How many hours of sleep does a 5-month-old need?

Twelve to 15 hours in 24, split into 10 to 11 hours at night and 3 daytime naps. Compared with a month ago, more of the total has moved into the night and the naps have consolidated rather than multiplied. Waking once or twice to feed is still common at 5 months. If your baby sits well under the range week after week and seems tired all day, ask your pediatrician.

What does a 3-nap day look like at 5 months?

Typically a morning nap a couple of hours after wake-up, a longer midday nap, and a short late-afternoon nap that keeps your baby from arriving at bedtime overtired. Wake windows of 2 to 2.5 hours sit between them, usually shortest in the morning. The third nap is the flexible one: if it doesn't happen, moving bedtime earlier that evening works better than fighting for it.

Why does my 5-month-old wake every two hours at night?

Most often because the way they fall asleep at bedtime is not available when they surface between sleep cycles. Hunger, a room that is too bright, an overlong last wake window and discomfort are the other usual suspects. None of this requires a particular sleep-training method, and there's no single correct one. Check the simple things first, and speak to your pediatrician if the waking is sudden and paired with other symptoms.

Is my baby waking because of teething?

Sometimes, but it's over-diagnosed. A tooth coming through typically causes drooling, gum rubbing and irritability for a day or two around eruption, not weeks of broken nights. If the waking has gone on longer than that, look at wake windows, nap timing and how your baby falls asleep first. For pain relief, or anything that seems more than mild discomfort, ask your pediatrician rather than reaching for teething gels.

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Baby sleep schedule at 5 months: three naps and longer wake windows

At 5 months your baby needs 12 to 15 hours of sleep a day, with 10 to 11 of those at night and the rest across 3 naps. Wake windows have settled at 2 to 2.5 hours, long enough that the day now has a genuine morning, afternoon and evening rather than a blur of feeds and sleeps.

Three naps is the headline change. After the four-nap sprawl of earlier months, most 5-month-olds consolidate into a morning nap, a midday nap and a short late-afternoon nap that mainly exists to protect bedtime. That structure is what makes the day feel manageable for the first time.

12–15 h

Total sleep / 24 h

10–11 h

Night sleep

Naps per day

2 h–2½ h

Wake window

With the 4-month reorganization behind you, sleep associations become the thing worth paying attention to. Whatever helps your baby fall asleep at bedtime is what they will look for when they surface between cycles at 1 am. That's not a reason to stop rocking or feeding to sleep if it works for your family — it's simply the mechanism behind most night waking at this age, and knowing it makes the pattern less mysterious.

Rolling usually arrives around now, and a baby who rolls onto their front in the night no longer needs to be turned back, provided they got there themselves and can roll both ways. What does not change is how you put them down: on their back, every time, in a crib with nothing loose in it. If your baby is still swaddled, that has to stop before rolling starts.

A sample day

This is one plausible 5-month day, built on 3 naps and wake windows of 2 to 2.5 hours. It's a sketch rather than a rule — the late-afternoon nap in particular is often short, and that's exactly what it is for.

Time	What happens
7:00	Wake-up and first feed
9:00	Nap 1 · approx. 60 min
12:15	Nap 2 · approx. 75 min
15:45	Nap 3 · approx. 30 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 5 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

Aim to have the third nap finished by late afternoon, so it tops your baby up without eating into the last wake window before bedtime.
Keep the room dark for the midday nap, which is usually the one with the most potential to run long.
If your baby now rolls onto their front in sleep, leave them there — but keep putting them down on their back, and keep the crib empty until 12 months.
Teething gets blamed for a lot of night waking, yet a tooth causes discomfort for a day or two rather than weeks, so look at wake windows first.
Lulla's daily view makes it obvious when the third nap has crept too late, which is the usual reason a 5-month-old fights an otherwise reasonable bedtime.

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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.