Baby Sleep Timeline: See the Regressions Coming
Enter your baby's date of birth and get a personalized timeline of the growth spurts, sleep regressions and nap transitions ahead — dated to your baby, not a generic chart.
Pick a date to date every milestone to your baby. The general timeline below is shown for any age.
- Growth spurt2–3 weeks
First growth spurt
One of the earliest spurts: your newborn may suddenly want to feed almost constantly and seem unsettled for a day or two. It's how they signal your milk supply to step up, and it passes quickly.
- Growth spurt6 weeks
6-week growth spurt
Around six weeks many babies hit a hungrier, fussier patch with more night waking. It often overlaps the peak of normal evening fussiness, so it can feel intense — but it's short-lived.
- Growth spurt3 months
3-month growth spurt
A common spurt just as sleep is starting to organize. Expect a few days of extra hunger and shorter naps before things settle back down.
- Sleep regression4 months
4-month sleep regression
The big one — and really a permanent progression, not a step back. Your baby's sleep matures to cycle between light and deep stages like an adult, so they surface more between cycles until they learn to re-settle.
See the 4-month-old sleep schedule - Nap transition~5 months
4 → 3 naps
The wobbly fourth catnap fades as wake windows stretch past about 90 minutes and naps lengthen. Let it drop on its own rather than forcing it.
See the 6-month-old sleep schedule - Growth spurt6 months
6-month growth spurt
Growth picks up again around half a year, often alongside starting solids and new motor skills. A few unsettled days here are normal and not a sign anything is wrong.
- Nap transition7–9 months
3 → 2 naps
Wake windows grow to around 2.5–3 hours, which no longer leaves room for a third nap and a reasonable bedtime. The late-afternoon catnap is the one that goes; an earlier bedtime bridges the gap.
See the 8-month-old sleep schedule - Growth spurt9 months
9-month growth spurt
One of the last of the frequently-cited spurts. It tends to arrive with crawling and pulling to stand, so extra hunger and broken sleep often blur into the 8–10 month regression.
- Sleep regression8–10 months
8–10 month regression
Separation awareness peaks and crawling, sitting and pulling up all fire off at once — and babies love to practice at 2am. Split nights and bedtime protests here are developmental, not a broken routine.
See the 8-month-old sleep schedule - Sleep regression12 months
12-month regression
First steps, first words and often molars combine into a fought morning nap and rougher nights around the first birthday. It's usually the regression talking — most one-year-olds still need two naps.
See the 12-month-old sleep schedule - Nap transition14–18 months
2 → 1 nap
The genuine 2-to-1 transition. Morning and afternoon naps merge into one longer midday nap. It's bumpy for a few weeks — alternate one- and two-nap days while the single nap lengthens.
See the 18-month-old sleep schedule - Sleep regression18 months
18-month regression
A surge of independence and language, more separation anxiety and often molars show up as nap refusal and bedtime battles — frequently right as the 2-to-1 nap transition is happening.
See the 18-month-old sleep schedule - Sleep regression24 months
2-year regression
Around two, new fears, big imagination, potty learning and testing limits can unsettle sleep for a couple of weeks. A steady, predictable wind-down is what helps it pass.
- Nap transition3–4 years
Nap ends
Somewhere between about 3 and 4 many children drop the last nap. Swapping in a calm quiet-time keeps the afternoon reset without an overtired evening.
Typical ranges, not fixed dates — every baby varies by a couple of weeks, and some barely notice a given phase.
