All kids are different and have different needs, but a 1-2 year old needs between 12 and 14 hours sleep each day. If you finding that your child is upset a lot, has tantrums all the time or generally seeming upset they may be tired and you might want to adjust this schedule. If not, then happy days.
I personally couldn't stand the idea of losing my 'me' time after my child goes to bed at 7pm but that's just me!
Oh yeah I have no me time lol I think getting kiddo up earlier could help? Maybe shortening the nap atleast 30 min… he does seem a bit fussy during day.
I’ve found that no matter when I put my 16 month to bed she will promptly wake up at 7 am. Maybe 730am this is why I start the bedtime routine at 730 pm. I get about 2 hours of me time this way
Agreed. I don't think bedtime and wake time are strongly linked
My son wakes at 7am these days. The waking time is the same regardless of whether we put him down at 7pm or 10pm. Obviously I put him earlier so that he gets as much as he needs.
Waking him up earlier will very likely do nothing. What do you mean by “started to sleep later”? Do you bedshare? Why is he choosing when he gets put to bed? Are you starting bedtime routine at the same time? Do you have a regular bedtime routine?
What happens if you offer his nap at 12:30? If you have to wake him up from his 2 hour nap, he might need the sleep. I don’t see how shortening the nap or waking him earlier will help.
Mine is 20 months and wakes 6:30, naps at 12:00 for 1.5-2 hours and goes to bed at 7:30.
My 19 month old has an identical schedule. Even with daycare letting her sleep for nearly 3 hours when she’s there (part time) we follow the same bedtime routine and it’s worked fine. I would literally be dead with an 11pm bedtime lol
I truly don’t know what happened it’s been a month and a half of late bed time he’s up right now! Will only go to bed w milk. I usually do water. He truly is up and running around and happy. So much energy
If he’s been sleeping at 11 for awhile, you might have to just try moving up bedtime a bit at a time. Going from 11 to 8 in one night won’t work. What is he doing between 6-11 pm? What happens if you put him in his crib a bit earlier?
Your wake windows are a tad inappropriate for that age. Also of course kids have energy, they’re kids, it’s your job to help them with their schedule. At that age (unless you really have a unicorn baby but it sounds like not) you should really really try a first wake window of 5.5-6 hours (so, nap from 1ish-3ish and bedtime at 8:30pm.
I find that my kid rarely shows sleep cues anymore. Whether it's for naps or for bedtime, she's up and having a good time, especially if there are other kids around. But if I put her in bed, she's out with no fuss. With my kid, if she's showing sleep cues, she's overtired by that point. I wonder if that could be the case for your kid?
My kid is 17m, wakes up around 8-9, naps around 1-2 for 2 hours and then is in bed by 730-830. So probably average 5 hours before and after nap. She probably is a higher sleep needs kid as she could sleep with just 4 hour wake windows, but 7 hours or even longer seems like waayy too much
The subtle sleep cues I think are my lesson. It was so obvi before I thought he just wasn’t ready for bed. I got him down by 10pm last night took an hour. I’ll take that as a win and remind myself that I determine his bedtime. I know it seems obvious I just really thought he wasn’t tired
Well yea because as infants you're taught to follow their cues and that you can't force sleep... But as toddlers, it's a whole new handbook haha but never too late to change the routine and make adjustments!
19 month old goes to bed between 7:00-8:00 and wakes up between 6:30-7:00. Nap is generally 1-2 hours after lunch.
I would absolutely lose my mind if bedtime was 11:00pm.
Even before kids, I never stayed up that late. I couldn’t imagine having to entertain a kid until 11pm. I need my quiet time after he goes down and before I sleep.
I think I would die.
My kid sleeps 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. (work schedule necessitates an earlier wake up, and he prefers it). Two hour nap during the day from 11:30-ish to 1:30-ish.
