How many naps should my 5 month old have?

What the evidence says

There is no single "right" number of naps for a 5 month old. The Canadian Paediatric Society says that by 4 months, most babies need three naps a day, spread across morning, afternoon, and early evening. Somewhere between 6 and 12 months, babies usually shift from three naps to two longer ones. At 5 months, your baby is likely somewhere in that transition.

How long each nap lasts varies enormously too. Some babies only doze for 20 minutes at a time, while others sleep for a few hours in one stretch. Both patterns can be perfectly normal for a healthy baby.

International guidelines back this up. An Australian source used by pediatric services notes that at this age, most babies have 2 to 3 daytime naps lasting between 30 minutes and 2 hours each. A major U.S. medical reference also says it is common for babies to take 1 to 4 naps a day in the first year, each lasting 30 minutes to 2 hours.

What matters more than counting naps is total sleep. Sleep medicine experts recommend babies aged 4 to 12 months get about 12 to 16 hours of sleep in 24 hours, including naps. Watching your baby's tiredness cues, like rubbing eyes or fussiness, is more useful than sticking to a strict nap count.

One practical tip from the Canadian Paediatric Society: try not to let naps run too late in the afternoon, since at this age late naps can start to interfere with nighttime sleep.