just want to watch the clock after she wakes up from her last nap, try to limit her wake time to 2 hours or so to know when to offer that last catnap. I hope that helps!