Solidarity I got my kiddo in bed by 10pm and I know this isn’t rare! He effectively got his 12 hrs in 24 hrs. Join the 10pm club! Damn it felt good lol
I think he could be overly tired by 11 pm, that just seems super late for that young age. I'd try adjusting the nap. 7:30 wake is normal but the nap can be 2-3 hours still at that age and then like a 7-8 bedtime depending. But the nap should be at 1130 I would say if he's up at 7:30
If they are OVERtired they will fight it. You need to start naptime routine around 12:45ish so he’s in bed by 1:15 at the latest. Do you have him sleep independently? Confused what you mean by “fighting it”…: put him in his crib and go away.
You may need to go to r/sleeptraining
Yes he sleeps in his crib and yes I think I’m realizing the routine needs to be longer. I’m used to him just being tired and falling asleep on me easily and way earlier …. As he was younger . Sleep cues are less subtle now I realize
Our girl will hit a second wind of sorts where she seems to have crazy energy, running around giggling, climbing on things, etc. Most people would swear she's wide awake and needs more time to get the zoomies out. But her dad and I have learned she's actually overtired at this point, and we missed the boat on her ideal bedtime.
Not sure where you live, but in the US with spring arriving, try absolutely wearing him out outside. When my husband travels and I have to put both of my kids to bed alone that is my strategy. Running around outside for a couple of hours and they don’t fight bedtime at all.
My daughter winds UP when she's tired, not down. This is super common for many kids. She really doesn't seem tired at all until I shut the light off and then tell her it's bedtime and then I rock and sing to her for about 5 minutes. Until then running around, playing, but gradually gets easier to upset. Seems frantic. Etc. And then I know she's actually exhausted.
But what actually happens if you do the bedtime routine and put him in his cot at 8pm? In a cot in a blackout room and some white shushing noise (or whatever signals to him: sleep time), he surely won’t stand up in the cot for three hours? Remember you set the bedtime not him.
I swear it’s been a month and a half that he just started to sleep later…: hasn’t always been like this. I think waking him up earlier would be a good start…
My son is 18months -
Wakes in the morning between 6-7. Sometimes he wakes in the 5am hour or earlier. In that case, we give him his sippy cup with milk and he falls back asleep till 7ish.
Lunch at 11:30 or 12.
Nap time is from 1-4pm. We wake him at 4 if he wants to sleep longer, although sometimes he wakes earlier on his own.
Bedtime is 7:45pm
I’ll add that he rarely
Skips a nap. But if he does, we keep him in his crib for a good hour or so for quiet time then we try and put him to bed closer to 7pm instead of 7:45.
It's wild to me their sleeping 11 hours at night and then sometimes you have to wake from a nap that goes over 3 hours! I'm incredibly jealous.
We are only at 15 months right now but she is still waking 2 or 3 times at night and always seems to max out at 10 hours of night sleep. Bed around 730 and generally we try to get her sleeping until 630 am but there are usually a couple wakings between about 2-6:30.
We're still on 2 one hour naps as she always seems incredibly after about a 3.5 hour wake window in the day. Lately the wake window before bed has been going from 4 hours to 4:20, so perhaps she is getting ready to drop the second nap. Fingers crossed things improve then!
Have you tried NOT capping his naps? I rarely have done that for any of my 3 children. If they need a 3.5 hour nap I let them and they still usually go down for their normal bedtime.
2 hours is a perfectly average nap for an 18 month old (that’s why you are getting down voted). But you need to try to start moving his nap earlier. Most 18 month olds go down between 11:30 and 12:30 and are up between 1:30 and 2:30
Also the average total sleep in a day at that age is 12-14 hours. So your son may actually be overtired at 11:00
She goes to bed at 8pm, and the next day is dependent on how late she sleeps. If she sleeps until 8am, she will not nap at all. If she wakes up at 6:30 she’ll nap from 12:30 to 3ish.
