The Ideal 7 Month Old Nap Schedule
In this article, I’ll share a sample 7 month old nap schedule, tips for implementing the nap schedule, and some developmental milestones that may be impacting your baby’s sleep at 7 months old. As a pediatric sleep consultant and also a mom of four, I’ll share what has worked great for me personally and also the schedule and tips I use with my clients.
7 month old nap schedule
baby development at 7 months old
It’s important to understand a few of the key developmental milestones that baby is going through around this time before we jump right into sleep schedules (don’t worry, we’ll get there!). These developmental milestones are significant, and they can definitely impact your baby’s sleep. Here are three typical milestones seen around 7 months of age:
Gross Motor Skills Advancement - there is a LOT of motor development going on around 7 months old! Many 7 month olds have mastered rolling both ways, sitting unassisted, and may even be starting to attempt crawling. They can reach with one hand and transfer objects from hand to hand. Gross motor development can impact sleep when babies want to try out all of their new skills non-stop—including when they’re supposed to be sleeping!
Visual Milestones - there is also significant development in baby’s vision around 7 months old. They develop full color vision instead of the partial color vision they’ve had to this point. Additionally, their longer distance vision matures and improves. Their ability to “track” moving objects improves as well.
Language Advancement - around 7 months, baby can usually respond to their own name and can distinguish a parent’s emotions based on their tone of voice (all the more reason to have a solid plan and nap schedule to help you keep your cool). Also, 7 month olds become frequent participants in two-way communication; if they hear a sound, they will often respond by making a sound back. They babble, usually in chains of consonants.
Of course, these milestones vary for individual babies, but all are common around this age. And all can have an impact on sleep! Your little explorer is learning and developing very quickly, and it’s important to know that these developmental milestones can cause disruption in sleep—even for babies who have been great sleepers to this point.
7 month old baby sleeping
Typical baby sleep needs at 7 months old
While every individual baby is different, it’s often helpful to know what you can likely expect for a 7 month old baby based on their age and development.
Most 7 month old babies need about 14-14.5 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period, which includes both overnight sleep and naps.
Most 7 month old babies have a maximum wake time (also sometimes called a “wake window”) of about 2 hours and 30 minutes before they will become fussy and overtired. The maximum wake time is measured from the end of one period of sleep to the start of the next (ex: end of 1st nap to beginning of 2nd).
Most 7 month old babies have either 2 or 3 naps at this age; some may have already dropped from 3 naps down to 2, while others still have 3 naps and will drop down to 2 in the coming months
7 month old nap schedule
Here is what a typical daily schedule, including naps, may look like for a 7 month old baby. Keep in mind that the schedule can vary depending on the family’s schedule (ex: preferred morning wake time) and rhythms. Feel free to adjust the specific times of this schedule to meet your needs, and be sure to take a look at the tips below to help you and baby have a great sleep experience at 7 months old.
7:00am - morning wake up
9:30am - nap #1 - morning nap (1.5 hrs - 2 hrs)
2:00pm - nap #2 - afternoon nap (~1 hour)
4:30pm - nap #3 - catnap (~30 minutes)
7:30pm - bed time
tips for implementing your 7 month old nap schedule
To customize this nap schedule for your baby and family, I recommend deciding on what time you want to start your (baby’s!) day. You can then build the rest of the schedule based on the preferred morning wake time. The example above uses 7am, however, you can set this to whatever works best for your family.
If your 7 month old is having a 3rd nap each day, the catnap in the example above, you will want to be sure the timing of nap #3 is not too late in the day, even if this means waking baby up from their nap. If nap #3 gets too close to bedtime (i.e. closer than the 2.5 hour recommended wake window), baby may have trouble falling asleep at bedtime.
It’s great to start with a target 7 month old nap schedule, but watching for your baby’s tired cues can really help you time the naps perfectly for when your baby is most ready for sleep. Read our full article on learning to understand baby’s cues here.
If you haven’t done so yet, 7 months old is a great time to implement a bedtime routine. From a developmental perspective, 7 month old babies are able to recognize patterns and will definitely benefit from the consistency and familiarity. This can eventually become a positive sleep association to a great nap or night of sleep.
I wish you and your 7 month old baby all the sweetest dreams as you implement your nap schedule!