Siestita Guide
Baby sleep schedules by age
A good schedule isn’t a rigid timetable: it’s a predictable structure that adapts to your baby’s age. Here is the reference for every stage, plus full sample days, nap by nap.
The three pieces of any baby schedule
- Wake windows: how long they can stay awake for their age. They’re the foundation; the full chart is in the baby wake windows guide.
- Number of naps: from 4–6 as a newborn to 1 from 15–18 months, with transitions around 4, 8 and 15 months. More detail in baby naps.
- Wake-up and bedtime: the steadier they are, the easier everything else gets. A 6:30–7:30 am wake-up and a 7:00–8:30 pm bedtime fit most ages.
With those three pieces the schedule almost builds itself: wake-up + window = nap 1; end of nap 1 + window = nap 2, and so on until bedtime.
By age: naps, windows and bedtime
| Age | Naps | Wake window | Night sleep | Bedtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newborn | 4-6+ | 45-60 min | 8–9 h | 9:00-11:00 pm (very flexible) |
| 2 months | 4–5 | 45–90 min | 8–10 h | 9:00–10:30 pm |
| 3 months | 3–4 | 1–2 h | 9–10 h | 8:00–9:30 pm |
| 4 months | 3–4 | 1.5–2.5 h | 10–11 h | 7:00–8:30 pm |
| 5 months | 3 | 2–3 h | 10–11 h | 7:00–8:00 pm |
| 6 months | 3 | 2.5–3 h | 10–11 h | 7:00–8:00 pm |
| 7 months | 2–3 | 2.5–3.5 h | 10–12 h | 7:00–8:00 pm |
| 8 months | 2 | 2.5–3.5 h | 10–12 h | 7:00–8:00 pm |
| 9 months | 2 | 3–4 h | 10–12 h | 7:00–8:00 pm |
| 10 months | 2 | 3–4 h | 10–12 h | 7:00–8:00 pm |
| 11 months | 2 | 3.5–4 h | 10–12 h | 7:00–8:00 pm |
| 12 months | 2 (→1) | 3.5–4.5 h | 10–12 h | 7:30–8:30 pm |
| 15 months | 1–2 | 4–5 h | 10–12 h | 7:30–8:30 pm |
| 18 months | 1 | 5–5.5 h | 10–12 h | 7:30–8:30 pm |
| 2 years | 1 | 5–6 h | 10–12 h | 8:00–8:45 pm |
Sample schedules by age
Each guide includes a full sample day with concrete times, built around a 7:00 am wake-up, plus that age’s typical questions.
When the schedule stops working
If a schedule that worked suddenly breaks, it’s almost always one of three things: a sleep regression, a pending nap transition (the window has become too short) or a routine change (nursery, travel, illness). Adjust the window before rebuilding the whole schedule, and give any change a week before judging it.