What does the day of a 6 to 8 month old look like?

This is the age at which there isn't one schedule but two, and your baby sits somewhere between them. That's exactly why the day so often doesn't add up here.

The two rhythms side by side

Three naps, which fits six months better:

Two naps, which fits eight months better:

Bedtime doesn't shift along. That's the fixed point in both.

How you know which one it is

Which daily rhythm fits, you read from your baby and not from the number of months. The transition doesn't happen in one day. In the in-between period no schedule fits completely, and that's the phase in which parents start thinking something is wrong.

The third nap disappears on its own: first it gets shorter, then it doesn't work anymore, then it turns out not to be needed. If you move to two naps too early, the afternoon gets too long and the night falls apart.

Structure first, then sleep coaching

Kyra sets the order explicitly in this module: first a predictable daily schedule, and only then start sleep coaching. A predictable day helps your baby fall asleep more easily, get more out of naps, and not get overtired or overstimulated.

Without that foundation, the coaching itself doesn't work either. See is your baby ready for sleep training.

When the nights fall apart

Look at the day first. Too little daytime sleep doesn't give a better night but a worse one: overtiredness, waking early, waking more often at night, and even shorter naps.

How long your baby can be awake at this age is in wake windows from 6 to 8 months. And around this age, crawling and sitting get going while separation anxiety gets stronger: that's leap 6.