Babies and young children need sleep for their developing bodies and brains. They need more than sleep at night, they need regular nap periods throughout the day so their bodies can rest and grow.

You need to try to encourage regular naps for your baby or child. Your child’s personality and natural body rhythm will help you decide the best time for naps. There are babies that will take naps on their own from birth and are very easy to get into a routine. Some babies are harder to put on a schedule and may only sleep for short periods of time. Read on to learn how you can establish and maintain a healthy baby nap schedule.

Baby Nap Schedule – How Many Naps do Babies Need?

Age	Nap Frequency
Newborn	Newborns tend to sleep anywhere from 2 to 4 hours at a time around the clock. Newborns will not be able to be put on a schedule and have a more erratic sleeping pattern. It is okay to allow newborns to sleep and wake up as they need to.
6 – 8 Weeks	Babies at 6 to 8 weeks of age will start sleeping a little longer each time. They will sleep for longer periods and start to take between 2 and 4 naps daily. Some babies sleep a little more and some a little less.
3 – 4 Months	When babies are about 3 to 4 months old, daytime sleep starts to take on a predictable pattern. When this happens, you can start developing a naptime routine.
6 Months	At 6 months of age, babies take about 2 to 3 naps daily. They follow a pattern of 1 early in the day, 1 after lunchtime and another before dinnertime.
9 – 12 Months	When babies reach 9 to 12 months, they usually only take two naps daily. They usually nap in the morning and in the afternoon.
1 Year and Older	Between 1 year and 18 months, some babies may only nap one time a day in the afternoon hours and may do this until they are 3 to 5 years old. At this time, some parents find it easier to adjust the bedtime schedule to give them more rest at night.

General Nap Duration for Different Ages

Age	Total Sleep(hours)	Nighttime Sleep(hours)	Naps (hours)
Newborn-2 months	16-18	8-9	7-9 (3-5 naps)
2-4 months	14-16	9-10	4-5 (3 naps)
4-6 months	14-15	10	4-5 (2-3 naps)
6-9 months	14	10-11	3-4 (2 naps)
9-12 months	14	10-12	2-3 (2 naps)
12-18 months	13-14	11-12	2-3 (1-2 naps)

How to Establish and Maintain a Baby Nap Schedule

1. Watch for Signs of Drowsiness

Baby may show different signs of sleepiness and at different times during the day including; falling asleep on an afternoon car ride, rubbing eyes in the late morning, or crying and fussy in the evenings. Keep a journal for a few weeks to help know babies’ patterns of tired vs. alert periods. Once you get used to baby’s cues, try to start the nap ritual a few minutes before the scheduled naptime. Starting ahead will help baby to relax and understand that it is time for sleep.

2. Stick to Baby’s Nap Schedule

Try to keep baby on a consistent nap schedule. Your baby should go down for naps at the same times each day. Moving around naptimes will make it hard to develop a good routine and schedule for baby. Schedule activities around baby’s naptimes and not naptimes around activities. Also, if you use outside childcare with scheduled naptimes use those naptimes at home. Even one break in routine could throw baby’s schedule off for the entire day. For example; a 10 a.m. pediatrician appointment with a 10:30 a.m. naptime may not mix well. By the time the doctor sees your baby, he or she may be fussy and crying.

3. Develop a Naptime Ritual

Choose certain activities to help signal it is naptime for your child. You can have a special story, baby massage or songs that you sing just before naptime. Start this ritual at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled naptime to signal what time it is for baby. They will quickly fall into the routine when they see these cues. Keep activities for the ritual quiet and subdued.

4. Place Your Baby into Bed While He/ She Is Drowsy

Put your baby to bed when he is tired but not fully asleep. If baby is overtired, you may have an overly fussy baby that is hard to put to sleep. It is also important to teach baby to fall asleep on their own. If you rock or feed your baby until they fall asleep they will expect this every time. Rocking a baby to sleep actually tends to take longer than putting them in their bed to fall asleep on their own.

5. Try Not to Rock, Feed or Hold Your Baby to Put Them to Sleep

If you allow this, it may be the only way you will be able to get your baby to sleep. You need to gently wake your baby if they fall asleep during these times and put them to bed slightly awake. Feeding time needs to be for feeding and completely separate from sleeping.

6. Let Them Take Naps in Sleeping Areas

Put your baby down for a nap in the usual areas for sleep. Cribs, playpens and bassinets are the best places for sleep. If your baby tends to fall asleep in his or her car seat that is okay for the car. The stroller is okay during walks, but when you are at home put baby down for naps in a bed.

7. Dress Baby for Sleeping Comfort

While you don’t need to dress baby for bed at naptime, you need to make sure they are in lose comfortable clothing for sleep. Also keep a proper temperature in the room where your baby takes a nap.

8. Tone Down Playtime

Wind things down before you put baby down for his or her nap. Play gently with them or they may get too wound up to sleep. Try to keep the house quiet and low key to avoid excess stimulation.

9. How to Prepare for Naps Away from Home

If you are going on a trip away for the day or a few days, make sure you pack the essentials for baby’s naptime away from home. Stay on schedule with naps when you are away from home and try to plan activities around baby’s nap schedule.

Click here to learn more about how to get baby to nap. 

Watch a Video: How to Handle Your Baby’s Daytime Naps