Occasional on-the-go naps aren’t a big deal, just try not to make it a habit. On the other hand, too much napping might mean your baby isn’t as tired at night, so consider capping daytime sleep at four hours total per day. But don’t let him sleep too much, either.If he’s zonked during the day, try to offer a little more nap time or an even earlier bedtime. Put your baby to bed early enough so he can get 10 to 12 hours of sleep at night. That can make it harder for them to settle down and could cause them to sleep more fitfully. Overtired babies tend to be both cranky and revved up.
A final feeding, bath and snuggles plus a story or a song all work.
Aim for a series of predictable activities that help your baby wind down and signal that it’s time to sleep. Still, the world around him is an awfully exciting place - so getting him to settle down, doze off and stay asleep isn’t always easy. Your baby needs plenty of rest to feel his best. Your baby might protest for a few nights, but eventually, he’ll get the hang of the new system. Whichever method you choose, consistency is the key to success.
Each is slightly different, but the goal is the same: teaching your baby how to fall asleep with less help from you. There are a few different ways to sleep train your baby, including the cry it out (CIO) method, the Ferber method and the chair method. The reason? Now that your baby has had more time to get used to his current routine - and the middle-of-the-night snacks and snuggles that come with it - he might have a tougher time learning to go without. It just might be a little harder these days. It's perfectly fine to sleep train at the 9-month mark, too. By that age, most babies are developmentally capable of learning how to self-soothe.
Most pediatricians will give you the green light to try sleep training once your baby is between 4 and 6 months old. While it's not necessary to sleep train your baby, many parents find that these methods help their babies develop better sleep habits. But if your little night owl hasn’t quite gotten the message and you’re craving more shuteye, you may want to consider sleep training. Sleep training a 9-month-oldīy 9 months, most babies can snooze through the night without interruption (barring normal hiccups due to teething, illness and yes, sleep regression). In the meantime, continue to follow a consistent sleep routine and don’t introduce any new habits when he wakes in the night - like rocking or playing games.
Once he’s checked the new skill off his list, naps and nighttime sleep should go back to normal. Thankfully, these sleep interruptions don’t tend to last long. And at 9 months, your baby may be working on some seriously awesome accomplishments - like crawling, pulling up or even saying his first word. Why? Sleep regressions tend to strike when your sweet pea is mastering an important developmental milestone, since figuring out a major new skill can be a recipe for restlessness.
And between 8 and 10 months, it’s common for these kinds of sleep disruptions to happen again. Your baby might have had his first sleep regression experience around the 4-month mark.
If your little one is going through a regression, he may have a harder time settling down to sleep or wake up more frequently at night. Sleep regressions are temporary disturbances in a baby’s usual sleep routine. He will likely wake on the early side, take a morning and an afternoon nap (lasting between one and two hours each) and go to sleep early enough to log 10 to 12 hours of shuteye.Īlthough every baby is different, this sample sleep schedule for a 9-month-old can be a helpful reference. The specifics might vary from baby to baby and from family to family, but in general, most 9-month-olds keep a fairly routine sleep schedule. He’ll also take two naps during the day usually. Your little one will likely log 10 to 12 hours of sleep at night, and there’s a good chance it’ll be uninterrupted: At this age, nearly 75 percent of babies sleep through the night. How much should a 9-month-old sleep?īy 9 months, babies typically snooze for around 14 hours each day, though anywhere from 12 to 16 hours is normal. So what’s par for the course, and what can you do when things start to veer off track? Here’s everything you need to know about 9-month-old sleep. However, you may also experience days - or weeks! - when your baby has a harder time settling down or seems to sleep fitfully. His daytime naps may have gotten pretty predictable, and he might be sleeping through the night (at least most of the time).