At 9 months, your baby is working through an important stage of development, and their sleep habits often change right along with it. Many families notice a sleep regression around now, one that can turn the days (and the nights) upside down. Suddenly settling is hard work, your little one wants to be close to you constantly, and they wake far more often than they used to.
That is exactly why a daily rhythm that fits your baby matters so much right now. It gives them something steady to hold on to in a stretch where so much else is changing.
Below you will find everything you need to know about sleep at 9 months.
How Much Should a 9-Month-Old Sleep?
At this age, most babies need about 14 hours of sleep within 24 hours. That usually splits into 11 to 12 hours at night and 2 to 3 hours during the day.
How Often Does a 9-Month-Old Wake at Night?
Babies this age can usually make it through the night without a feed (about 9 hours). That said, plenty of moms find that a 9-month-old sleeps longer in the morning when there is one nursing session overnight.
That might be a dream feed late in the evening, when you go to bed yourself (around 10:30 to 11:00 PM), or one in the early hours of the morning (somewhere between 4:00 and 5:00 AM).
How Often Should a 9-Month-Old Sleep?
Most babies at 9 months have already dropped the third nap (or are right in the middle of doing so), which leaves two naps a day. Each one should ideally be at least 1 hour long, adding up to 2 to 3 hours in total.
If your baby is still taking three naps and doing well on them, meaning nighttime sleep is fine too, that is completely okay. But if three naps come with settling problems or a rough night (frequent waking and lying wide awake, or waking far too early in the morning), it may be time to move to 2 naps.
How Long Should a 9-Month-Old Stay Awake?
Most 9-month-olds need 2.5 to 4 hours of awake time between sleeps.
The wake window before the first nap is usually the shortest of the day, generally only 2.5 to 3 hours. The longest one comes at the end of the day, often 3.5 to 4 hours before bedtime.
Occasionally a baby takes two 2-hour naps. In that case the morning wake window may be only 2 hours, and nighttime sleep may come in at 10 to 10.5 hours. That is fine, as long as your little one is happy and settled.
With every nap, keep an eye out for overtiredness, because once a baby is overtired, falling asleep gets noticeably harder.
Sample Schedule for a 9-Month-Old
Wake up and nurse/bottle
7:00 AM
Nap 1 (after about 2.5 hrs awake)
9:30 – 11:00 AM (1.5 hours)
Nap 2 (after about 3¼ hrs awake)
2:15 – 3:45 PM (1.5 hours)
Bedtime routine
7:00 PM
Bedtime (after about 3¾ hrs awake)
7:30 PM
Notes:
Your baby's sleep needs vary from child to child, so this table should be seen as an example. If a nap runs short, it is of course important to adjust the plan accordingly. What matters most is the spacing between sleep times and the overall sleep need.
Many parents find it helps to not nurse the baby to sleep, so that an unwanted sleep association does not form, which your little one then asks for (many times) at night, too.
When Should the Last Nap Be for a 9-Month-Old?
The wake window after the last nap should be a little longer than the others. For a 9-month-old, plan for around 3.5 hours between the end of that nap and bedtime.
When Should a 9-Month-Old Go to Bed?
As a general rule, 9-month-olds go to bed between 7:00 and 8:00 PM. The right bedtime for your baby, though, depends on when they wake in the morning and when the second nap ends. Some babies do best when bedtime stays exactly the same every day. For others, it works better to keep the gap between the end of the second nap and bedtime consistent instead.
What Is the 9-Month Sleep Regression?
Sleep regressions are temporary disruptions to a baby's normal sleep rhythm. You can usually tell your baby is going through one when settling becomes difficult, when they wake more often at night, and when they want to be close to you far more than usual.
(There is a good chance your baby already went through their first regression at around 4 months.)
Now, somewhere between 8 and 10 months, it is just as common for sleep to wobble again. Your baby is making another big developmental leap, and in most cases that shows up in how they sleep.
You will sometimes hear this stretch described as a nap strike, because babies in a regression often refuse naps altogether or start having trouble settling in general. It is frustrating while you are in it, but it is temporary, and the extra closeness your baby asks for is exactly what carries them through. (For more on this stretch, see Baby at 9 months, a difficult phase: 7 practical tips you can use right away.)
Three Sleep Tips for a 9-Month-Old
1. Teething
Teeth pushing through can be genuinely uncomfortable for babies, and that discomfort can have a real effect on their sleep.
Possible signs that point to teething:
Chewing on their hands or on other objects
general restlessness
drooling
eating less than usual
loose stools
a stronger need for physical contact and closeness
fever
A teething ring can help, chilled if your baby likes it that way, as can a cold damp washcloth or a teething gel. If your little one is really in pain, a mild pain reliever is worth asking your pediatrician about.
2. Sleep Associations at Bedtime
Your baby may well have had trouble sleeping before any of this, quite separately from a regression.
Sleep associations are often the reason. Has your little one got used to falling asleep while feeding, or while being rocked? Being carried can become an association in exactly the same way.
These things helped in the beginning, calming your baby down and easing them into sleep. The catch is that your baby gets so used to that one route into sleep that they now ask for it every single time, at bedtime and when they wake in the night.
That is why I have found it so helpful when babies learn to fall asleep lying in their own bed. What matters here is...
Around 9 months, most babies are busy learning something big: crawling, pulling themselves up, cruising along the furniture, maybe even letting go for a second. And a brain that is working that hard on a new skill likes to keep practicing at night. That is why so many parents at this age find their baby sitting up or standing in the crib at 2:00 AM, wide awake and delighted with themselves.
The most useful thing you can do is give them plenty of floor time during the day. Let your baby crawl, pull up, and practice getting back down again, because sitting down and lowering themselves from standing are separate skills that have to be learned on their own. A baby who can get down without help is far less likely to be stuck standing at the crib rail in the middle of the night, calling for you.
And when it does happen, keep it calm and boring. Help them lie back down, stay close, say very little, and let the room stay dark. Your presence is what settles them. The less exciting the middle of the night is, the sooner this stage passes.
With love, Sarah
About the author
Sarah Mann
Mom of seven. Certified Sensitive Sleep Consultant of the ISSC Australia. Founder of Land of Little Dreamers. Writing about attachment-friendly baby sleep for ten years, because it took her years to find her own way.
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