8 months
8 month old sleep: schedule, naps & wake windows
At 8 months the 2-nap pattern is usually settled… right when the 8 month regression, crawling and separation anxiety can appear. If sleep goes sideways for a few weeks, you haven’t done anything wrong: it’s pure development.
How much sleep does an 8 month old need?
Between 13–15 h in total across the day: about 10–12 h at night and 2.5–3 h during the day, spread over 2 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.
A bump of night wakings and broken naps is common at this age: check the sleep regressions guide before changing the schedule.
Wake windows at 8 months
The wake window at 8 months is 2.5–3.5 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 8 months
Expect 2 naps of 1 – 1.5 h each. Two naps of 1–1.5 hours: one mid-morning and one after lunch. Protect the second one above all; if it runs short, move bedtime earlier. Avoid the afternoon nap ending later than 4:30–5:00 pm. Nap transitions and lengths by age are in the baby naps guide.
Sample schedule for an 8 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 |
| 9:45 | Nap 1 (1–1.5 h) |
| 11:00 | Awake, feed & lunch |
| 14:15 | Nap 2 (1–1.5 h) |
| 15:30 | Awake, snack & play |
| 18:15 | Dinner, bath & routine |
| 19:30 | Bedtime |
During the 8 month regression keep the schedule even if they protest more: consistency shortens the phase.
What time should bedtime be?
The usual range at 8 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.