Sleep: 4 Months

Usually, 4-month-olds have “settled” into a 3-4 nap/day schedule and often need to go back to sleep after around 2 hours of being awake.

Naps can often be short (20-30 minutes) since infants are maturing into being able to connect several sleep states together and often wake during the transition between states.

4-month-olds are continuing to consolidate their nighttime sleep and can sleep for longer periods when they are not overtired. They usually continue to feed a couple of times during the night.

4-month-olds continue to need an earlier bedtime (usually 6-8 pm). Taking a short nap in the evening instead of having a consolidated stretch of nighttime sleep can cause the baby to become overtired and fussy, with more night-wakings. Helping parents put their babies “down for the night” at the first sign of sleepiness in the evening helps babies feel less tired and fussy, consolidate their sleep, and decrease night wakings.