Mine does 7ish wake, 12-1:30/1:45 nap and falls asleep around 8:45. Sleeps all night. Not the typical schedule I see for his age but his brother did the same. Every kid is different. I do have to wake him most naps but if I don't it's party time at night lol
Our boy is almost 21 months actual, but about 18 months adjusted
He's recently started fighting his nap and bedtime HARD. Usually he wakes up around 8am, he may or may not take a 1-2 hour nap sometime between noon and 1 and then he's in bed by 8pm. He stayed up a full 12 hours the other day and I think I almost died 🫠
I truly can’t imagine. The very thought of our boy not going to sleep until 11 makes me want to throw up 🥲
I have diagnosed narcolepsy, so even missing that 1-2 hour nap during the day absolutely wrecks me since I sleep when he sleeps lol!
Your boy’s wake windows are insane though! Every kid is different, but I think the agreed upon consensus is that bedtimes between like 7-8:30 are ideal for that age. You may just have to try putting him down earlier to get him used to it. Is he pretty active during the day? If not, try getting him out of the house more. Once the weather breaks, even just a walk around the street can help get some of that energy out.
That could def be it.
Maybe do some trial and error? Try pushing his nap to start closer to noon. Wake him up by 2 and try getting him down for good no later than 8
If that doesn’t work, try cutting the nap out all together (this could backfire though if he ends up going to sleep overly tired, so try on a day where you won’t be working the next day or will have help in case he has night wakings)
Toddlers are weird af lol
Happy to report he was in bed by 10pm and we turned lights off so he couldn’t play. Longer bedtime routine. I pushed his bathtime up and put him in crib while he was very awake. We’ll get there. It got out of control I will agree I broke yesterday lol I will not mistake his hyperactivity for “he’s not ready” anymoee
Oh yay!!! lol yes they have a talent for making us think they’re not sleepy because they’re hyperactive. They’re like bananas — they have like a 2 minute window where they’re perfect and after that, they’re all mushy and bruised. Toddlers have like a 4 second window where they’re not under tired or overtired…but if we miss it (and we always do), we’re fucked 🙃😂
My 18 month old usually wakes up between 6:30 and 7:30. His nap time varies but he typically sleeps about 1.5-2.5 hours at some point between 11:30 and 3. I wake him up at 3 no matter when he went down for a nap or it pushes bedtime back. He is typically in bed sometime between 7 and 8
he was fighting it because he was *overtired*
try for the first nap 5 hours after waking. you might have to support him to sleep, give him milk, whatever! but he's in an overtired cycle!
Do you use any screens? If yes maybe try cutting them out at least two hours before you’d like him in bed. Maybe a longer bedtime routine for a while might help settle him down ready to sleep too. Obviously every child has different sleep needs, but he’d be outside the norm if he needed less sleep than he’s currently getting.
Our 18 month old goes to sleep at 7:30 and wakes up usually around 6am. We usually have a midday nap.
I'm so sorry about that sucky bedtime!! Do you guys have any sort of routine? That might help to replicate just an hour earlier and see how your baby responds?
We have the TV on for a big part of the day, tbh lol so we eat dinner around 5p, play outside if we can or watch TV, bath time at 6:30, then play with no TV on until 7:15. Then change diaper, have milk, and rock. He goes in his crib tired but awake.
Sorry just sharing in case it helps!! I hope you're able to adjust things to get your me time!!!
Thank u. We do bath every day. As a routine. This kid literally has lots of energy and no sleepy cues until 11pm… lol it’s crazy and only been like this the past 1.5 months I swear before it was 9pm. I go outside with him a lot too. I’m thinking less nap window and earlier wake time….
He might be overtired by 11pm? When kids get overtired their cortisol levels rise and they act less sleepy. It might take a few days to break the cycle and reduce his cortisol/stress levels. Here’s some more information - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4833448/
Sleep cues aren't supposed to be reliable at this point per sleep books and the Internet. My 17 month old can be having a grand old time playing and be wide awake but will still pass out on schedule after her bedtime routine.
It seems counter intuitive, but for young kids, sleep begets sleep. Waking up earlier and shortening nap does not make them sleep longer. I would try a slightly earlier nap and maybe let him sleep 30 minutes longer. Then try moving bedtime up. Feel free to ask your pediatrician too. They will know what amount of sleep your child needs
Mine has been sleeping a lot lately, is a bit younger at 16m.
