Get an idea for a feeding and sleeping schedule for your 2-month old. This sample schedule works well whether you’re following Babywise or not and is developmentally appropriate for a 2-month old.
I’ve shared before how I have a love/hate relationship with Babywise.
I enjoyed learning about some of the concepts including eat play sleep, the 45-minute intruder, and baby sleep cues.
But the schedules.
I needed more specific schedules.
My book didn’t give any indication as to age-appropriate wake windows, which I now know is a critical component to getting quality naps and longer stretches of night sleep at any age. The time baby should be awake is completely missing from the schedule.
To help you better, download my free sleep calculator to see when naptime and bedtime should be based on your baby’s age. Click here to grab it, it’ll be super helpful.
What is A Typical Schedule for A 2-Month old?
Around 8 weeks old, your baby starts waking up a bit more and becoming more alert. If you’ve been following a babywise newborn schedule, you’ve likely been aiming for an eat play sleep routine (as much as possible with a newborn) and working toward independent sleep habits.
Around 8 weeks old, your baby may still be struggling with their day and night confusion, or if you’ve been using things like darkness and white noise, they may be sorting it out. leading to longer stretches of sleep at night!
At 2 months old, I usually have families extend their baby’s wake time from 45 minutes to 60 minutes. A 2-month old wake window can be up to 60 minutes long!
This is the time in between naps and about how long your baby can stay awake before they start getting overtired and overstimulated.
Some babies are ready to extend to 60 minutes wake windows right around 7 weeks and can start this 2-month schedule just a bit early.
Here’s an example of a 2-month old schedule. This schedule can work whether you’ve been following Babywise/Moms on Call, or something else (or nothing) and is age-appropriate for babies ages 8 to 12 weeks.
If you’d like a printable PDF of this schedule, scroll to the bottom to get one sent to your inbox!
Sample 2-Month Old Sleep Schedule
7:00 am – Wake and nurse or bottle
8:00 am to 10:00 am – Nap
10:00 am – Nurse or bottle
11:00 am to 1:00 pm – Nap
1:00 pm – Nurse or bottle
2:00 to 4:00 pm – Nap
4:00 pm – Nurse or bottle
5:00 pm to 6:00 pm – Nap
6:30 pm – Nurse or bottle and baby’s bedtime routine
7:00 Bedtime
Night feeds as needed.
Eliminate Short Naps with a Predictable Sleep Routine
Take away the stress of figuring out your baby’s sleep needs. With the Baby Sleep Schedule Binder, you’ll get sleeping and feeding schedules that you can implement for every age, even if you currently have no routine in place. Check out the Baby Sleep Schedule Binder here.
How Long Can A 2-Month Old Go Between Feedings?
If your baby is taking full feeds and there are no feeding issues, most 2-month olds can go about 2.5 to 3 hours in between feeds.
With a 60-minute wake window, this leaves about 90 minutes to 2 hours for your 2-month old’s naps. Not all 2-month olds will sleep those long stretches though. Short naps are common at this age and will continue to be until closer to 4 to 6 months.
An ideal 2-month old sleep schedule will include 4 naps and 10 to 12 hours of night sleep, though most babies still need 2 to 3 night feeds at this point.
At 2 months old, many babies will still cluster feed in the evenings during the witching hour as well.
How Long Should A 2-Month Old be Awake?
Right around 2 months old, babies start waking up a bit and can be awake for about 60 minutes total before they’re ready to go back to sleep.
Pay attention to that clock when your baby is awake to avoid an overtired baby. Babies who sleep well during the day typically sleep better at night as sleep begets sleep.
Many babies still need help falling asleep at this point, and you can help soothe them by using your voice, pressure on their chest, and a pacifier.
If you want more schedules, check out my babywise sleep schedules for the first 12 months!
2-Month Sleep Schedule
Your newborn through 6 weeks schedule was all about adapting to life as a new mom, learning your baby’s sleep cues, and working on getting your baby to sleep often. Around 2 months you can start tightening some of your routine up, while still being flexible.
Babies are still super portable at this age and usually nap well on the go, so you don’t have to be a prisoner in your home for naps. You can work toward practicing more naps at home as your baby nears a 3-month schedule or 4-month schedule.
By the time you’re on a 6-month schedule, you’ll have more regular nap times at home in the crib.
If you haven’t already, now is a great time to start having a consistent bedtime routine each night. This can include a feeding, bath, snuggles, and swaddling your baby. Doing the same three to five activities each night before bed can help cue to your baby’s brain that sleep is coming and help prepare them for it.
You’ll also want to check the signs if it’s time to stop swaddling your baby and think about your plan to transition them to a sleep sack.
Naps can be extremely tricky at 2-months old and may not start to lengthen until your baby is closer to 4 to 5 months. If your baby continues to take short naps, you can try saving them using the soothing ladder, offer a contact nap, or just roll with it and adjust your day as needed.
If you haven’t started setting up the foundations of Babywise by 2-months old, it’s not too late! Now is a great time to start helping your baby learn independent sleep. I walk you through the process step-by-step in my Newborn Sleep Course.
I created this course, because I was frustrated with Babywise and other baby sleep books that told me what to do to get my baby to sleep, but not how to actually do it.
In the course, I walk you through the process step-by-step so you feel confident in setting up good sleep habits for your baby!
My goal is to help tired parents get sleep, so the whole family can thrive!
- 10 Reasons Your Baby Hates the Crib (And How to Help Them) - September 26, 2023
- 55 Cute and Creative Ways to Tell Your Husband You’re Pregnant - September 22, 2023
- 4 Tips to Help Your Baby Through the 12-Month Sleep Regression - September 11, 2023
Babywise Newborn Schedule + How to Start A Routine with your Newborn
Friday 21st of May 2021
[…] is still really scattered at this point and continues to be scattered even through implementing a 2-month old schedule and often a 3-month old schedule. Sleep typically doesn’t become more regular closer to when […]