10-Month-Old Sleep Schedule: Naps & Wake Windows

The best 10-month-old sleep schedule?

Every baby is different, of course, but you’re looking at around 14 hours of sleep per day (including a couple of naps).

Being the mama of a 10-month-old baby can be a lot of fun as you watch your little one become ever more curious about the world around them.

But it can also be pretty exhausting at times.

And that’s why a good 10-month-old sleep schedule can be helpful ‒ to give you both a chance to recharge your batteries.

Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach here.

While we’ll suggest some approximate timings for a good sleep schedule below, you shouldn’t worry if you need to tweak them to suit your baby.

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What does a 10-month-old sleep schedule look like?

As a general rule, a typical 10-month-old sleep schedule looks like this:

• Morning wake up
  
• Eating, playing, and whatever else a 10-month-old can get up to in their first wake window
  
• Morning nap
  
• Another wake window
  
• Afternoon nap (the days of three naps are usually behind you now)
  
• Final wake window
  
• Bedtime

What is the sleeping pattern of 10-month-old baby?

A typical sleeping pattern of a 10-month-old usually involves a morning nap, an afternoon nap, then a longer overnight sleep in the evening.

By 10 months old, your baby will likely have a similar sleep pattern to an adult ‒ although this is mainly for their night-time sleep.

They’ll likely be experiencing REM stages of sleep quicker than most adults, as opposed to NREM sleep.

NREM (which is Non-Rapid Eye Movement) is the early stages of sleep, when our brains slow down and quiet down.

REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is when our brains come alive and we dream.

So baby’s well and may even be dreaming now, although we aren’t completely sure about when babies start to dream.

Some argue dreaming doesn’t come into play until your child begins to develop more of an imagination around the age of 2.

How much should a 10-month-old sleep?

To be happy and well-rested, a 10-month-old baby typically needs about 14 hours of sleep in total per day.

That’s 10 to 12 hours at night and 2 to 3 hours during the daylight hours, spread out over two naps.

If you feel that your baby seems to need less sleep than the average, that’s okay, but it’s still important that they get at least 10 hours of sleep at night.

Why is my 10-month-old sleeping so much?

If your 10-month-old is sleeping more than usual, it’s likely to be a growth spurt ‒ after all, baby’s got lots of growing to do!

But if they’re fatigued during their wake windows, too, there could be another cause, so it might be worth checking in with your doctor, just in case.

How many naps should a 10-month-old take?

It’s normal for a 10-month-old nap schedule to include 2 naps per day, but if your baby has yet to consolidate their naps, they may need a short cat nap at the end of the day to get through until bedtime without becoming overtired.

If your baby is consolidating their naps, each nap will last around 1 to 1.5 hours, and you’ll leave 2 to 3.75 hours of awake time between naps.

The first nap will usually be about 2-3 hours after your baby has woken up in the morning.

So, say they’ve greeted the day between 6:30-7:30 am, their first nap would start at 9:30 am and last until 10:30 to 11 am.

If we imagine your baby has woken up from their morning nap at 10:30 am and then you have 3.5 hours of awake time, the afternoon nap would start at 2 pm.

And then they’ll be waking up raring to go again at 3 to 3:30 pm.

If you’ve got a baby who enjoys slightly longer naps than the usual 1 to 1.5 hours, that’s not necessarily a problem.

They may balance out their daytime sleep needs by sleeping less overnight, for example, 10-11 hours, as opposed to 12 hours.

Is 10 months too early to drop a nap?

It depends ‒ if you’re dropping from 3 to 2 naps, 10 months old is pretty normal for that, or a bit earlier.

But if you’re dropping to 1 nap during the day, 10 months old may be a little too early for that.

Most babies aren’t ready for days with one nap until they’re over a year old.

When should last nap end for a 10-month-old?

As a very general suggestion, most 10-month-old babies’ final naps should end at about 4-5 pm.

This is so they’re awake long enough (about 3-4 hours) before their evening bedtime.

Whenever you want to put your 10-month-old down for their overnight sleep, plan to have their last nap finished by 3-4 hours before that time.

So if you want to have your 10-month-old’s evening bedtime at 7 pm, then their last nap should end by about 3-4 pm.

What is the wake window for a 10-month-old?

10-month-old wake windows can vary, but tend to be between 2 to 4 hours long.

You’ll probably find that it works well to make the first awake time of the day the shortest, and then the windows of wakefulness will lengthen slightly as you go through the day.

This also helps to build up more sleep pressure at bedtime to hopefully get a more consolidated initial stretch of sleep.

But you’ll know your baby best, so work with their sleep patterns and your schedule.

What time should a 10-month-old go to bed?

The best bedtime for 10-month-old babies is a time that will make sure they get at least 10-12 hours of sleep at night.

To work this out, simply think about the time that your baby wakes up in the morning and count forward 12 to 14 hours.

For example, if your baby wakes up at 6:30 am, their ideal bedtime will probably be between 6:30 and 8:30 pm.

Ideally, it’s still best to follow your baby’s unique wake windows at this age to determine their bedtime. If their bedtime is starting to fall later than you’d like, you can experiment with capping (shortening) naps to help hit your ideal bedtime.

