Updated November, 2021
You have made it to the one year mark. Congratulations! This first year of your child’s life was no doubt filled with ups and downs and many huge accomplishments. By now your little one is likely eating solids well, taking their first steps (if they aren’t already walking independently) and, joy of joys, should be sleeping through the night. Below I have outlined expectations for sleep at one year, some best sleep practices for one year olds, and even a one year old sleep schedule sample.
What to Expect
By 1 year, your child is able to sleep well through the night, going for 8-12 hour stretches without disturbing the family. Night time snacks should have faded away and hopefully you have a solid routine for bedtime that makes the process easy for you.
If your child is in school, they may be talking about moving up to the next room. In the next room, your child will nap only once per day. This is the reality of these daycare settings, but unfortunately, most babies are not ready to transition to 1 nap per day until 15-18 months. This may mean earlier bed times for awhile as your child works to accommodate the adult schedule.
To help with this transition, I highly encourage a predictable (but not rigid) daytime schedule. Ideally it will closely match the one at school, with meal times happening around the same time each day and a nap around the same time. I know for our transition, when I had Monster at home, I did throw in the extra nap in the evening, which I felt helped.
In theory, other than a few naps, sleeping at this age should be pretty standard. It’s okay to start setting more firm boundaries around wake up time and you definitely do not need any more night feedings. I hope sleep is going well for you and that you are getting the rest you need.
Sleep Training According to Me
Now I personally use the term ‘Sleep Training’ to describe working with your child in any form to help them learn healthy sleep hygiene. Ultimately, this will look like them sleeping through the night without problem. To be very clear, Sleep Training, as defined by me, is NOT the cry it out method. Sleep training is about balancing appropriate developmental expectations with the needs of your child. It is about being responsive and supportive. Most of all, it is about helping you move towards a sleep routine that makes sense for you and your family.
1 Year Sleep Practices
I find the hardest part about sleep practice at one year is two fold. The first is that you have to have gotten your child to start sleeping through the night in the first place. The seconds is that you have to keep them that way. With things like object permanence and an impressively growing memory, your kiddo is not only learning, but remembering. This means they will remember their routine, your expectations, and even what the circumstances that led to bed sharing again might be.
Know What You Want
I feel like often in the first year of life there is a lot of just finding out what works, staying afloat, and trying to teach your baby how to sleep. Around 1 though, they should hopefully have some education in hand. As such, it’s time to be sure that your current sleep arrangement is the one that you want. Do you want to co-sleep? Do you want to sleep separately? How does your partner feel about this? Or your other children? Decide what you want for sleep in your house and start moving towards it if you haven’t already.
Stay Consistant
Once you know what you want, stay consistent. Sure, there should be room for extra cuddles and sleeping together during things like vacation or illness. But don’t doubt that if you switch back and forth between co-sleeping and independent sleeping, this is going to be much harder for your child.
Make Some Boundaries
On the flip side of one year, your child can start listening to and respecting some sleep boundaries. One struggle I hear from many parents is that their child is ‘sleeping through the night’ but is awake and partying at 4am. Babies can’t tell time. So if this is a problem for you, it’s time to set some boundaries. Some families swear by those sleep training clocks. I’ve only ever seen the LittleHippo clock in action, although I understand there are tons of options out there.
Whatever you decide to do, know that it is acceptable and reasonable to set boundaries with your children. My kids are now 2 and 4 and they know not to wake me up before 8am on the weekends! Never doubt that your children can learn about and respect your needs. And trust me, sleep is a need!
Habits to Avoid
So maybe you are feeling really good about your sleep progress with your kiddo at this point. That’s great! You have worked hard over the last year. I have just a few bad habits to avoid or break so we continue moving in the correct direction.
Ditch the Bottle
If your child is still using a bottle to fall asleep, it’s time to quit. Not as in you can’t nurse them before bed. But the bottle should not go to the bed with them. They should have their milk and let the bottle (or boob) go before hunkering in for the night.
Creating Dependence
In the long run, you want your child to be able to sleep without you, a blanket, a bottle, whatever. This is because in the U.S. we are a very independently focused society. You don’t want your child to require you or another person in order to sleep well through the night. This goes for things like stuffed animals and blankets too. If they are so attached to a single toy that they cannot sleep without it, what are you going to do when you lose that toy?
Sleep Schedule
This sample sleep schedule assumes that your child is in child care and moving towards the one nap per day routine. From 1-2 years, you may want a 30-45 minute nap in the evenings, since this is a big change for your kiddo. If you can’t manage a late afternoon nap, just plan to move up your kiddo’s bedtime.
Note that your child will be on one nap a day (pushing back a bit later as they get older), until they are 3, 4, and sometimes even 5. They will need to transition off naps in order to attend kindergarten. At 2, my youngest currently goes down from nap by 1 and sleeps until 3. My 4 year old stays up a bit longer, playing quietly in their room, but will often take a 1 hour nap still.
Sleep Help!
Need support with getting your child on the right track for sleep? View my Postpartum Doula page where I can offer sleep training for you and your family, including a night’s reprieve if you just need some time to catch up.
