8 Month Old Sleep Schedule

8 Month Old Nap Schedule

Near the beginning of this age range, you may find that you’re still trying to work towards certain sleep, nap, and feeding patterns that apply to 6 month old babies. That’s fine! Every baby will progress at their own pace, depending on their unique preferences and growing bodies. Around 8 months, they’ll probably still be napping for 2-4 hours during the day.

8 Month Old Feeding Schedule

You may have started feeding your baby solid foods a couple of months ago (or perhaps longer). Some babies will want to devour everything you put in front of them, some will be a little picky about the different tastes and textures and some may still not have the hang of it just yet…and that’s totally fine and normal. It’s a learning process. Whichever category your baby falls into, your baby should now be attempting 3 meals a day at 8 months. This may seem futile if your baby is still struggling to move the food to the back of their mouth and swallow, but the mouth is a muscle after all, and practice makes perfect.

Nighttime feeds should be gone at this point. Your baby is capable of lasting through the night without food — what they need more than anything at this age, is a good night’s rest! Early on, your baby should still be taking about 4 milk breast milk or formula feeds a day. Between 12 and 14 months, you may wish to switch your baby to cow milk instead of formula or breastfeeding, though you’re welcome to keep breastfeeding.

8 Month Old Wake Window

At 8 months old, mastering wake windows is key to a harmonious nighttime sleep. Typically, these little explorers thrive on 2-3 hours of awake time between naps, allowing them to engage with the world and tire themselves out just enough for restful sleep. Observing your little one’s sleep cues closely will guide you in adjusting their awake window for setting the best baby sleep schedule.

How Long Should An 8 Month Old Sleep?

At 8 months, your baby will probably still be sleeping around the same amount of time overall as they were at 7 months. In the evenings, you can expect your little one to sleep for 11-12 hours.

As you begin to see an increase in your baby’s gross motor skills, social awareness, language awareness, etc., you’ll notice the importance of a bedtime routine, dependable transitions, and consistency. This helps your baby make sense of the world and get the sleep they need. Though they may not be able to consciously explain or even comprehend why they need to sleep, their mental and physical development leads them in that direction. (Kinda cool right?)

There will probably be some milestones that your baby reaches around this age, so get excited! Learning how to sit or stand may be easy, thanks to their personal gym, aka crib. It is possible that these movements will cause a disruption in sleep, but don’t worry! You just need to be consistent when dealing with the aftermath. Beware, your baby may quickly realize that this is a game — if they sit up, and your response is to rush over and lie them down, they’ll know to continue doing that. Avoid this silly game by showing them how to lie down (instead of just picking them up) and giving them the time and space to figure it out on their own. Lots of practice with these kinds of moments during the day will make this no biggie.

Follow our baby sleep guide below to build a solid foundation for your 8 month old.