Wake windows at 5 months

A sample day at 5 months

Here is what the planner gives a 5 month old who wakes at 7:00 am, on a day without surprises. First the usual 3-nap day:

Wake 7:00 am · Nap 1 9:00–10:15 am · Nap 2 12:25–1:40 pm · Nap 3 3:55–4:35 pm · Bedtime 7:00 pm

Two real naps, each over an hour, and a short third one in the late afternoon. Notice how each window is a little longer than the one before: 2 hours in the morning, nearly 2½ before bed. The 4-nap day is still there for a rough day early in the month, when the morning naps come out short:

Wake 7:00 am · Nap 1 8:35–9:35 am · Nap 2 11:20 am–12:20 pm · Nap 3 2:10–2:55 pm · Nap 4 4:45–5:15 pm · Bedtime 7:10 pm

A few days into month 5, the planner stops offering the fourth nap: by then the windows are long enough that three naps fill the day. In the planner above, tap “Fell asleep” and “Woke up” as the day goes and it re-plans the rest of it.

What changes at 5 months

Three naps become the rule. The move from 4 naps to 3 usually happens between 3½ and 5 months, and by the end of month 5 most babies have made it. The day gets a shape you can plan around: a morning nap about 2 hours after waking, a midday nap that is often the longest, and a short late-afternoon catnap. If your baby still needs 4 naps on most days, that is fine for a while; the windows will tell you when the fourth one stops fitting, because it starts landing after 5 pm and pushing bedtime late.

The third nap is a bridge, not a real nap. Its job is to get your baby from mid-afternoon to bedtime without being overtired. Thirty to forty-five minutes is plenty, in the crib, the stroller or a carrier. If it runs long, gently wake your baby after about 45 minutes so bedtime doesn't slide. If it is refused, don't fight it for an hour: move bedtime earlier instead.

Early waking shows up. A lot of 5 month olds start the day at 5 am. The usual suspects are things you can adjust: light coming in at dawn, a last wake window that is too short or too long, or a long late nap that eats into night sleep. Keep the room dark, keep the third nap short, and treat anything before about 6 am as night: a quick feed if needed, lights off, back to bed. Bring bedtime earlier rather than later if the evenings fall apart; an overtired baby often wakes earlier, not later.

Naps begin to lengthen. Many babies start linking two sleep cycles somewhere between 5 and 7 months, and the first nap of the day often gets there first. You may see the morning nap stretch to an hour or more on some days and not on others. That's progress in progress; the planner adjusts the next window to whatever nap you actually got.

Rolling both ways. Many babies roll from back to tummy and back again around this age. Keep putting your baby down on their back in an empty crib; the AAP says that once a baby can roll both ways on their own, you don't need to turn them back if they roll during sleep. If you were still swaddling, now is the time to stop.

Solids can wait a little. The AAP and WHO recommend starting solid food at about 6 months, when your baby shows the signs of readiness. Starting early isn't a sleep fix: night waking at this age is about sleep cycles and habits more than hunger.

Sleepy cues at 5 months, and when they disagree with the clock

• Early cues: staring off, turning away from toys, quieter play, losing interest in rolling and reaching.
• Late cues: rubbing the eyes, pulling the ears, yawning, grumbling that a change of scene doesn't fix.
• Overtired: crying hard, arching, or a burst of giggly energy late in a window.

At 5 months, the wake window sets the plan and the cues fine-tune it. A baby who is more alert than ever can hide tiredness well, so start the wind-down (dim the room, a song, a sleep sack) 10 minutes before the planned nap even if you don't see cues yet.

Born early?

Plan by adjusted age: a baby born 6 weeks early who is 5 months old today sleeps more like a 3½ month old, often still on 4 naps. The planner does the math if you tap “Born more than 3 weeks early?”; here is how adjusted age works.

Frequently asked questions

All ages: wake windows by age · the full nap schedule planner, newborn to 3 years.