Going Out to Dinner with Kids While on a Sleep Schedule
12 Month Old Sleep Schedule: Shifting Naps & Feedings at 1 Year
The first birthday is such a milestone for parent and little one alike! One truth remains: your child absolutely needs uninterrupted sleep. As an infant transitions into the beginning stages of toddlerhood, there are many important adjustments ahead. A 12 month olds’ sleep schedule begin shifting from a two nap schedule to a one nap schedule and in our experience this transition can take the longest to adjust to.
Understanding Infant Sleep Patterns
As a new one-year-old, children need roughly 12 to 15 hours of total sleep in a 24-hour period. The majority of 12-month-olds are maxing out a two-nap schedule to soon prepare for the transition to one nap. Moving to one nap per day is most common between 13 and 15 months, but the gradual signs of readiness are becoming more frequent at 12 months old. A child’s genuine need for awake time is quite apparent at this age. Many parents have to navigate a shifting bedtime as awake windows stretch. Otherwise, you can expect the onset of sleep to take a significant amount of time at bedtime.
At the end of a two-nap schedule, most little ones have 10-11 hours of overnight sleep with 2-3 hours of total daytime sleep. This generally includes a 1.5-hour morning nap and about an hour of sleep in the afternoon with a full night of rest. Remember that a slightly shorter night is temporary as awake windows grow. As the overnight sleep gets closer to the 10-hour minimum, a necessity to change the daytime sleep schedule will become more evident. When daytime sleep consolidates together into one mid-nap day, the night will elongate back to 11-12 hours.
12 Month Old Sleep Schedules
At 12 months old, a balance of consistency and flexibility is key. Most children need 2.75-3 hours of awake time before the first nap and 3.5 hours before the second nap. One year olds tend to need a full 4 hours up before bedtime, with meals served at typical intervals three times per day.
Perhaps one of the biggest changes that comes at this age is working away from liquid feedings as the primary form of nutrition. That means, meal times move before liquids at this age. During this process, ensuring that milk no longer becomes first in a toddler’s day or last in the evening is a massive help to protecting great sleep. Weaning is typical between 12 and 15 months. Even for families that wish to keep liquid feedings longer (or for children with specific needs), reversing the order of milk and solids is helpful to maintaining great sleep. Liquid feedings are supplemental to solid meals at this age.
12 month sleep schedule with 2-naps:
7:00am- Wake
7:30am- Breakfast
8:30am- Milk (AFTER breakfast, if desired). Limit to a max of 16 total ounces per day.
10:00-11:30am- Morning Nap (1.5 hours)
12:00pm- Lunch
1:00pm- Milk, if desired
3:00-4:00pm- Afternoon Nap (roughly 1 hour)
4:30pm- Afternoon Snack and/or milk
7:00pm- Dinner (no milk later than dinner time!)
7:30pm- Bedtime Routine
8:00pm- Laid down 100% wide awake with 4 hours of awake time
At the end of a two-nap schedule, when you need a little more flexibility in your day or your child’s schedule from time to time, temporarily offering a second nap informally in the car, stroller, or carrier from time to time is another option to maintain the important awake window before bed.
As little ones further adjust, they will eventually need to move to one nap, particularly when the second nap is being refused. As toddlers age, milk is best served twice per day at morning and afternoon snack time. This will naturally occur halfway between breakfast and lunch and lunch and dinner. Keeping milk away from meal times and sleep times is ideal. This allows little ones to fill up on nutrient-rich meals. Further, it eliminates an impact on sleep.
Avoid a second wind during this transition by eliminating a gap between lunch and nap time routine.
12 month old sleep schedule with 1-nap:
7:00am- Wake Up
About 7:15/7:30am – Breakfast
9:30am- Morning Snack with a cup of Milk
10:00am- Outdoor Physical Play
11:30am- Lunch with a cup of Water
12:00pm- Nap (1.5-3 hours in length is the average range, with 2-2.5 hours being the most common)
3:30pm – Afternoon Snack with a cup of Milk
6:00pm- Dinner with a cup of Water
NO MILK later than 1 hour before bed!
6:30pm- Bath/ Bedtime Routine
7:00pm- Laid down for bedtime 100% wide awake after ideally 4-4.5 hours of awake time!
Do not be afraid of an early bedtime at all if the nap isn’t initially as long because avoiding over-tiredness will make the night much more solid, reduce the protest at bedtime, and allow early waking to be best avoided. It takes most toddlers weeks (even up to 6-8 weeks!) to lengthen the nap consistently during this major transition. In the meantime, even if the awake window before bed stays the same as it was previously, we assure you that four hours awake on two naps certainly is different than four hours awake before bed on one nap. Protect the awake window before bed!
Keep in mind that some 12-month-olds are ready to make this change, while others need a couple more months of two naps before they are fully ready!
Establishing a Bedtime Routine
For a new toddler, bedtime routine should still ensure that all physical and emotional needs are met. Bedtime will be most successful with a well-fed, clean, cared for child. At this age, we begin intentionally working away from milk in the bedtime routine to protect the best sleep as little ones grow. After dinner, provide a consistent routine that does not skip a time for connection. A calming bedtime routine begins with a bath and leads into a lotion/ massage and pajamas.
Reading is the perfect step to culminate bedtime routine. We recommend 1-3 books to help a child prepare a 1 year old for sleep. This time of reading together in a well-lit space provides a great time of connection for your child prior to saying goodnight and laying down without risking the child’s restoration of sleep pressure outside of the crib.
Troubleshooting 12 Month Old Sleep Problems
If your child can already fall asleep independently, sleep issues that begin to pop up at 12 months old are typically centered around developmental stages or schedule changes nearing.
Most importantly, keep your little one safety in the crib. At 12 months old, little ones are not ready for the independence of a toddler bed.
Further, as little ones get older, remember that it is expected that also have a more apparent developing sense of autonomy. This can lead to some challenging behaviors at bedtime, such as standing in the crib. If a new milestone is impacting your child’s ability to fall asleep, diligently practice the new skill repeatedly so that mastery is achieved as quickly as possible. Avoid reintroducing new sleep props you do not intend to sustain. Further, make sure your child has enough awake time before bed. Undertiredness (and overtiredness, too) is a common cause of increased protest at bedtime. Most 12-month-olds do best with a four-hour awake window before bed.
For little ones that do not yet have independent sleep skills, the permanent removal of sleep props will make a drastic difference in consistently achieving uninterrupted sleep. If your child currently relies on feeding to sleep, rocking or holding to sleep, or co-sleeping and you wish to implement a change, a new bedtime routine will be incredibly impactful.
A regular sleep schedule is helpful for infants and toddlers of all ages, but 12-month-olds most especially need an age-appropriate sleep schedule for ongoing success. This unique age requires many changes and new milestones, but great sleep is absolutely achievable!
Sleep Wise Experience with 12 month olds
Are you wondering what to expect when sleep training a 1 year old? If so, don’t hesitate to reach out for a free evaluation call! Let’s discuss your child’s needs, strengths, current sleep struggles, and how we can help! Sleep training during times of schedule transition may require some extra patience as little ones adjust, but it is absolutely doable.
At Sleep Wise, we emphasize that every child is an individual. Some new one year olds may need to keep two naps for a few more months. Others may be ready to dive right into one nap. You don’t have to make these decisions alone. You don’t have to tackle changes alone, either! We want to support you through the process. Undoubtedly, sleep training a one year is rewarding for all parties.
There’s no better first birthday gift to give your little one than the gift of predictable, restorative, uninterrupted, consistent sleep. Sleep is the gift that keeps on giving for all the birthdays to come!