him up around 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. See Good Night, Sleep Tight for more details.
If he’s able to put himself to sleep independently at bedtime and is getting up once at night for a quick businesslike meal and then going right back to sleep, I would leave it alone. He’ll probably outgrow that last feeding soon. If not, you’ll learn how to gently end it at 6 or 7 months in Chapter 5.
Don’t nurse your baby or give him a bottle right before each nap. Feeding him when he’s up and alert, instead of ready to go to bed, helps weaken the food-sleep association and reinforces the message that he can get to sleep and stay asleep without a breast or bottle.
Help lengthen, organize, and improve his naps:
Watch both the clock and his behavior to know when its time to put him down for a nap.
Nap him in his crib for all naps except the last nap.
Naps should be longer then 45 minutes and ideally 90 minutes or longer. If your baby is cat napping, go to him when he wakes up and help comfort him back to sleep. Experiment to see what soothing technique works the best. Be patient and try to resettle him for 20–30 minutes. He may reward you with another 45 minutes of sleep! Slowly phase out your intervention as he gets better at learning to put himself back to sleep.
Typical Feeding and Sleep Routines
Note that these are numbers are averages: Some children need more or less sleep than others, (although variations should not be huge), and not all kids are ready for a nap at the exact same time each day. It’s more important to watch for your child’s sleep cues—eye-rubbing, a lull in activity, fussing, noises she makes that are unique to your child—than it is to watch the clock, so that you can get her to sleep before she gets overtired.
6 TO 8 MONTHS
Average sleep: 10 to 12 hours at night (without needing to eat), 3½ hours during the day (two to three naps). Some babies this age may need one feeding during the night. Your pediatrician can help you figure out what’s best for your child. Many children this age take a small third nap in the afternoon, depending on how long their second nap lasted.
| (Shift earlier if your child wakes between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m.) | |
| 7:00 a.m.–7:30 a.m. | Wake up; diaper change; breakfast (nurse or bottle feed plus solids). |
| 9:00 a.m.–9:30 a.m. | Start the morning nap, 45 minutes minimum to 1½ hours maximum. When baby wakes up, nurse/bottle feed plus solids. |
| 12:30 p.m.–1:30 p.m. | Start the afternoon nap. Baby should be asleep within 2 to 3 hours of waking from his morning nap and sleep for 1½ to 2 hours. Upon awakening, nurse/bottle feed. |
| 3:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. | Optional short third nap depends on previous nap time, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. |
| Window from afternoon nap to bedtime should not exceed 4 hours. | |
| 5:00 p.m.–5:30 p.m. | Nurse/bottle feed plus solids. |
| 6:00 p.m.–6:30 p.m. | Start bath/bedtime preparations, which may include giving a bottle or nursing. |
| 7:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m. | Bedtime. |
9 TO 12 MONTHS
Average sleep for a 9-month-old: 11 hours at night, 3 hours during the day (two naps). Most 9-month-olds on a solid two-nap-a-day schedule are ready to or already have given up their small third nap.
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