Sleep Regression & Growth Spurt Ages Chart
The general ages for every milestone the timeline tracks. These are typical ranges from pediatric sources — your baby may hit them a couple of weeks earlier or later, and some phases are barely noticeable.
| Age | Type | What's happening |
|---|---|---|
| 2–3 weeks | Growth spurt | Frequent feeding and fussiness for a day or two |
| 6 weeks | Growth spurt | Cluster feeding and extra fussiness, often in the evening |
| 3 months | Growth spurt | A few days of extra hunger and lighter naps |
| 4 months | Sleep regression | Sleep matures; more frequent waking and short naps |
| ~5 months | Nap transition | The short fourth nap fades as wake windows grow |
| 6 months | Growth spurt | Increased appetite, sometimes with new solids and skills |
| 7–9 months | Nap transition | The late-afternoon catnap drops; bridge with earlier bedtime |
| 9 months | Growth spurt | Hungrier days that overlap with big motor milestones |
| 8–10 months | Sleep regression | Milestones and separation anxiety disrupt naps and nights |
| 12 months | Sleep regression | Walking, talking and molars; often a fought morning nap |
| 14–18 months | Nap transition | The two naps merge into one longer midday nap |
| 18 months | Sleep regression | Independence, language and molars; bedtime battles |
| 24 months | Sleep regression | New fears and boundary-testing disrupt sleep briefly |
| 3–4 years | Nap transition | The last nap is dropped; quiet time replaces it |
Growth spurts are brief hungry, fussy patches; regressions are normal developmental phases where sleep temporarily gets harder; nap transitions are when a baby drops a nap. None of these is a medical problem or something a parent caused.
What a Sleep Regression Actually Is
A "sleep regression" is one of the worst-named things in parenting. It sounds like your baby's sleep has gone backwards or that you broke a good routine. Neither is true. A regression is a temporary phase where a baby who was sleeping reasonably starts waking more or napping less — because their brain is busy doing something new. The 4-month change, for example, is actually a permanent maturation of how sleep works, not a step back at all.
Regressions ride on development: a leap in the brain, a new motor skill like rolling or pulling up, teething, or a spike in separation awareness. Your baby is briefly too interested in the world (or too uncomfortable) to sleep as smoothly. That's why they cluster at fairly predictable ages — and why they pass on their own, usually within one to three weeks, without any special training.
What a regression can look like
- More frequent night waking in a baby who had been settling well
- Shorter or skipped naps, or fighting a nap they used to take easily
- Resisting bedtime or taking much longer to fall asleep
- Extra clinginess, fussiness, or wanting more comfort than usual
If it lines up with one of the ages above, it's very likely a normal phase. Keep the wind-down predictable and lean on an earlier bedtime on rough days. Anything that feels unusual for your baby, or a change with no clear developmental reason, is always worth mentioning to your pediatrician.
Growth Spurts: The Signs
Growth spurts are short bursts — often just two or three days — when your baby grows a little faster and behaves accordingly: hungrier, fussier, and sometimes sleeping oddly. They're frequently cited around 2–3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and 9 months, though babies don't read the calendar and the timing is loose.
The key difference from a regression: a spurt is mostly about hunger and lasts only a few days, while a regression is about a developmental leap and can last a couple of weeks. They often overlap — the 9-month spurt and the 8–10 month regression, for instance — which is why a hungry, unsettled stretch can feel bigger than either one alone. Feeding on demand through a spurt is normal and helps your supply keep up.
What a growth spurt can look like
- Suddenly wanting to feed far more often than usual, day and night
- More fussiness and harder to settle for a few days
- Cluster feeding — many short feeds bunched together, often in the evening
- Either extra-sleepy stretches or unusually broken sleep, then back to normal
When Babies Drop Naps
Nap transitions are the third thread in the timeline, and they're the one parents most often act on too early. A baby goes from four naps as a newborn down to a single midday nap by toddlerhood, in fairly predictable steps — but a nap strike during a regression looks exactly like readiness to drop a nap, and usually isn't.
The honest signal is the day falling apart for two-plus weeks: a nap that refuses itself, or one that starts pushing bedtime too late. Wake windows are the better guide than the clock here — the wake windows chart by age shows how long your baby can comfortably stay awake between sleeps at each stage, which is what really drives a nap drop.
4 → 3 naps (~5 months)
The short fourth catnap fades as wake windows stretch past about 90 minutes. Let it go on its own.
3 → 2 naps (7–9 months)
The late-afternoon nap drops; a temporarily earlier bedtime covers the longer last wake window.