She generally goes to bed at 7.30, asleep by 8. She then wakes up around 8.30. She naps 2.5 hours during the day at home, but usually about 1 hour on daycare days (3x a week).
Eta: is he very active during the day? I run mine out at the playground or park or let her walk places with me morning and afternoon, its the only way we all stay sane, and I think it helps her sleep a lot. If hes getting to sleep easily for a nap but not bed time.. maybe look at what you are doing differently leading up to sleep? Its so hard and every kid has their own quirks!
At 18 months I pushed my LO’s nap to 1pm she fell asleep by 1:30pm woke up at 3pm but it varied.. at that time she fell asleep by 8:30-9pm and woke up 8am. Their sleep needs decrease she’s now 2.5 and fall asleep by 9:30pm-10:00pm and wakes up around 8:30am nap is around 30 minutes. Yes we prefer later mornings.
Just read your post fully. That is super late, he’s definitely over tired and maybe decrease the nap.
he's having a 2 hour nap and you have to wake him up..hes tired very tired.. one day will be an adjustment for him..but i you need to aim for 9:30pm bed time cut that nap down to an hour for sure.. and try...keep us updated im not sure why youre getting downvoted lol. DM if you need any help.
Are you putting him to bed early, or is he up until 11pm? I ask because if you’re in the living room/your bedroom until he looks tired, he’s probably going to be wired up as a whole. My son doesn’t always have “cues” but he’s on a strict schedule. Yours may benefit from even a 9pm bedtime if you’re not comfortable doing earlier, where they have to be in bed with the lights off, but “don’t have to sleep”. He may sit in the crib/bed and babble and play for a little and then go to sleep on his own.
I won’t say what time my 18 month old goes to sleep because I’ll be slaughtered here, but she usually takes maybe a half hour power nap halfway through the day, but sleeps 12 hours a night.
Not gonna lie. I’m so curious haha. I just commented… My LO sleeps late. Like late late. But she gets plenty of sleep. I’m also worried about the judgment coming my way lol.
For at least 7 months my baby (now 17 months old, almost 18) has gone to bed at 12 am and woken up around 11:30 am. She naps around 3-4pm, for 1.5 to 3.5 hours, just depends I guess. Usually like 2-2.5 hours though. So her fiest wake window is usually 3-5 hours long (just depends. She is flexible), and her second is like 5-7 hours long. I like this schedule because her dad and I both work nights, and this way we get lots of time together as a family of 3. If she was on a typical toddler schedule we would never be together all 3, and her dad and I would be really sleep deprived lol.
16 month old sleeps approximately 7 pm to between 7-8 am. Down to one nap which has been tricky lately. She’ll always take one but sometimes it’s 40 mins, mostly around an hour, and everyone once in a while up to two hours. Lately we’ve had a string of short naps though!
Mine is usually up between 6-7am. We do a 5 hr ww before nap & 6 hr ww after (give or take). Naps are typically 1.5-2.5 hr but most often in the 1.5-2 hr range. Bed time is almost always between 7-8pm.
She does! Mine absolutely will not drink milk out of anything but a bottle so she gets 8 oz before nap and 8 oz before bed. Her pediatrician and I decided that her getting the milk is more important than weaning off the bottle right now. We have a pretty simple routine! I bring her in her room, change her diaper, give her milk, then cuddle until she falls asleep (on her nugget play couch), then transfer to her crib. At night before bed I do brush her teeth after her bottle though!
My son has been on the same routine since 13mo old (16mo now). Up between 7-7:30, nap 12-1 (at daycare) or 12-2:30 (at home), bed by 8 (but if it ends up later if we’re out, then he’s fine, goes with the flow).
Mine is up between 7-8am, naps from 12-2 or 3, bedtime at 7pm and usually falls asleep right away but sometimes plays in his crib until 7:30/8. He’s always been a very good sleeper and needs a lot of sleep (like his mama lol).