How many times does a 10-month-old wake up at night?

A few 10-month-old babies can sleep for 11 to 12 hours through the night without needing any help from you.

Many babies will still be waking up at night at this age, though.

But it’s hard to put a number on how many times.

It might be once for an early morning feed, if that’s needed to help them sleep through the rest of the night.

Or it could be multiple times, especially if they’re going through a 10-month developmental progression (sleep regression).

Is there a sleep regression at 10 months?

Is there a 10-month sleep regression? Well, it’s not technically a “regression”, as such.

There are a ton of things going on development-wise from 8-10 months and any time your baby is learning a new physical skill or going through a language progression, it’s usually going to affect their sleep.

There is often a huge bout of separation anxiety that spikes up again around this age too, leading to more sleep struggles, especially independent sleep.

At 10 months, that could be crawling or pulling themselves up onto furniture, for example.

All that excitement can mean that your baby is restless when it comes to naptime or bedtime.

They want to be spending time practicing and enjoying their new abilities, not wasting time with boring old sleep!

But there are some things you can do to help them settle down and get some rest (so you can get some, too).

Here are our tips:

• Stick with the morning nap. Your baby might feel that morning naps are so last month, and they’d much rather have extra playtime, but try to stay consistent with offering the nap and even supporting them a bit more than you usually would to achieve that nap. Offering a contact nap or a nap on the go can be helpful so you aren’t stuck in a dark room for hours trying to achieve a nap.
  
• Keep an eye on nap totals. Really long naps (especially in the later part of the day) can lead to your baby being less tired at night and struggling to fall asleep.
  
• Make the crib a safe place. Spend a good amount of time in the crib during the day, playing with them and having a good time. Turn on some music, have a dance party, turn the lights on and off, and play peekaboo. We want them to release endorphins in the sleep space to begin to associate it with a safe place to be. This is especially helpful during bouts of separation anxiety. Then, when it comes to nighttime, the crib will be a familiar place for them ‒ somewhere they can feel safe and secure.
  
• Fill awake time with fun. If your baby’s enthusiasm for practicing a new skill is keeping them up at night, aim to give them lots of practice opportunities in the daytime (check out our fun activities for 10-month-old babies). This may help them feel less restless during the night.
  
• Perfect the bedtime routine. With 10 months of parenting under your belt, you’re probably a pro at the bedtime routine already. Building up to bedtime in a predictable and relaxing way (bath, book, cuddles) can really help your baby settle.

How long does 10-month sleep regression last?

If you’re in the throes of a 10-month sleep regression, we feel you.

But the good news is that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

The not-so-good news is that most sleep “regressions” tend to last anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks, depending on what your babe is working developmentally.

Thinking of you, mama.

How often does a 10-month-old wake up at night?

Oof. That’s a tough one.

Honestly, it depends on the baby.

Some babies take to sleeping through the night easily, and others not so much.

Why does my 10-month-old keep waking up at night?

If your 10-month-old is waking up during the night, there could be a few reasons why:

• They’ve hit lots of developmental milestones recently, and their mind is busy processing them all, keeping them up (we’ve all been there!).
  
• They may be over- or even under-tired. Figuring out your baby’s unique sleep needs is a huge component of how they sleep overnight. If their wake windows are too long or too short or their daytime sleep totals are too high or too low, that can lead to disrupted nighttime sleep.
  
• They might have a cold or another illness ‒ it’s hard to sleep when your nose is stuffed up or you have a tickly cough.
  
• They’ve had a busy day. If you’ve been traveling, meeting new people, or generally doing more than usual, baby’s busy mind could keep them up at night.
  
• Separation anxiety could be the cause ‒ it’s around this time that anxiety over not seeing you there could make baby’s brain more alert when they do wake up.
  
• They’re too hot or too cold. Dressing baby appropriately for the temperature in their room is fundamental for their safety and comfort.
  
• They’ve recently switched to a crib. If you’ve moved baby from one room to another, or from a bassinet to a crib, the change in scenery could keep them up.

If your baby has consistently been waking frequently for months (consistently every hour or less), this may be worth investigating further.

Hourly wake-ups can be a sign of low iron which can lead to very restless sleep.

Another culprit to watch for is mouth breathing or snoring, both are red flags and should be discussed with your doctor or an ENT.

Should my 10-month-old be sleeping through the night?

We’re not keen on “shoulds” here, it really depends on the baby.

Some babies may be sleeping through the night without a feed, others may still need 1-2 nighttime feeds.

If your little one isn’t (and you want them to), there are things you can to do help them know when they should sleep, like a bedtime routine and a daytime sleep schedule to ‘stick’ to.

While baby’s sleep patterns at 10 months old might be less exhausting than when they were a newborn, having a regimented 10-month-old sleep schedule isn’t always the case.

Why not ask the other mamas on Peanut for their top sleep tips?

Or even a baby sleep expert?

Wishing you and your baby a peaceful night.

😴 Read next: What’s the Best 11-Month-Old Sleep Schedule?