2 → 1 nap (14–18 months)
The real 2-to-1 transition. Naps merge into one long midday nap over a few uneven weeks.
1 → 0 naps (3–4 years)
The last nap ends. Swap in quiet time to keep an afternoon reset without an overtired evening.
Sources & Limitations
The growth-spurt ages follow Cleveland Clinic, the regression ages follow the Sleep Foundation, and the sleep-need and nap ranges are anchored to AAP guidance. They're typical reference ranges to help you see what's coming — not a schedule your baby has to follow.
- Cleveland Clinic — Baby Growth Spurts
- Sleep Foundation — Baby Sleep Regressions
- AAP / HealthyChildren.org — Healthy Sleep Habits by Age
General reference ranges, not medical advice — every baby is different and healthy timing varies widely. This page doesn't cover diagnosis, treatment, or sleep safety. For anything that worries you about your baby's sleep, feeding, or growth, talk to your pediatrician.
Doudou logs sleep — see it coming
Track naps, night sleep and feeds in a couple of taps, and Doudou shows you the patterns as they shift — so a regression or nap transition is something you see arriving, not a mystery at 3am. Synced between both parents.
Related Tools
Frequently Asked Questions
- At what ages do sleep regressions happen?
- The commonly cited sleep regressions land around 4 months, 8–10 months, 12 months, 18 months and 2 years. The 4-month one is the most universal because it's actually a permanent change in how your baby's sleep is organized, not a true regression. The others ride on developmental leaps — crawling, walking, talking, separation anxiety and teething. Timing is a range, not a fixed date: your baby may be a couple of weeks either side, and some babies sail through one age and struggle with another. Enter your baby's birth date above to see the approximate dates for yours.
- When do babies have growth spurts?
- Growth spurts are often described around 2–3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and 9 months, though babies vary and don't hit them on a schedule. A spurt is usually short — a few days of extra hunger, cluster feeding and fussiness — and then things settle. Feeding on demand through one is normal and helps a nursing parent's supply keep pace. Because a 9-month spurt can overlap the 8–10 month regression, a hungry, unsettled stretch sometimes feels bigger than a spurt alone.
- Is a sleep regression a sign something is wrong?
- Almost never. A regression is a normal, temporary phase where a developing brain makes sleep harder for a week or two — a sign of progress, not a problem, and not something you caused by "bad habits." It typically resolves on its own with a consistent, calm wind-down and an earlier bedtime on rough days. That said, you know your baby best: if a change doesn't line up with any of the usual ages, seems unusual, or comes with other symptoms, it's always reasonable to check in with your pediatrician.
- When do babies drop naps?
- In steps: from four naps down to three around 5 months, three to two around 7–9 months, and the big two-to-one transition around 14–18 months, with the last nap usually ending between 3 and 4 years. The trap is dropping a nap during a regression or nap strike, which mimics readiness. The honest signal is the pattern lasting two or more weeks — a nap refusing itself or pushing bedtime too late — rather than a single rough week. Wake windows are a better guide than the clock at each stage.
- How is a growth spurt different from a sleep regression?
- A growth spurt is mostly about hunger and lasts only a few days: more frequent feeds, cluster feeding and some fussiness. A sleep regression is about a developmental leap and can last one to three weeks, with more night waking, short naps and bedtime resistance. They can happen at the same time — the 9-month spurt and 8–10 month regression are a classic overlap — which is why an unsettled patch can feel intense. If it's driven by feeding and short, think spurt; if it's driven by a new skill and drags on, think regression.
- How long do sleep regressions last?
- Usually one to three weeks, sometimes a little more if it overlaps with teething or a new milestone. Because the 4-month regression is really a permanent maturation of sleep, the sleep itself doesn't "go back" — what improves is your baby's ability to link sleep cycles again. The most reliable way through any of them is consistency: keep the room and routine the same, respond calmly, and use an earlier bedtime to head off overtiredness on the days a nap was short.