Infant sleep routine: a short, timed bedtime routine for babies 4–12 months

Sample routines for a 6 month old and a 10 month old

Bedtime routine for a 6 month old (bath night)

Waking at 6:30 am, with naps that add up to about three hours. A bath is not needed every night, so this is the longer version; on other nights drop the first row and everything moves ten minutes later.

Wake-up 6:30 am · naps 3 h · night about 11 h · built with the tool above

Bedtime routine for a 10 month old

Waking at 7:00 am, with naps of about two and a half hours in total. Older babies often take less daytime sleep, so more of the 12 to 16 hours has to come at night and lights-out lands earlier relative to the morning.

Wake-up 7:00 am · naps 2.5 h · night about 11 h 30 min · built with the tool above

Why a short, same-every-night routine helps babies

Babies do not have regular sleep cycles until about 4 months of age, according to the AAP, which is why this page starts there and the newborn months are left out. From that point a predictable evening gives a baby cues that night is coming: the same dim room, the same voice, the same order.

The clearest test of that idea is the Mindell trial. Its infant arm took 206 babies aged 7 to 18 months. For two weeks their mothers ran a bath, a massage and quiet time such as cuddling or a lullaby, then lights out within 30 minutes of the bath ending. Compared with families who kept their usual evenings, the babies on the routine took less time to fall asleep and woke less in the night, by the mothers' reports. The study was paid for by the maker of the bath and massage products used, and it measured sleep by questionnaire, so treat it as encouraging rather than final.

Notice how short it was. Half an hour from the end of the bath to lights out is roughly the default on this page without the bath, and the builder keeps a baby's routine to the steps that fit that window.

Feeding, drowsy but awake, and night wakings

Feed before teeth, and not in the crib. The last feed sits early in the chart so it can be followed by wiping the gums or brushing the first teeth; the AAP advises a smear of fluoride toothpaste the size of a grain of rice for children under 3 and says the toothbrush should be the last thing to touch the teeth before bed. MedlinePlus suggests giving the last feed shortly before bedtime and never putting a baby to bed with a bottle, which it links to baby bottle tooth decay.

Down drowsy, not asleep. The AAP's advice is to put babies to bed when they are drowsy rather than waiting until they are asleep, and it notes that babies held or rocked all the way to sleep may struggle to settle again when they wake in the night. That is why the last row on the chart is the crib, not the song.

Keep night feeds dull. For the wakings in between, the AAP suggests not stimulating or waking babies when you feed or change them at night, and says it is normal for a 6 month old to wake and resettle after a few minutes. The routine is for the start of the night; the dark, quiet feeds are what keep the rest of it night.

Use the clock as a range. The 12 to 16 hours are per 24 hours and include naps. The builder takes your nap total off before it sets lights-out, so a day with short naps moves bedtime earlier. The infant sleep needs page has the survey data behind the range. For your own nights, the bedtime calculator works back from your alarm, the white noise player can cover a loud house for you, and two weeks in the sleep diary show whether lights-out is sticking.

Questions parents ask about infant sleep routines

What is a good bedtime routine for a 6 month old?

A short, same-order evening: diaper and pajamas, the last feed, gums or teeth, a board book, one song, then into the crib drowsy and on the back. Waking at 6:30 am with about 3 hours of naps, the builder puts lights-out at 7:15 pm.

What time should a 10 month old go to bed?

Count back from the wake-up. With a 7:00 am wake-up and about two and a half hours of naps, the middle of the 12–16 hour range puts lights-out at 7:15 pm. Fewer naps means earlier.

How long should an infant bedtime routine be?

About 20 to 30 minutes is enough for most babies; the default here is 27 minutes, or 37 with a bath. In the Mindell trial lights went out within 30 minutes of the bath ending.

Should I feed my baby to sleep?

The AAP advises putting babies down drowsy rather than asleep, and MedlinePlus advises against a bottle in bed. Feeding early in the routine, then teeth, book and song, keeps the feed from being the last step.