Baby Sleep Schedule 6-12 Months: Naps, Night Sleep, and Sample Schedules by Age
Somewhere around the half-year mark, your baby’s sleep starts to look like it might — finally — follow a rhythm. Naps consolidate, nights (hopefully) lengthen, and a real daily pattern becomes possible. But what should that pattern actually look like?
This is your complete guide to a baby sleep schedule from 6 to 12 months: how much sleep your baby needs, wake windows, how many naps to expect, and sample daily schedules for 6, 8, 10, and 12 months. Every baby is different, so treat these as flexible starting points, not rigid rules. For the wider strategy of building good nights, how to get your baby to sleep through the night is the companion guide, and if your baby is younger, start with the baby sleep schedule for 3-6 months.
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12–16 h total sleep per 24 hours (with naps) |
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2–3 naps transitioning to 2 over these months |
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11–12 h typical night sleep |
How Much Sleep Does a 6-12 Month Old Need?
Babies aged 4 to 12 months need about 12 to 16 hours of sleep per 24 hours, including naps. That’s the consensus recommendation of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (Paruthi et al., 2016). For most 6-12 month olds, that breaks down into roughly 11-12 hours at night and 2-3 hours of daytime naps. The exact split varies from baby to baby — some are natural long-sleepers, others sit at the lower end and are perfectly healthy. What matters is the 24-hour total and a consistent rhythm.
Sample Sleep Schedules by Age
Here are realistic sample schedules for each stage. They assume a roughly 7:00 a.m. wake-up — shift everything earlier or later to match your baby. Use them as a framework, not a stopwatch.
6-7 Months (often still 3 naps)
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Time |
Activity |
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7:00 a.m. |
Wake and feed |
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9:00–9:45 a.m. |
Nap 1 |
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12:15–1:30 p.m. |
Nap 2 |
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4:00–4:30 p.m. |
Nap 3 (catnap) |
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7:00–7:30 p.m. |
Bedtime |
8-10 Months (usually 2 naps)
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Time |
Activity |
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7:00 a.m. |
Wake and feed |
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9:30–10:45 a.m. |
Nap 1 |
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2:00–3:15 p.m. |
Nap 2 |
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7:00 p.m. |
Bedtime |
11-12 Months (2 naps, some moving toward 1)
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Time |
Activity |
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7:00 a.m. |
Wake and feed |
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10:00–11:00 a.m. |
Nap 1 |
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2:30–3:30 p.m. |
Nap 2 |
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7:00–7:30 p.m. |
Bedtime |
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Note |
Most babies hold onto 2 naps until around 14-18 months — so at 11-12 months, resist dropping to one nap too early, even if naps get briefly bumpy. For the bigger arc, see how baby sleep needs change between 6 and 18 months. |
Wake Windows by Age (6-12 Months)
A wake window is the time your baby is awake between sleeps — and it stretches as they grow. Getting wake windows right is often the secret to smoother naps and bedtimes: too short and they won’t settle, too long and they get overtired.
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⏱ 6-7 months |
Wake windows of about 2 to 3 hours, often shortest before the first nap and longest before bedtime. |
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⏱ 8-10 months |
Wake windows of about 2.5 to 3.5 hours as babies consolidate to 2 naps. |
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⏱ 11-12 months |
Wake windows of about 3 to 4 hours, with the longest stretch before bed. |
Naps: How Many and How Long
Most babies go from 3 naps to 2 somewhere between 6 and 9 months. The afternoon catnap is usually the first to drop. By around 9 months, a solid two-nap rhythm — one mid-morning, one early afternoon — is typical, totaling roughly 2 to 3 hours of day sleep.
Nap length and timing strongly shape night sleep: a nap that runs too long or too late can push bedtime back and shorten the night. How daytime naps affect night sleep explains how to balance the two. If naps are short or fighting you, check that the wake window before the nap matches your baby’s age — mistimed windows are the most common culprit.
Night Sleep at 6-12 Months
Most babies this age sleep about 11 to 12 hours overnight, often with a bedtime between 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. Many are biologically capable of sleeping long stretches by 6 months, though night feeds and wake-ups are still common and normal for plenty of babies.
An early bedtime usually works better than a late one at this age — overtiredness, not under-tiredness, is the more frequent cause of bedtime battles and early-morning waking. If your baby is rising at the crack of dawn, why some babies wake up at 5 AM digs into the causes and fixes. Across this whole period, day and night sleep gradually reorganize — naps consolidate and night sleep lengthens — which is the normal developmental pattern documented across infancy (Galland et al., 2012).
When Sleep Gets Disrupted (Regressions and Leaps)
Even a great schedule gets derailed sometimes — and at this age, it’s usually development, not a problem with your routine.
