Which nap routine is best for my baby?

Every family will suit something different and some families prefer to go with the flow rather than follow a routine - do what is best for you!

There are two types of nap schedules i’ll run you through that you could consider using with your little one; short, long, short & medium, medium, short.

Short, long, short

This means your baby would have a shorter morning nap (for a 4 month old baby this is ideally 60 minutes, for an 8 month old this is ideally 30 minutes) followed by a long, restorative sleep at lunch time for approximately 2 - 2.5 hours. 

Up until 6 - 8 months of age, your baby will have a late afternoon nap also (approximately 30 minutes long). This nap gradually reduces in length from 30 minutes, to 20, to 15 before finally dropping off between 6 - 8 months of age. 

This is the nap routine that I suggest for most families. I’ve found from my experience that this suits most babies, leads to a predictable day routine, consolidated chunks of night sleep and provides plenty of flexibility for morning and late afternoon nap to be ‘on the go’ in the pram, car or carrier. Yay for podcast, coffee and walk time! 

You’d ideally just aim to be home for their long sleep of the day, allowing time to catch up on tasks at home, make yourself some lunch and take a moment for yourself. Many of my clients use this time to do an at home workout, do some meal prep or water their rather large collection of indoor plants - whatever floats your boat. 

Medium, medium, short

This means your baby would have two medium length naps (1.5 hours) with a short late afternoon nap (approx 30 minutes long). 

Just like with the short, long, short routine, this late afternoon nap gradually reduces in length from 30 minutes, to 20, to 15 before finally dropping off between 6 - 8 months of age.

This is a nap routine that I suggest for some families if the short, long, short routine hasn’t suited their baby, they would prefer to be home for both naps (as many babies won’t sleep for 1.5 hours in the pram, car or carrier) or if they would prefer not to wake their baby after a short morning sleep. 

The medium, medium, short routine will only be suitable if your baby will sleep for approx 1.5 hours for the morning nap. If they naturally seem to wake after 30 - 45 minutes from the morning nap despite you giving them the opportunity to settle back to sleep, then the medium medium short routine is unlikely to work for your baby. 

If you have tried the medium medium routine with your baby for 7 - 10 days and their lunch sleep is short (under an hour) and not lengthening, I'd suggest swapping to the short, long, short routine for your baby. Having a consolidated nap in the middle part of the day is the priority and will support your baby’s energy levels throughout the afternoon as well as their night sleep.

Here is a link to check out the 4 - 24 month sleep guide which contains all my recommended settling approaches, feed and sleep routines and loads more to help guide you.

You've got this!

Jazz x 

PS Keen for support with your little one's sleep? I'd love to help! You can book in a 15 minute discovery call with me to chat about your little one's sleep and how I can help you.

Are you following me over on IG? Head to @lets__sleep  and follow along for lots of helpful sleep tips and client stories :)


Author - Jasmin Kostov, Founder of Let’s Sleep