What’s the best time to nap or feed my baby or toddler? Confused moms want to know how to work out Baby’s schedule.
Babies are so confusing.
You can do the same exact thing two times, and they will react in two totally different ways.
Someone should let them know that this is completely unfair to us hardworking mothers, and that it would really be in their best interest to be a little more predictable. If you want to take the job, let me know.
In the meantime, though, all we have is our super-sleuth mommy skills and boatloads of (contradictory) advice to get us through.
So let’s talk tachlis: how can you figure out when your baby is supposed to be eating and sleeping so that you can all have some sanity in your day?
Scheduling? Scheduled feeds? Scheduled naps? Or demand-feed and nap whenever? And what about solids?
The three most important things to take into account when building your child’s schedule (or non-schedule) are his/her awake time limit, ideal timing for eating and bedtime.
Awake Time Limit
I could write a blog post on this alone, but I’ll cut to the point: your baby or young toddler has a limited amount of time that he or she can handle being awake. Trust me on this one
So how long can your baby stay awake between night and naps or between naps? Well, that’ll depend on two things: your child’s age and how overtired she is.
Below, I’ve included a chart of average awake time limits for well-rested babies. Note that if your baby is chronically overtired (and no, you’re not a bad mom if she is; truth is, most babies are), your child’s awake time limit might be 30-60 minutes less than the average for his age.
| Age | Awake Time Limit |
| 0-6 weeks | 45 min – 1 hour |
| 6-12 weeks | 45 min – 1 hour and 15 min |
| 3-5 months | 1 hour and 15 min – 2.5 hours |
| 5-7 months | 2-3 hours |
| 8-14 months | 3-4.5 hours |
| 14 months – 2.5 years | 4-6 hours |
| 2.5-3.5 years | 5-12 hours |
| 3.5-5 years | 12 hours |
Ideal Timing for Eating
From a sleep perspective, it’s best to keep the time before sleep free of nursing or bottle-feeding.
That means that the ideal daytime routine for newborns is going to be Eat, Play, Sleep over and over again; for infants, it’ll be more of an Eat, Play, Eat, Play, Sleep to make sure they’re eating enough. (So no, I’m not a believer in scheduled feeds; but I also believe that it’s best if you feed your child BEFORE she cries—cue feeding rather than demand feeding.)
I generally find that the best time to serve solids to babies under 12 months is about 1.5 hours after wakeup (which is about 1.25 hours after the baby has finished nursing or finished her bottle.
With toddlers who are no longer nursing, it’s a bit less tricky—just feed 3 regular meals and 1-2 snacks.
Bedtime
Let’s Make Some Schedules!
Alrighty! We’ve got the foundational information behind us—let’s talk about schedules!
But wait – one more thing before we do: I want you to keep in mind that these schedules are “approximate ideal schedules”—that means that a child with healthy sleep hygiene and good independent sleep skills will have a day that looks roughly like the schedules I’ve outlined below.
It’s a lot more about getting the timing right for awake time limit and bedtime, and sticking with a daytime routine rather than getting caught up in “when nap time is” and “when he’s ready to eat”—especially if you have a baby on two naps or more.
Here are some sample approximate ideal schedules:
| Approximate Ideal Schedule – 4 Months | |
| 7:00 am | Wake up for the day! |
| 7:15 am | Nurse/bottle |
| 8:45 am | Nap #1 begins |
| 10:45 am | Wake from nap #1 |
| 11:00 am | Nurse/bottle |
| 11:45 am | Nurse/bottle |
| 12:30 pm | Nap #2 begins |
| 2:00 pm | Wake from nap #2 |
| 2:15 pm | Nurse/bottle |
| 3:00 pm | Nurse/bottle |
| 3:45 pm | Nap #3 begins |
| 5:15 pm | Wake from nap #3 |
| 5:30 pm | Nurse/bottle |
| 6:30 pm | Start bedtime routine |
| 6:50 pm | Nurse/bottle |
| 7:00 pm | In bed |
| (1-2 times at night) | Nurse/bottle |
| Approximate Ideal Schedule – 7 Months | |
| 7:00 am | Wake up for the day! |
| 7:10 am | Nurse/bottle |
| 8:15 am | Breakfast/nurse/bottle |
| 9:15 am | Nap #1 |
| 11:30 am | Wake from nap #1 |
| 11:45 am | Nurse/bottle |
| 1:00 pm | Lunch |
| 2:30 pm | Nap #2 |
| 4:00 pm | Wake from nap #2 |
| 4:15 pm | Nurse/bottle |
| 5:00 pm | Dinner/nurse/bottle |
| 6:30 pm | Nurse/bottle |
| 6:40 pm | Start bedtime routine |
| 7:00 pm | In bed |
| Approximate Ideal Schedule – 15 Months | |
| 7:00 am | Wake up for the day! |
| 8:00 am | Breakfast |
| 10:00 am | Snack |
| 11:30 am | Lunch |
| 12:15 pm | Nap |
| 3:00 pm | Wake from nap |
| 3:30 pm | Snack |
| 5:00 pm | Dinner |
| 6:30 pm | Start bedtime routine |
| 7:00 pm | In bed |
| Approximate Ideal Schedule – 2 years | |
| 7:00 am | Wake up for the day! |
| 8:00 am | Breakfast |
| 10:00 am | Snack |
| 11:30 am | Lunch |
| 12:30 pm | Nap |
| 2:00 pm | Wake from nap |
| 3:30 pm | Snack |
| 5:00 pm | Dinner |
| 6:30 pm | Start bedtime routine |
| 7:00 pm | In bed |
Remember that these schedules are APPROXIMATE. They are by no means l’Moshe misinai, so please adjust as necessary according to your and your family’s needs.
I have excluded nursing from the schedules above 14 months because most of my clients are no longer nursing then. If you are nursing, I recommend following the same guidelines as above when determining when it is ideal to nurse.
For a comprehensive guide on figuring out the ideal schedule for your child, download my guide on the Five Essential Habits for a Good Night’s Sleep HERE and check out habit 2.
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