8 month old sleep schedule: Bedtime and nap schedule

At 8 months old, your baby is outgrowing the wake windows for a 3-nap schedule. As a result, many infants will transition to a 2-nap schedule around this time. Expect sleep to be a bit bumpy during nap transitions, as your baby adjusts to staying awake for longer periods.

Try not to worry - this is temporary! Overtiredness is sometimes inevitable during this period, and it’s common to see new or increased sleep difficulties at this age due to the . Maintaining healthy sleep habits will help your baby move past the regression as quickly as possible.

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How much should an 8 month old sleep?

At 8 months, we’ll aim for at least 14 hours of total sleep per day (that typically breaks down to 11 - 12 hours at night, and 2 - 3 hours during the day over 2 - 3 naps). Most children need 2.25 - 3.5 hours of awake time in between sleep periods at this age.

[Note: for children who were born early, we go by their adjusted age for sleep development.]

Top sleep tip for 8 month olds

Once that third nap is dropped, you’ll want to offer an earlier bedtime in order to limit the amount of overtiredness caused by the nap transition. Ensuring you have a longer pre-sleep bedtime routine will help cue that it’s time for bed, rather than the third nap.

Sleep fact for 8 month old babies 

Hunger is a frequent cause of shortened sleep, including naps. Be sure to adjust meal times so that your baby doesn’t wake too early from a nap due to hunger.

Sample 8 month old sleep schedule

Note: Sleep needs vary by child and this chart should be viewed as an example.

Naptime schedule for an 8 month old

How long should an 8 month old nap?

Aim for your 8 month old to get about 3 hours of day sleep on average, broken up into 2 - 3 naps. Ideally, the first 2 naps of the day will be at least 60 minutes long. If your baby is still taking 3 naps, that last catnap is usually a shorter 30 - 45 minute nap.

How many naps for an 8 month old?

Most 8 month olds take 2 - 3 naps per day. At this age, it’s common to have both 2-nap days and 3-nap days if your baby is in the midst of dropping a nap.

At this age, we expect babies to need a nap after 2.25 - 3.5 hours of awake time. If you’ve been offering naps based on wake windows, you can consider moving to a “by the clock” schedule, where naps and bedtime are offered at the same time each day. This allows for more schedule predictability, making it easier to plan your day.

3-nap schedule

2-nap schedule

Bedtime for an 8 month old

What time should an 8 month old go to bed?

At this age, plan for bedtime to be 2.75 - 3.5 hours after the last nap. Babies taking 3 naps a day will have shorter wake windows, while babies taking 2 naps a day will have longer awake times. Plan for bedtime to be 12 - 14 hours after waking for the day, but no earlier than 6:00 PM.