Between 6 and 12 months, the big disruptors are motor leaps (sitting, crawling, pulling to stand) and the so-called 8-9 month regression, which is really a burst of cognitive and physical development. A baby busy learning to pull up will practice at night, waking more often. The walking sleep regression explains this mechanism, and how daytime activity and motor development affect sleep covers how to ride out the bumps. Teething and the earlier 4-month sleep regression (a permanent change in sleep architecture) can also play a role. The key during any disruption: keep the schedule and routine steady — consistency is what helps your baby find their way back.
Tips for a Consistent Schedule
A predictable rhythm is more powerful than perfect timing. Here’s how to build one that sticks.
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BUILDING A CONSISTENT 6-12 MONTH SCHEDULE • Anchor the day with a consistent wake-up time — it sets everything else • Match wake windows to your baby’s age (the most common fix for nap battles) • Keep a short, predictable wind-down routine before naps and bedtime • Aim for an early bedtime to avoid overtiredness • Protect total day sleep, but don’t let the last nap run too late • Stay flexible day to day — follow the rhythm, not the clock to the minute |
Gentle, rhythmic wind-down cues help signal sleep — how rhythmic movement helps babies fall asleep faster explains why patting and rocking are so effective at this age.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much sleep does a 6-12 month old need?
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that infants 4 to 12 months get 12 to 16 hours of sleep per 24 hours, including naps (Paruthi et al., 2016). For most 6-12 month olds, that’s roughly 11-12 hours overnight plus 2-3 hours of daytime naps. There’s a healthy range — some babies need more, some less — so focus on the 24-hour total and a consistent rhythm rather than hitting an exact number. If your baby is happy, alert, and growing well, they’re very likely getting enough.
How many naps should a 6-12 month old take?
Most babies move from 3 naps to 2 between about 6 and 9 months, with the afternoon catnap dropping first. By around 9 months, a two-nap rhythm — one mid-morning, one early afternoon — is typical and usually holds until 14-18 months. Total daytime sleep is roughly 2 to 3 hours. Avoid dropping to a single nap too early; even when naps get briefly bumpy during a regression or motor leap, most babies still need those two naps through the end of the first year.
What is a good bedtime for a 6-12 month old?
A bedtime between about 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. works well for most babies this age, paired with roughly 11-12 hours of overnight sleep. An earlier bedtime is usually better than a later one, because overtiredness is a common cause of bedtime resistance, frequent night waking, and early-morning rising. The best bedtime is one that follows an age-appropriate final wake window and stays consistent day to day. If mornings are starting too early, an earlier (not later) bedtime is often the counterintuitive fix.
The Bottom Line
From 6 to 12 months, your baby needs about 12-16 hours of sleep per 24 hours — roughly 11-12 hours at night plus 2-3 hours of naps — while transitioning from 3 naps to 2 and stretching wake windows from about 2 hours toward 3-4. Use the sample schedules here as flexible starting points, anchor the day with a consistent wake-up and an early bedtime, and match wake windows to your baby’s age. When development disrupts things, hold the routine steady. A predictable rhythm, not perfect timing, is what builds good sleep.
For the full strategy, how to get your baby to sleep through the night is your next read, and how daytime naps affect night sleep helps you fine-tune the nap side of the schedule.
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For a calmer wind-down at nap and bedtime: the CalmCuddle Pillow uses gentle, rhythmic patting to help babies settle into the routine this guide is built around — a soothing helper for consistent naps and smoother nights.
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Scientific References
[1] Paruthi S, Brooks LJ, D’Ambrosio C, Hall WA, Kotagal S, Lloyd RM, Malow BA, Maski K, Nichols C, Quan SF, Rosen CL, Troester MM & Wise MS (2016). Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine on the Recommended Amount of Sleep for Healthy Children: Methodology and Discussion. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 12(11), 1549–1561. DOI: 10.5664/jcsm.6288. — AASM consensus recommending that infants 4-12 months sleep 12-16 hours per 24 hours (including naps) to promote optimal health. Used here for the total sleep needs at this age. PubMed PMID 27707447: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27707447/
[2] Galland BC, Taylor BJ, Elder DE & Herbison P (2012). Normal sleep patterns in infants and children: a systematic review of observational studies. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 16(3), 213–222. DOI: 10.1016/j.smrv.2011.06.001. — Systematic review documenting how sleep reorganizes across infancy: total sleep decreases, daytime naps consolidate into fewer blocks, and nighttime sleep lengthens with age. Used here for the developmental pattern of nap and night-sleep changes across 6-12 months. PubMed PMID 21784676: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21784676/
