4-Month Old Sleep Schedule
It’s no surprise that at 4 months old, your baby’s sleep is changing. For some families, it’s changing for the worse, but for others, their baby’s sleep is stabilizing. What happens at 4 months old, is your baby has graduated from the newborn stage and they are officially in baby stage. This also comes with a permanent change to their sleep. Instead of only having 2 stages of sleep (REM & Non-REM), they now have 4 stages.
4 months also signifies the start of “sleep training.” Now that your baby has self-soothing abilities, they can start to sleep in longer stretches - meaning you can start some gentle sleep training methods with them.
So - what sleep schedule is ideal for a 4-month old?
At this age, we want to aim for 1.5-2 hours of awake time in between rest periods. What the awake time range means, is that generally the first awake time of the day is the shortest, and the longest awake time of the range is the last one. Throughout the day, your baby’s awake time will lengthen as their sleep pressure intensifies - leading them into a great position to sleep 12 hours (with 0-2 feedings) at nighttime.
Ideal 3-Nap Schedule for a 4-Month Old:
7am Wakeup
8:30am-10am Nap
11:45am-1:30pm Nap
3:15pm-5pm Nap
7pm Bedtime
Some babies love to nap for a long time during the day, so the 3-nap schedule would be a better guide to follow, however, many babies struggle with short naps. In that case, a 4-nap schedule is appropriate!
Ideal 4-Nap Schedule for a 4-Month Old:
7am Wakeup
8:30am-9:30am Nap
11:15am-12:15pm Nap
2pm-3pm Nap
4:45-5:30pm Nap
7:30pm Bedtime
If your 4-month old is a chronic short napper, then I want you to try practicing crib hour. Not only will this help your baby lengthen those naps, but it’ll also help increase their sleep pressure (their need to sleep).
Despite what type of nap-day your baby has taken, they are capable of sleeping a 12 hour night with 0-2 night feeds. I recommend you start implementing a bedtime routine if you haven’t already, that goes something like this:
Bath
Lotion/Diaper/Jammies/Sleep Sack
Feed
Story/Song
Into the Crib Awake
Baby sleep can feel really unpredictable and confusing, but I want you to know that your baby can learn how to sleep soundly through the night! If you’d like some 1-on-1 help as you navigate your 4-month old’s sleep, I’d love to help. Simply set up a free call with me to see if we’d be a good team; great sleep is near!
