Baby sleep schedule at 8 months: the 8-month regression, naps and nights
Lulla TeamPublished Updated
At 8 months your baby needs 12 to 15 hours of sleep a day: 10 to 12 hours at night and 2 naps covering the rest. The nap count is settled now, and wake windows have widened to 2.5 to 3.5 hours — long enough that a badly timed nap can throw the whole afternoon.
On paper the structure has never been simpler. In practice, 8 months is when many families hit the 8 to 10 month regression: more night waking, shorter naps, and a baby who stands up in the crib at midnight looking pleased with themselves. The cause isn't the schedule — it's everything your baby has just learned to do.
See the full wake-window table, from newborn to 2 years→How many naps by age — the full table→When your newborn won't sleep: what to check, in order→Sleep regression by age — the full table→
Does this 8 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.
Crawling, pulling to stand and cruising along furniture all tend to land in this window, and new motor skills get rehearsed during sleep. Your baby wakes between cycles, finds themselves able to sit or stand, and does it. Practicing the skill during the day — especially getting back down from standing — is what shortens the phase. Keep night responses brief, dim and boring so there's nothing worth staying awake for.
Separation anxiety usually starts around now too, as your baby works out that you continue to exist when you leave the room. Bedtime can suddenly become a protest even in a baby who was fine last month. Peekaboo and short, cheerful departures during the day help, and so does a goodnight that is warm, unhurried and always the same. This is developmental progress, not a step backward, and it eases with time.
A sample day
Below is a settled 2-nap day at 8 months, with wake windows of 2.5 to 3.5 hours. It is a picture of one possible day, not a prescription — during a regression week the times will wander, and the fix is usually an earlier bedtime rather than a rebuilt schedule.
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 7:00 | Wake-up and first feed |
| 9:30 | Nap 1 · approx. 75 min |
| 14:00 | Nap 2 · approx. 90 min |
| 19:00 | 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.
Your baby's sleep schedule, by age
One table with everything that matters: total sleep per 24h, wake windows and number of naps, from newborn to age 3. Total sleep follows the National Sleep Foundation recommendations.
Tips for this age
- Make sure the crib mattress is on its lowest setting now that your baby can pull to stand, keep putting your baby down on their back, and keep the crib empty until 12 months.
- Practice lowering down from standing on the floor during the day; babies who can only get up are the ones who cry at 1 am.
- Lulla's history makes it easy to see whether the extra night wakings line up with short naps or with an afternoon window that ran too long.
- Keep goodbyes at bedtime short, warm and identical every night, because long drawn-out exits feed separation anxiety rather than easing it.
- A regression should not come with fever, ear pulling or a baby who cannot be comforted; if it does, call your pediatrician.
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Common questions
Track your baby's sleep with Lulla
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Keep reading
- Baby tiredness signs: how to read them before the crying starts
- How to build the perfect sleep routine for your baby
- How much do newborns sleep? What's normal by age and when it's too much
Sources
Total sleep per 24 hours follows the National Sleep Foundation's ranges (2015); at 3 months we smooth the step between two of them to 13 to 16 hours. Night sleep, wake windows and the number of naps are Lulla's own reference points, not recommendations from the organizations below. This information is educational and does not replace advice from your pediatrician.
- Hirshkowitz M, Whiton K, Albert SM, Alessi C, Bruni O, DonCarlos L, et al. National Sleep Foundation’s sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary. Sleep Health. 2015;1(1):40–43.
- American Academy of Pediatrics — Safe Sleep
- NHS — Helping your baby to sleep
- World Health Organization — Guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep for children under 5 years of age