5-Month Old Sleep Schedule

If you’re a parent to a 5-month old, you know that when it comes to their sleep schedule, there are a lot of schedule changes you’re likely making. You’re not alone in that! At 5 months old, your baby can self-soothe, they can sleep independently in their crib, and they are also changing drastically.

They may be the short-nap champion, but actually need more awake time. Or they may sleep through the night for a week straight, and then go back to waking 2-3 times a night - leaving you guessing and wondering where you went wrong.

So, then it comes to a 5-month old, what is their ideal sleep schedule?

First off, in the sleep world, we use the word “ideal” a lot. This is because we’re always using the best-case scenario as our goal. But, we know that our babies aren’t robots and we can’t expect them to sleep the exact same from day-to-day - however, having an ‘ideal’ can be really helpful.

I am going to use a 7am-7pm schedule as my guide for the sleep schedule. Most children gravitate towards this schedule naturally anyway as their circadian rhythm matures.

• 7:00am Wakeup

• 8:45am-10am Nap

• 12pm-1pm Nap

• 3:15pm-4:30pm Nap

• 6:30pm Bedtime Routine

• 7:00pm Bedtime

In general, the first wake time of the day is the shortest wake time - with the last wake time of the day being the longest wake time. Babies can handle more wake time as the day goes on, so it’s important to keep a range and not stick to one wake time specifically.

For a 5-month old, I would recommend using a wake time between 1hr 45min and 2hr 30min. Of course, as the day goes on, you will not be using 1hr 45min anymore, instead using the longer wake window. The issue with using the shorter wake time is that you’re going to start dealing with short naps - since your child’s sleep pressure wasn’t high enough (but that’s a topic for another time!!).

As your baby ages, you’ll eventually transition down to a 2-nap schedule (around 7 months old) and your wake time range will increase slightly.

If you have questions about the 5-month old sleep schedule, post them below!