Schedule Creator helps you plan a daily sleep schedule based on when your child tends to wake in the morning, their typical number of daily naps, and their wake windows.
Schedules created with Schedule Creator are static, and need to be updated as your child's needs and wake windows change.
Schedule Creator can be helpful when you want to:
- Plan your day around a set bedtime.
- Share your schedule with other caregivers, such as family members or childcare providers.
- See how the day's naps may be different if your child wakes earlier/later than usual one morning.
Schedule Creator can provide suggested wake windows based on your child's age, or you can set your own wake windows manually. You can try a few things to see what different schedules look like for your child’s age group.
Example schedule from Schedule Creator
Note: If you want to use the exact same wake windows in Schedule Creator and SweetSpot, SweetSpot Manual Mode can be used to set matching default wake window values.
Schedule Creator Considerations
Age and temperament play a significant role in how effectively babies adapt to a sleep schedule. Please consider the following when using the Schedule Creator for your child:
0 - 5 months:
We don't recommend trying to follow a strict sleep schedule during the newborn period.
While Schedule Creator is great for providing you with ideas and examples, we recommend having your baby sleep according to wake windows and sleepy cues. This will help you tell when your baby needs rest during the day and at bedtime.
Under 6 months, a baby's sleep patterns are primarily driven by hunger and the duration of their natural wake windows (also called homeostatic sleep pressure).
Between 3 - 5 months, many babies start to show more predictable patterns, but this can vary quite a bit.
6 - 8 months:
By the time babies turns 6 months old, their circadian rhythm will be more developed. As a result, factors like light exposure and time of day will start to have a greater influence on bedtime and morning wake-up time. Naps will still be affected by wake windows and hunger, and their schedules may not stay consistent for very long.
9+ months:
By 9 months, most infants typically settle into a routine of two naps per day. Sticking to a schedule based on specific times becomes more possible at this point. Between 14-18 months, most babies fully transition to a 1-nap schedule.
Naps and bedtimes will be most successful when they're planned according to age-appropriate wake windows. Doing this, you can typically have greater success planning naps and bedtime at certain times, even if your baby occasionally wakes up earlier than expected or has shorter naps.
To keep your schedule on track as your child grows, check the schedule creator monthly to adjust for lengthening wake windows. Sleep needs change rapidly during the first years, and regularly updating the schedule ensures that naps and bedtime align with their evolving development and sleep needs.