How much sleep does my baby need?

Per 24 hours: newborns (0–3 months) need 14–17 hours, babies 4–11 months need 12–15 hours, toddlers 1–2 years need 11–14 hours, and preschoolers 3–5 years need 10–13 hours (National Sleep Foundation ranges). Individual babies can sit slightly outside these bands and be perfectly fine — mood and daytime behavior are better indicators than the exact count.

What is a wake window?

The stretch of time a baby can comfortably stay awake between two sleeps. It grows with age: about 45–60 minutes for a newborn, 1.5–2.5 hours at 4–6 months, 3–4 hours at 12–18 months. Respecting wake windows prevents the overtired spiral where an exhausted baby paradoxically fights sleep harder.

When do babies drop naps?

Typical transitions: 4→3 naps around 5 months, 3→2 around 8 months, 2→1 around 15–18 months, and the last nap disappears between 2.5 and 5 years. Each transition takes a few bumpy weeks — the usual signs are fighting the last nap or early-morning wakings.

My baby wakes at night — is the schedule wrong?

Not necessarily. Night wakings are normal and feeding-related in the first months. Schedule-related causes to check: a last nap ending too close to bedtime, a bedtime too LATE (overtiredness causes night wakings and early mornings), or a baby getting too much daytime sleep for their age. If the schedule looks right, the cause is usually developmental (teething, milestones, regressions) and passes.

Should I wake my baby from a nap?

Two cases where most sleep specialists say yes: to protect the night (cap the total daytime sleep for the age, and end the last nap 2–4 hours before bedtime depending on age), and to keep mornings consistent. Otherwise, letting a nap run is fine — especially during growth spurts or illness.

Is this schedule valid for premature babies?

Use the corrected age (from the due date, not the birth date) to pick the ranges, usually until age 2. A baby born 2 months early who is 6 months old chronologically will typically follow the sleep patterns of a 4-month-old. Your pediatric team remains the reference.

TRBTrainRBoost

Free Tool

Baby Sleep Schedule Generator

Get your baby's sleep needs by age — total hours, naps, wake windows — and a template day built from your real wake-up time.

How the Schedule Is Built

The generator chains age-appropriate wake windows and naps from your wake-up time:

wake-up + wake window → nap 1 → … → last nap + wake window = bedtime

Age sets the needs

Total sleep, nap count, and wake windows are all age-driven: a 4-month-old handles ~1.5–2.5 h awake with 3 naps, an 18-month-old ~4–5 h with a single nap.

Wake windows do the math

A wake window is how long your baby can comfortably stay awake between sleeps. Exceed it and cortisol rises — which paradoxically makes falling asleep harder.

Bedtime anchors the day

Bedtime lands one wake window after the last nap. Short or skipped naps? Move bedtime earlier — 30–45 minutes early is the standard fix, never later.

Baby Sleep Needs by Age

The reference ranges below combine National Sleep Foundation totals with the nap counts and wake windows used by pediatric sleep specialists.

Age	Total / 24 h	Naps	Wake window
0–2 months	14–17 h	4–5+	45–60 min
2–4 months	14–17 h	4	1–1.5 h
4–6 months	12–15 h	3	1.5–2.5 h
6–9 months	12–15 h	2–3	2–3 h
9–12 months	12–15 h	2	2.5–3.5 h
12–18 months	11–14 h	1–2	3–4 h
18–24 months	11–14 h	1	4–5 h
2–3 years	10–13 h	0–1	5–6 h

Nap transitions (4→3 around 5 months, 3→2 around 8 months, 2→1 around 15 months) take 2–4 bumpy weeks each — a temporarily messy schedule during a transition is expected, not a regression.

Sleepy Cues to Watch For

The clock is a guide; your baby is the truth. These signs mean the wake window is closing — start the nap routine now:

Rubbing eyes or ears, or burying the face in your shoulder.
Yawning — one yawn is early, three yawns means you're late.
Staring into space, losing interest in toys and faces.
Increasing fussiness for no clear reason, especially after a good feed.
Sudden hyperactivity or giddiness is usually OVERtired, not energized — expect a harder settle.

Making the Schedule Actually Work

1Use the schedule as scaffolding and your baby's cues as the trigger. If the cues come 20 minutes early, follow the cues.
2A short, identical pre-sleep routine (dark room, sleeping bag, song, cuddle) is the strongest sleep signal you can build — stronger than any timing.
3Darkness matters more than silence: a genuinely dark room for naps from 3–4 months onward often adds 30+ minutes to short naps.
4When a day goes sideways (short naps, skipped nap), rescue it with an EARLIER bedtime, not a later one. Overtired babies sleep worse, not longer.
5Judge any change on 4–5 days, not one. Babies need repetition to consolidate a rhythm, and one bad day means nothing.

Know their real rhythm, not the theory

Doudou tracks naps and nights in two taps and shows the actual patterns — so you can adjust the schedule to your baby, not the other way around. Synced between both parents.

Doudou — the baby tracker for both parents

Frequently Asked Questions

How much sleep does my baby need?: Per 24 hours: newborns (0–3 months) need 14–17 hours, babies 4–11 months need 12–15 hours, toddlers 1–2 years need 11–14 hours, and preschoolers 3–5 years need 10–13 hours (National Sleep Foundation ranges). Individual babies can sit slightly outside these bands and be perfectly fine — mood and daytime behavior are better indicators than the exact count.
What is a wake window?: The stretch of time a baby can comfortably stay awake between two sleeps. It grows with age: about 45–60 minutes for a newborn, 1.5–2.5 hours at 4–6 months, 3–4 hours at 12–18 months. Respecting wake windows prevents the overtired spiral where an exhausted baby paradoxically fights sleep harder.
When do babies drop naps?: Typical transitions: 4→3 naps around 5 months, 3→2 around 8 months, 2→1 around 15–18 months, and the last nap disappears between 2.5 and 5 years. Each transition takes a few bumpy weeks — the usual signs are fighting the last nap or early-morning wakings.
My baby wakes at night — is the schedule wrong?: Not necessarily. Night wakings are normal and feeding-related in the first months. Schedule-related causes to check: a last nap ending too close to bedtime, a bedtime too LATE (overtiredness causes night wakings and early mornings), or a baby getting too much daytime sleep for their age. If the schedule looks right, the cause is usually developmental (teething, milestones, regressions) and passes.
Should I wake my baby from a nap?: Two cases where most sleep specialists say yes: to protect the night (cap the total daytime sleep for the age, and end the last nap 2–4 hours before bedtime depending on age), and to keep mornings consistent. Otherwise, letting a nap run is fine — especially during growth spurts or illness.
Is this schedule valid for premature babies?: Use the corrected age (from the due date, not the birth date) to pick the ranges, usually until age 2. A baby born 2 months early who is 6 months old chronologically will typically follow the sleep patterns of a 4-month-old. Your pediatric team remains the reference.