Wake windows at 12 months

A sample day at 12 months

Here is what the planner gives a 1-year-old who wakes at 7:00 am, on a day without surprises:

Wake 7:00 am · Nap 1 10:15–11:15 am · Nap 2 2:45–4:00 pm · Bedtime 7:45 pm

Two naps, both after a stretch of more than three hours awake, and bedtime later than at 10 months. If your 1-year-old wakes at 6:00 instead, everything moves an hour earlier, bedtime included. In the planner above, tap “Fell asleep” and “Woke up” as the day goes; if the second nap doesn't happen, it moves bedtime earlier for you.

What changes at 12 months

The first-birthday nap strike. Around the first birthday a lot of babies start refusing their second nap, sometimes the first. They stand in the crib, chat, cry, or just lie there. It is tempting to take it as the sign to switch to one nap, and it usually isn't. Most children move to one nap somewhere between 13 and 18 months, and a 12 month old who drops a nap too early often ends up overtired: short naps, a meltdown before dinner, waking at 5 am. The rule of thumb the planner uses: hold on to two naps unless the second one has been refused for one to two weeks running, not just a few days.

While the strike lasts, it's the same playbook as at 10 and 11 months: keep offering the nap in a dark room, cap the morning nap at about an hour, and use an early bedtime, down to 6:30 pm, on the days the second nap fails.

Fighting the second nap and waking at night? Read about the 12 month sleep regression.

Walking. Many children take their first steps around now, and the CDC's milestones for 1 year include pulling up to stand and walking while holding on to furniture. New motor skills tend to unsettle sleep for a week or two: standing up in the crib at nap time, waking at night to practice. Lots of time on their feet during the day helps the skill settle.

Less total sleep, by the book. The recommended range changes on the first birthday from 12–16 to 11–14 hours a day. Your child doesn't need an hour less overnight; the age bands of the sleep recommendations simply change at 1 year. Most 1-year-olds sleep about 11 hours at night plus 2–3 hours of naps, which sits at the top of the range.

From bottle to cup. The AAP suggests offering a cup from about 6 months and finishing the move off the bottle sometime between 12 and 18 months. If your 1-year-old still falls asleep with a bottle, this is a good time to move the milk earlier in the bedtime routine, before teeth are brushed, so falling asleep doesn't depend on it. For amounts by age, see our feeding calculator.

Sleepy cues at 12 months, and when they disagree with the clock

• Early cues: wandering off from play, wanting to be carried, quieter babbling, a far-away look.
• Late cues: rubbing the eyes, more falls and bumps when walking, clinginess, throwing things.
• Overtired: a meltdown over nothing, arching, or a burst of manic energy (the “second wind”) close to bedtime.

A 1-year-old with a new skill can look wide awake well past their window. Go by the clock first and use the cues to shift the nap by up to 15 minutes. If they protest every nap at the planned time, try windows 15 minutes longer for a few days before deciding they need one nap.

Born early?

Plan by adjusted age until about 2 years: a child born 6 weeks early who turns 1 today sleeps more like a 10½ month old, so holding on to two naps is even more clearly right. The planner does the math if you tap “Born more than 3 weeks early?”; here is how adjusted age works.

Frequently asked questions

All ages: wake windows by age · the full nap schedule planner, newborn to 3 years.