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Juggling a toddler and a baby requires flexibility—especially during a pandemic. Perhaps your daycare or preschool has modified its services and your toddler is with you more during the day. Or maybe you are working from home, adding more responsibilities to your daily schedule. Throw in the normal developmental changes that come with an infant and toddler, and it may seem like every day is different than the day before. While it’s important to roll with the changes, you always want your little ones to get enough sleep. One way to do that is adjusting the naptime for your baby.

This often means you need to figure out how to coordinate the afternoon nap. Your baby may be ready to sleep, but your toddler is still wide-eyed and eager to play with you. To balance everyone’s needs, start by knowing the recommended nap schedules for your children:

0-5 months old

Number of naps: 4 to 5 

Nap length: Varies

6-8 months old

Number of naps: 3 

Nap length: 30 to 90 minutes each, for a total of 3 to 3.5 hours of sleep

9-10 months old

Number of naps: 2 

Nap length: 30 minutes to 2 hours each, for a total of 3 to 3.5 hours of sleep

11-12 months old

Number of naps: 2

Nap length: 30 minutes to 2 hours each, for a total of 2.5  hours of sleep

13-17 months old

Number of naps: 2 

Nap length: 30 minutes to 2 hours each, for a total of 2.25 to 2.5 hours of sleep

18-23 months old

Number of naps: 1 

Nap length: 2.25 hours

2 years old

Number of naps: 1 

Nap length: 2 hours

3 years old

Number of naps: 1

Nap length: 1.5 hours

4 years old

Number of naps: 1 (it might just be “quiet time”)

Nap length: 45 minutes to 1 hour 

One you know the naps your children need, you can start planning. Because you are more active with your toddler, you may find the baby’s afternoon nap time moves around. Parents may be wondering if they should do a late nap, pushing the baby’s bedtime back, or if they should forego the nap and instead aim for an earlier bedtime. This decision is determined in large part by how much sleep your baby tends to get at night. Here are the recommendations for night sleep for babies younger than 2.

0-5 months old: 8.5 to 11 hours

6-12 months old: 11 hours

13-23 months old: 11.25 hours

Now it’s time for some quick calculations. If your 9-month-old baby gets 3.5 hours of nap during the day, they may sleep 11 hours at night. If bedtime is 6, that means your baby could be waking up at 5 a.m. That means you have a little more flexibility—you can make bedtime a little later, say between 7:30 and 8 p.m., which gives you more wiggle room for fitting in an afternoon nap that works for everyone’s schedule. If you’re not sure how much night sleep your baby gets, keep a sleep log to track the time as well as any sleep patterns that can help you position naps and bedtimes. 

When you know how much sleep your baby needs, you have the necessary information to plan your days and nights. Your kids will sleep better—and you’ll sleep better, too, knowing they’re getting adequate rest to grow and thrive. 

If you still have sleep questions, attend a Sleep Talking Tuesday, a twice a month online q-and-a session that offers free support and insight, find the next one on the calendar or visit Instagram for Sleep Tips or . You’ll also want to check out my Sweet Sleep Group Coaching service. I provide five weeks of virtual coaching along with all the tools you need for successful sleep, including “Loved to Sleep,” my e-book I co-wrote with Andrea Strang. Contact me to learn more about any of my services and how I can help you and your kids get that sweet sleep!