It’s no secret that most people and most babies do well with a routine in place. From sleep training to baby-led weaning and a nap schedule to fit in with wake windows, having a 6 month old daily schedule will help simplify not only your life but also your baby’s.
Knowing how to go about coming up with a realistic schedule for your baby is the hard part.
In this article, we’ll discuss why you should develop a sleep schedule, awake time, feeding schedules, and more. We’ll also walk you through how to devise a plan that works for your family and their specific needs.
Why put a baby on a schedule?
Knowing when your baby should fall asleep will help you to sleep train your little one and ensure that your baby is getting their best shot at restful, restorative sleep when they nap.
Babies sleep a lot more than adults do, but if you wait too long to let your baby fall asleep or put your baby down on a nap schedule that doesn’t fit their needs and wake windows, you may run into issues with development and fussiness.
The same can be said with meals. Feeding your baby on a schedule will help you to avoid all-day snacking, which can lead to a poor relationship with food when they get older.
Coming up with a feeding schedule that agrees with sleep schedules can also help to ensure that you aren’t putting a tired baby to bed when hungry.
Schedules are good for everyone
Whether it comes to your own errands and workday or a good bedtime routine for your infant, routines and schedules are suitable for everyone.
They help us plan out our day, meet our goals, and keep track of how much we are eating, how much sleep we are getting, and how much downtime we are getting.
Without routine, life can quickly dissolve into chaos, which is stressful and potentially harmful to your child’s health and yours. Sleep training can only be successful if you have a plan that outlines the times your baby eats, sleeps, and plays.
6 month old daily schedule
When it comes to coming up with a schedule for a baby who is six months old, it’s best to marry or meld together a sleep schedule, eating schedule, and awake time schedule that works together around your own schedule.
It may take a sample schedule or a few rough drafts before you get it all together in a way that works for your family, but combining everything into one schedule is much easier to keep up with than having three or more different schedules that conflict.
The following are the individual schedules you should come up with, followed by a sample that you can use to help get you started.
6 month old sleep schedule
A sleep schedule may seem more like a dream than a reality, especially if you’ve never looked into factors like wake windows or sleep training.
You may not really know where to start, and you may even think that at this point, half a year into having had your baby, there’s not much point in scheduling something.
However, understanding these concerns and then coming up with a sleep schedule for your 6-month-old can lead to success and a well-rested, happy, adjusted baby who is developmentally ready to tackle those milestones that help them to learn and grow.
“It will all work itself out” may work for some families. However, it still doesn’t do any favors to your baby, who needs routine and order to thrive, especially during infancy, when they grow, learn, and develop many new skills.
Wake windows for a 6 month old
A wake window is simply how long a person of any age should be awake before napping or going to bed for the night.
Daytime sleep needs to change as your child ages, and making sure that you let baby sleep when it is developmentally necessary will lead to better nighttime sleep, appetite, and sleep habits while napping.
Standard wake windows for six months old are between 2 and 3 hours, with the shortest wake window in the morning.
Whether your child leans more towards two or 3-hour windows is something that you will have to figure out by learning your child’s sleepy cues or how they behave when they start to get tired.
Some cues may include a glazed look in the eyes, less physical movement and activity, and avoiding eye contact. They may be more cuddly and interested in snuggling with you than in independent play.
6 month old sleep regression
The 6-month sleep regression is not fun. Not all babies have a hard time with it or experience it at the same time.
It can strike anywhere from month 3 of life for your infant, and it’s usually accompanied by a growth spurt or a developmental milestone that is being accomplished.
While it means a few weeks of terrible sleep for you and your baby, stick to your six-month-old sleep schedule and training as though nothing has changed.
Nap transition for a six-month-old baby
Most babies make the nap transition at around this age, although some are a little later to the party. This is when your baby drops the third nap and transitions to two naps a day.
Completing the nap transition and doing away with the third nap usually takes a lot of patience, as your child may be fussy in the evening. They may also be exhausted earlier in the evening and ready for bedtime much earlier than usual for several nights before they get into the swing of being awake longer.
Only you can tell if your child is ready for this leap. If you aren’t sure, speak to your child’s pediatrician or doctor for more signs of readiness.
6 month old feeding schedule
A feeding schedule is essential at this age because many babies are starting to transition from exclusively consuming infant formula or breast milk to introducing solid foods.
It should be noted that once your child has started solids, they will need less formula or breastmilk during the day. The more solids they eat, the less formula they eat, but they will still need either breastmilk or formula until they reach the age of 12 months.
Creating a schedule for a 6 month old
Your child’s schedule may not look the same as a baby of the same age. And as your baby transitions from three naps a day to two, you’ll have to adjust the schedule again.
Remember that you are starting to see longer wake windows at this point, and how many naps your child will need may change, but make sure that the first nap of the day and the last nap of the day are suited to both your and your family’s needs to avoid multiple night wakings and to eat. The rest of the schedule should fall into place fairly quickly.
The following is a sample of what a 6-month-old baby’s day may look like. If your baby does not yet sleep through the night, it will soon.
6:30 am: Baby wakes
6:40 am: Morning feed (bottle or breast)
7:30 am: Food (if on solids)
8:45 am to 10:00 am: First nap (longest nap of daytime sleep)
10:05 am: Bottle or breast
11:00 am: Solids
12:30 pm to 1:30 pm: Second nap
1:35 pm: Bottle or breast
4:00 pm to 4:45 pm: Nap 3 (if still taking three naps a day)
4:45 pm: Bottle or breast
7:15 pm: Bottle or breast
7:45 pm: Bedtime routine and bedtime
If you need to change the times by half an hour or even more, feel free to do so. The above sample is meant to be used as a sleep guide based on appropriate windows of awake time. Also, if you have transitioned down to two naps, you can customize your schedule to do away with it.
Schedule at six months
Letting your baby sleep whenever they want may seem natural, but it can throw the entire day off and prevent your baby from solid naps that are important to their development and health.
There may be some separation anxiety at nap times, but this will improve with time.
Your six-month-old baby will benefit if the entire time each day is planned and accounted for.
From naps to total sleep each night, introducing order and routine at this age is what is best for everyone in the family. Good luck!