8 months old sleep schedule

Updated 2026-08-22 · Source: AASM (AAP-endorsed) · Free · No sign-up

TOTAL SLEEP PER 24 HOURS

12–16 hours

Published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and endorsed by the AAP, including naps. This is the part of any sleep schedule that is actually guidance.

AASMAAP-endorsed

Convention, not guidance. The nap count and wake windows below are not published by any medical body. Which parts of a sleep schedule are actually published →

A sample day at 8 months

Built from a 7:00am wake-up. Change the wake time in the tool to shift the whole day.

7:00am

Wake for the day — your input

9:53am – 11:08am

Nap 1 — 2h 53m awake, then about 1h 15m asleep

2:01pm – 3:16pm

Nap 2 — 2h 53m awake, then about 1h 15m asleep

6:09pm

Bedtime — 2h 53m after the last nap ended

Each nap starts one wake window (2h 53m) after the last sleep ended; bedtime is one more after the final nap. Nap length is assumed at about 1h 15m.

Build this from your own baby's wake time →

What is typical at 8 months

Two naps is the common pattern by now. Crawling and pulling to stand often coincide with a patch of disrupted sleep.

Naps at this age: 2. Awake between sleeps: 2h 30m to 3h 15m. Longest night stretch: 8–11 hours at a time.

What most babies are doing by 9 months

The CDC does not publish a checkpoint at 8 months — its checkpoints are 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 months. Your baby has passed the 6-month checkpoint and is working toward the 9-month one. These are the 9-month milestones, which is what most babies are growing into now.

Social and emotional

Is shy, clingy, or fearful around strangers
Shows several facial expressions
Looks when you call their name
Smiles or laughs during peekaboo

Language

Makes different sounds like "mamama" and "bababa"
Lifts arms up to be picked up

Learning and problem-solving

Looks for objects when dropped out of sight
Bangs two things together

Movement

Gets to a sitting position by self
Moves things from one hand to the other
Sits without support

The CDC does not link these milestones to sleep, and neither do we. They are here because much of what changes about sleep at a given age is really what is changing about the baby. Source: CDC, Learn the Signs. Act Early.

Safe sleep, source conflicts and what this is not — the AAP safe-sleep rules, where the AASM and the National Sleep Foundation disagree, and why this is not a sleep-training method: read the full guidance notes. General guidance, not medical advice.

↥ Try another age → Browse all ages →

FAQ

How much should a 8 months old sleep?

12–16 hours per 24 hours including naps, per the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, endorsed by the AAP.

How many naps at 8 months?

2 is the conventional range at this age. No medical body publishes nap counts — this is convention, and healthy babies fall outside it.

What are wake windows at 8 months?

Conventionally 2h 30m to 3h 15m awake between sleeps. Wake windows are not published guidance from any medical body, whatever a schedule page implies.