5 months
5 month old sleep: schedule, naps & wake windows
At 5 months most babies settle into a clear 3-nap pattern, and many are already past the turbulence of the 4 month regression. Wake windows widen to 2–3 hours and the day becomes much more predictable.
How much sleep does a 5 month old need?
Between 13–15 h in total across the day: about 10–11 h at night and 3–4 h during the day, spread over 3 naps. These are guide ranges: if your baby wakes rested and cheerful, they’re probably getting what they need. Compare all stages in the baby sleep chart by age.
Wake windows at 5 months
The wake window at 5 months is 2–3 h: the time they can comfortably stay awake before needing sleep again. Overshooting the window usually means overtiredness, crying and shorter naps; undershooting means bedtime resistance. The first window of the day is usually the shortest and the last one the longest.
Don’t feel like clock-watching? The wake windows calculator gives you the exact range for the next nap.
Naps at 5 months
Expect 3 naps of 45 min – 1.5 h each. The first two naps are usually the “good” ones (1–1.5 h) and the third is a 30–45 minute catnap bridging to the night. If the third disappears on some days, move bedtime earlier. Nap transitions and lengths by age are in the baby naps guide.
Sample schedule for a 5 month old
Based on a 7:00 am wake-up. Shift the times to your baby’s real wake-up, keeping the windows.
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 7:00 | Wake up & feed |
| 9:00 | Nap 1 (1–1.5 h) |
| 10:15 | Awake & feed |
| 12:30 | Nap 2 (1–1.5 h) |
| 13:45 | Awake & feed |
| 15:45 | Nap 3 (30–45 min) |
| 16:30 | Awake, play & bath |
| 19:30 | Bedtime |
A tip at this age: the last window of the day is the longest, but it shouldn’t go past 3 hours or they’ll reach bedtime overtired.
What time should bedtime be?
The usual range at 5 months is 7:00–8:00 pm. More than a fixed time, what matters is the window from the end of the last nap. A short, repeated bedtime routine (bath, pyjamas, story or song) helps them anticipate that sleep is coming.