How much should a 10-month-old sleep?

Twelve to 15 hours a day: about 10 to 12 hours at night and 2 naps for the rest. Wake windows run 3 to 3.5 hours. At this age most of the sleep has moved into the night, so the naps look short by comparison, and that's expected. Judge the day by the total and by how your baby copes with the afternoon, not by nap length alone.

Can a 10-month-old drop to one nap?

It's very unusual and generally too early. The 2-to-1 transition typically begins somewhere between 13 and 15 months. A 10-month-old refusing the morning or afternoon nap is more often reacting to new motor skills, a bedtime that is slightly off, or a growing sense of independence. Keep offering both naps, and if one is genuinely refused, move bedtime earlier that evening.

Why does my baby wake at 5 am?

Early rising at this age usually traces back to timing: bedtime too late, the afternoon nap ending too late, or a first nap so early that it turns the last stretch of night into a nap. A room that is not fully dark is the other big factor. Adjust one variable, hold it for four or five days, then reassess — early waking is slow to shift.

Why are my baby's naps getting shorter?

Around 10 months daytime sleep genuinely contracts as more of the total moves into the night, so shorter naps aren't automatically a problem. They become one if your baby is falling apart by late afternoon. Check that the wake window before each nap is close to 3 hours, that the room is dark, and that nothing exciting is happening just before the nap starts.

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Baby sleep schedule at 10 months: two naps, early waking and wake windows

At 10 months your baby needs 12 to 15 hours of sleep a day: 10 to 12 at night, plus 2 naps. Wake windows have widened again to 3 to 3.5 hours, so the morning carries most of three hours before the first nap and the stretch from the afternoon nap to bedtime is longer still.

Two naps is firmly the right number at this age, even when your baby starts skipping one. Nap refusal is common at 10 months and is usually about new motor skills and a bit of will, not about needing less daytime sleep. The structure that works is the one you keep offering.

12–15 h

Total sleep / 24 h

10–12 h

Night sleep

Naps per day

3 h–3½ h

Wake window

Cruising along the furniture, pulling up in the crib and the first tentative steps all sit in this window, and babies practice at the boundaries of sleep. Give as much daytime floor time as you can, especially the getting-down half of standing up, so it's less novel by bedtime. A baby who has spent the day moving usually settles better than one who has spent it in a stroller.

Early waking — up for the day at 5 am — is the other classic 10-month complaint. The usual causes are a bedtime that is too late, an afternoon nap that ends too late, a room that is not dark enough, or a first nap offered so early that it acts as an extension of the night. Change one thing at a time and give it four or five days, because early rising responds slowly.

A sample day

This sample 10-month day runs on 2 naps and wake windows of 3 to 3.5 hours. Read it as one plausible day rather than a target: the shape — a mid-morning nap, an early-afternoon nap, then bedtime — matters more than the exact minutes.

Time	What happens
7:00	Wake-up and first feed
9:45	Nap 1 · approx. 75 min
14:15	Nap 2 · approx. 90 min
19:15	Bedtime routine and lights out

A sample day to give you a rough idea — every baby is different. Adjust the times to your child's sleep cues, and talk to your pediatrician about anything that worries you.

Does this 10 months schedule match your day?

Lulla times the naps and tells you when the wake window is closing, so you do not have to keep count in your head.

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Tips for this age

Resist dropping to one nap now; 10-month-olds who skip a nap are usually going through a phase rather than a transition, and the second nap is worth protecting.
Track wake-up times in Lulla for a week, because a 5 am start that is consistent points at the schedule while a scattered one usually points somewhere else.
Make the room properly dark, including in summer; light at 5 am will wake a 10-month-old who would otherwise have gone back to sleep.
Give plenty of floor time for pulling up and getting back down, so the crib is not the only place the skill gets practiced — and keep putting your baby down on their back in an empty crib until 12 months.
If your baby snores most nights, sleeps with their mouth open or seems to pause while breathing, mention it to your pediatrician.

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Common questions

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Sources

The figures on this page follow the guidance of these organizations. This information is educational and does not replace advice from your pediatrician.