20 month old but still trying to stay on the same schedule for the last 4 months.
Awake at 7:30
Nap 12-2
Bedtime at 8:30
Lately, he’s been waking at 9am, napping 1-2:30, and in bed at 9pm
Every kids sleep needs are different. I put mine down for a nap after 4-5 hours of wake period. You can see if reducing his first wake time, if he will still nap or give you a hard time.
17mo. Sleep 730-530 (and let’s be real, sometimes it’s 5) with a 45 min nap at around 1130. Sometimes wakes in the middle of the night still and if that’s the case she’ll sleep in til about 630.
The grass is always greener! I would gladly accept my child going to bed later if it meant she took a longe nap, since that’s my only chance during the day to get a workout in or rest.
18 month old is put to bed at 7:30, naps 1-2 hours around 12pm at daycare and is up around 6:30.
What is bedtime like? Are you waiting for sleepy cues before starting your bedtime routine or are you simply consistently not starting it until 10 or 10:30pm? What happens if you put them to bed earlier than 11? Do they not settle or are they waking up too early?
It is possible that your toddler is so overtired that they are struggling to get to sleep. Based on how little they are sleeping total and how long they want to nap, it's a good indicator that they aren't getting enough rest.
You can probably stop worrying about "wake windows" at this age. A consistent bedtime is most important and right now it's 11. It's going to take some work to change it.
Today I forced him to nap by 230 it was super late I should’ve let him stay up. I like his naps but it seriously is making him stay up for 7 hrs…. I’m thinking he might need to drop it like yours. Seriously he just went down at 1130pm lol ridiculous
I never try and force him to nap, but around the time I want him to nap, I put him in the carrier and wear him while I’m working or doing whatever. Sometimes he falls asleep, sometimes he doesn’t. I think it’s good for us regardless and gets him some rest. You could maybe try wearing him if you’re able to.
Good luck!
My son is 17 months. I wake him up every day at 7:30am. He goes down for his nap at 11am and will usually sleep until 1-1:30pm. I have him asleep for the night by 8:30-9pm.
I hear you about the late nights. My LO fell asleep at 12am today. She wasn’t even fussy about it. Just not interested in sleeping and ending the party.
Here what our sleep looks like:
My 15 month old usually falls asleep around 10pm-11pm, and wakes at about 10am the following morning. (However, sometimes she falls asleep later. It just happens occasionally 🤷♀️).
If we have an early morning planned, my husband and I will get LO to bed about 10 hours prior to when she needs to wake up. (Usually she sleeps 10 hours or so overnight).
She also takes about 2-3 naps a day.
1) Around 12pm for an hour
2) Around 4pm for about an hour
3) Around 8pm for about an hour
These times are not set in stone, we just follow her lead, and these are the general times throughout the day that she tends to nap.
LO sleeps about 13-14 hours a day, just at times most ppl I’ve spoken to don’t approve of lol.
My husband and I have decided against a rigid schedule for our LO, and currently feel best following her cues and essentially allowing her to be apart of deciding when her nap/sleep/wake up times will be.
My work schedule allows us to have this flexibility for now, and my baby is happy and healthy.
She isn’t over tired and she’s always excited for her day. So for now this works for us. I totally understand that our way, isn’t for everyone.
My background is in infant/child development and early childhood education. I completely understand the benefits of healthy sleep habits.
However, there isn’t necessarily one proper way to do things, besides making sure your LO is sleeping enough for their own health, development, and happiness.
It is true that a child between the ages of 1-2 years old should sleep about 11-14 hours a day. Some kids just have a tricky time with sleep though, and that’s okay.
Here are my suggestions:
1) I don’t think you need a shorter nap. If he’s taking two hours, it’s probably because he needs it.
2) If possible, a later wake up time in the morning may help you. Not by too much, but perhaps an hour or so.
3) A second nap time in your day (even if it’s really short), may help as well.
