Nap schedule maker

Enter your baby’s age and when they woke up. You get a simple plan for naps and bedtime to try, then adjust.

How the plan is made

Each wake window grows a little through the day, from the short end of the range for the age in the morning to the long end before bed. Naps use a typical length for the age, and times are rounded to five minutes.

Real days vary. If your baby fights a nap, move it 15 minutes later or earlier and keep the change for a few days before judging. Short naps are common in the first months.

When to talk to your paediatrician

Ask your paediatrician if your baby is unusually hard to wake, sleeps far more or less than the normal spread, snores or pauses in breathing, or if you’re worried.

Sources

1. Galland BC, Taylor BJ, Elder DE, Herbison P. Normal sleep patterns in infants and children: a systematic review of observational studies. Sleep Med Rev 2012;16:213-222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2011.06.001
2. Staton S, Rankin PS, Harding M, et al. Many naps, one nap, none: a systematic review and meta-analysis of napping patterns in children 0-12 years. Sleep Med Rev 2020;50:101247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2019.101247

More sleep guides

• Wake window calculator
• Safe sleep: the essentials
• Sleeping through the night: what’s normal
• The 4-month sleep regression: what’s actually known
• Wake windows: what the research actually says
• Is white noise safe for babies?
• When to stop swaddling
• Room temperature and what to wear
• Contact naps: what’s safe and what’s known
• Dream feeds: do they work?
• Lullabies and singing: what the research shows