12 Month Old / 1 Year Old Toddler Sleep and Feeding Schedule

12 month old baby sleep schedule.

This article outlines the average 12-month-old / 1-year-old toddler schedule, including feedings, solids, naps, and night sleep.

Skip to the schedule

1 year old sleep / 12 month old’s sleep

At this age, almost all 12 month olds can sleep through the night, without a feeding, and take two naps for a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours per day plus 10-12 hours at night. A small percentage of 1-year-olds transition to one nap this early, but since the average is 15-18 months old, we recommend you stick to 2 naps unless your toddler is resisting one of their naps at least 4 times a week. My eldest son, who inspired babysleepsite.com did seem to transition to one nap one week before his first birthday, but I later found out I should have kept two naps.

Many toddlers this age get very overtired and sleep can spiral out of control when we transition to one nap too soon, so I typically recommend keeping two naps as long as possible. My younger son seemed to start to transition to one nap around the same time just like his older brother, but since I knew better the second time around, he went back to two naps within a week or two and continued taking two naps until 15 or 16 months. If your 1-year-old is in daycare, he or she may be required to move to one nap a day in the toddler room. We work with many families in this situation and most toddlers will do just fine after a 2-3-week transition, however, others will struggle a lot with it this young.

Naps

Your 1-year-old should be taking 2 naps per day for a total of 2-3 hours per day plus 10-12 hours at night. Wake windows at this age are usually 3-4 hours throughout the day until they transition to a 13 month old sleep schedule. If you’re having trouble with naps, you might be interested in helping your baby nap and reading the 5 signs to see before switching to one nap.

What About Night Feedings?

Although many babies or toddlers can go all night without a single feeding, in my experience, some families choose to keep one feeding after 4 or 5 a.m. and sleep later than not feed and get an early wake-up time. I would need to know your specific situation to make a recommendation, but just recognize that all babies are different. By this age, I would not expect more than one feeding, typically, if any at all. I would recommend at least an attempt at night-weaning because it can be a chicken and egg problem. It’s hard to encourage more eating during the day when he is eating at night. And it’s hard to discourage eating at night when he isn’t eating more during the day.

All toddlers vary, but here are some approximate schedules you can use to make your own for your unique situation. I believe that milk or formula should be the primary nutrition for the first year and solids come secondary. But now that your toddler is over a year old, you may want to consider moving toward milk being a beverage with a meal rather than a separate event, if you haven’t already.

Below are the amounts of solid food we recommend. The amount of food at 12 months is very similar to 11 months. Your toddler may be eating more. He is likely running around a lot more and becoming more and more mobile.

Average Milk and Food Per Day for a 1 Year Old

Amounts per day:

  • At least 3 nursing sessions per day or 24-32 ounces formula or up to 16-20 oz of milk
  • 6-8 oz of water
  • 2 servings (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons dry) cereal
  • 1-2 servings grain (1 serving = 1/2 slice bread, 2 crackers, 1/2 cup Cheerios, or 1/2 cup whole grain pasta)
  • 2 servings fruit (1 serving = 3-4 Tablespoons)
  • 2-3 servings vegetable (1 serving = 3-4 Tablespoons)
  • 2-3 servings protein (1 serving = 1-2 Tablespoons)

You may also be interested in: Homemade Baby Food Recipes for 10 to 12 Month Olds and: Best Foods to Promote Better Sleep

The first schedule is what I call a “staggered” approach if you decide to keep milk separate from your meals:

Sample 12 month old / 1 year old sleep and feeding schedules

Sample Schedule 1

7:00 – Wake and Milk
8:30 – Breakfast
10:00 – Snack (e.g. fruit, cheese, etc.) plus Milk
10:00/10:30 – Morning Nap (at least 1 hour)
12:30 – Lunch
2:30 – Snack / Milk
3:00/3:30 – Afternoon Nap (at least 1 hour)
4:30 – Snack (e.g. fruit, cheese, etc.) plus Milk
6:00 – Dinner
7:00/7:30 – Begin bedtime routine
7:30/8:00 – Milk and Bedtime (goal to be asleep at this time)