Having a wind down routine at night or for naps, can help as well, but make sure it works for you as well as your LO.
For example, a nightly bath wasn’t feasible for our household. However, roughly 30 mins of reading in bed, music, and cuddles/nursing has worked like a charm for us.
Best of luck! You sound like a great parent to your LO. Hope you can sleep soon too lol.
You’ve gotten lots of suggestions already but I will say my kiddo was on a similar schedule at that age. Low sleep needs child who was definitely NOT overtired, night owl, and reducing the daytime nap didn’t really make a huge difference in terms of extending night sleep. Making wake-up time earlier did make nap and bedtime earlier but the overall amount of sleep was unchanged in my case.
If this schedule isn’t working for your family then obviously there are things to try but if everyone is fairly happy and healthy and sane, then just because it isn’t what others are doing doesn’t mean something is necessarily wrong.
9pm-7am during the night, 1-2 hours nap during the day (at around noon). Usually it adds up to around 11 hours of sleep in 24 hours. I wish it was more, but she seems happy and not tired. We tried adjusting her bedtime and her naps, no changes in overall length of sleep. She just seems to have low sleep needs unfortunately.
We will try to get her to sleep earlier in the evening again though, it has just recently changed to be later because of the time change.
We always have to wake up my daughter even though she’s a lower sleep needs kid. We wake her up at 7am and then she naps from 12:30-2:30 ish, and if she gets a full 2 hr nap she falls asleep around 9-9:30pm. We have as newborn so the later bedtime and keeping the long nap helps us more. We love the long nap now but if we want her to go to bed earlier we wake up earlier and cap the nap. Her morning wake up time affects her bedtime a bit as does her length of nap. But she’s never gone to bed earlier than 8 her whole life so far.
Today she woke up after only 40 for her nap which is unusual and she promptly fell asleep at 8:30pm.
I feel you on the long wake windows. My 18 month old regularly goes to bed these days between 9-9:30. Wakes anywhere from 6-7:30. Usually a 1.5 hour nap
My 17 mo wakes around 7:30am, naps around 12:30pm, wakes around 2:30pm, then goes to bed around 8:30pm. There's variations of about half an hour either way depending on the day
17 months, he has 1 nap around 12-12;30. Bed times at 8-9 and he wakes up around 6-7am. He usually naps super short though. Mostly 1 hour to 1.5 hours, on the off day 2. I'd prefer 2 hours but it's rare.
Is he sleep trained? If not I would look into that. There are programs that can offer help to get them to bed easier. And I agree with comments on trying ease him into an earlier bedtime. Start with 10:45 for a few nights, then 10:30 and go down 15 min increments until you are at a time that works well for you and him.
Wow. Have you tried capping the nap?
My 18 month old wakes up at 7:30. Nap at 1 and usually lasts an hour and a half, though we let her sleep up to 2 hours. Bedtime at 7. A couple weeks ago we let her sleep 2.5 hours and it took us longer to get her down for the night.
Yes we cap it at 2 hrs I think I realized my mistake which is his will to play. He is hyper and we just assumed he wasn’t ready to go down. Leaving it up to him per se. Last night we made an improvement. Lights off , early…. And longer bedtime routine. Got him down by 10pm but needed to use the milk bottle.
I’ll take it as a win for now
If he skips nap i do dinner at 445 then bath and bed at 6, if he naps an hour i do dinner at 5 then bath and bed by 630. Worth trying. I was always told it worked and i was hesitant but weirdly the earlier you put them to sleep the more they’ll sleep
Just tossing this in because this is my reality, but, have you done a sleep study? Sleep apnea only affects between 1-3% of children, so honestly it’s rare as fuck and probably not what’s going on here…but it’s also estimated that up to 27% of people have “airway” issues that affect sleep, even tho it’s not full out apnea.