If you prefer to combine milk and meals together, here is another approach to your 1-year-old’s schedule:

Sample Schedule 2

7:00 – Wake
7:30 – Breakfast with Milk
10:00 – Snack (e.g. fruit, cheese, etc.)
10:00/10:30 – Morning Nap (at least 1 hour)
12:00 – Lunch with Milk
2:30 – Snack (e.g. fruit, cheese, etc.)
3:00/3:30 – Afternoon Nap (at least 1 hour)
4:30 – Snack (e.g. fruit, cheese, etc.)
6:00 – Dinner with Milk
7:00/7:30 – Begin bedtime routine
7:30/8:00 – Milk (optional) and Bedtime (goal to be asleep at this time)

More tips: When giving any feedings during your bedtime routine, be careful not to create sleep associations. We saw this become important at 4 months old. We see the worst sleep during the 8 month sleep regression when your baby is oftentimes sitting and standing up.


Looking for more sample 1-year-old schedules?

baby naps

We have over 40 sample schedules for all ages in our e-Book, Mastering Naps and Schedules. Banish naptime battles and regain control of your day (and your sanity) starting today!


You Might Also Like:


bss_ebook_freeguide_left

Want FREE sleep help that you can put to use right away? Download a copy of our free guide, 7 Common Napping Mistakes! The guide is available to download instantly. This means you can start using the techniques in it as early as today. So download now, and learn why your baby is not napping – and what you can do about it.

Click here to learn more about how to get your free guide.

A better daytime schedule could be just a few clicks away. So don’t wait – download now, and start your journey to better napping today!

Free Custom Sleep Schedule Generator

Input your baby’s wake-up time and get a free custom schedule for the day!

.

How is your 1-year-old’s schedule working?

All content of The Baby Sleep Site®, such as articles, e-guides, e-Books, advice, evaluative consultations, text, graphics, images, and other material contained on The Baby Sleep Site® (“Content”) are for informational and supportive purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always, always, always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding your or your child’s medical condition(s), behaviors, feeding and sleeping habits, and environment. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on The Baby Sleep Site®.

The Baby Sleep Site® is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and other product affiliate programs. If you click on a product link and make a purchase, The Baby Sleep Site® may (but not always) receive a small commission from the company selling the product, but will not affect your purchase price. We only recommend products that we believe are quality products and are good for our readers.

Holistic Sleep Solutions from The Baby Sleep Site®

e-Book bundles

Do-It-Yourself: Just getting started with your research but you want to stop Googling? Choose from any of our e-book bundles for practical advice you can put to use TODAY!  

Become a VIP Member

Do-It-Mostly-Yourself: Would you like to continue learning with the option of getting answers from an expert sleep consultant? We have a perfect solution! Become a VIP Member for access to all of our premium content. This includes ALL of our e-books and bonuses, audio courses, access to our “ask the author” feature giving you answers to your pressing questions from an expert baby sleep consultant, and more!

Get a Personalized Sleep Plan

Work With a Sleep Expert: Tap into over a decade of experience with thousands of families before you! Get a Personalized Sleep Plan® just for your unique situation, get guidance and answers to all your “what if?” questions while you work through your plan, and benefit from expert support along the way. We can’t tell you how many times we’ve heard “I wish I had done this sooner!” Not sure? Read these stories from well-rested parents.

Don’t lose another wink of sleep — GET STARTED TODAY with our gentler, kinder approach to healthy sleep!

FREE Guide: Five Ways To Help Your Child Sleep Through the Night

Join over 500,000 parents for 15+ years & sign up today to receive the guide and Newzzz, our Baby Sleep Newsletter absolutely FREE!












 
85
Share to...