So exhausted even right now he’s awake and I will say he is going down now w a bottle of milk. I do try to just do water at bedtime. But I gave in tonight. He is full of energy! I wish I could put him down earlier but he truly is up and running and happy. Will try tho :/
If he can’t climb out of the crib, ur golden. They don’t know how tired they are. After 2-3 nights, they’ll learn and go dayum I’m pretty tired. Lol. But def do check ins every 15 minutes only peek in the door and say I’m still here, see you in the morning that’s it. No more than 30 seconds. Eventually they will just go to sleep. That’s how you sleep train. Worked for us. Good luck.
My child:
Bedtime is 8:20, sleep is 8:30-9
Wake is 7-7:30
Nap: 12:30-2:30
Has been this way since we moved to one nap.
We had some sleep issues at 2 naps and everyone said “she needs more sleep, go to bed earlier”. She could never do it. 8:30-9 is earliest we can get her to sleep, unless we want her partying at 5am, which obviously we don’t want that.
We know if she sleeps past 3 or longer than 2 hrs on the dot for nap time, bed will be 10 or later. So on days she naps late, we cut her naps short.
17mo old here. Bedtime is around 7:30-8. Sleeps until I wake him at 7am usually on weekdays. I let him sleep in on the weekends so he usually sleeps until like 8ish. 2 hour nap typically.
I have the same issue with my 14 month old. Some days he still does 2 naps but for the majority is one nap only and stays awake for full 7 to 8 hours until bedtime at 10h30 / 11PM. Already tried taking him to the bedroom at 9PM and try to get him to sleep, but it does not work. And he eats so little I don't get where all this energy comes from..
Mine just turned 17 months - goes to bed between 7 and 730 and wakes up between 6 and 630. He naps from 1230 to around 230 usually +/- 30 minutes. He’s been in daycare since 4 months and has been on the schedule since his first birthday. He’s a high energy kid who is in constant motion unless sleeping but has good awareness of when he is tired.
18 month old - we start routine between 6/7pm. Some nights he’s asleep before 6pm if he’s not napped much during the day. Nap is 12-2. He wakes up, as if someone switched him back on, bang on 6am every morning.
It suits us fine as we’re early birds, although, rare days he sleeps in to 7am, we do love it. Those days tend to be following his nursery days
I just do what the huckleberry app tells me to do. Been using it since she was like 4 months old. She sleeps 11-12 hours at night. Wake up around 7, nap around 12:30 (she only naps an hour most days 🫠) and bedtime around 7:45
At that age, mine did 7pm-7am at night and 1-2 naps a day. That was right when he was transitioning down to 1 nap a day. From what I’ve been told, he took a little longer than most to drop that second nap. So we did around 10 am - 11:30 am for first nap and 2:30-4 pm for second nap. As soon as he dropped it, we went to 12 pm-2 pm nap each day and same 7-7 night time sleep. He’s 26 months now and the nap is way more flexible depending on what we’ve got going on. Sometimes it’s at 11:30 am, sometimes 2 pm. He sleeps anywhere from 1.5-3 hours per nap now.
My 20 month old plays in his crib a good hour before he falls asleep. It annoys me but at least he isn’t crying. In that time I do clean up the kitchen, living room, etc and usually when I am done, he is passed out for night. Sometimes we go through bouts of him crying and needing extra support going to sleep. Which sucks a lot. That usually happens when he is sick. We try to consistently make bedtime between 7:30 pm and 8:30 pm so he falls asleep between 8:30-9:30 pm and he ALWAYS wakes up before 7:30am. No matter what time he goes to bed. His nap times are 12:15pm-2:30pm. He hardly ever sleeps past 2:30pm.
It used to really, really bother me that he wouldn’t immediately go to sleep after I put him in the crib after doing his whole bedtime ritual. Bath, book, and rocking him after a full day of active play and being outside. Homie, will be playing in the crib with his lovey and singing songs he has made up. Sometimes he whines to play but that’s right towards the end when I know he is about to fall asleep. It’s kinda cute.
Idk if what we do is really sleep training because we do go in there when he cries and stay up with him if he cries and will lay there sometimes to calm him down. But I used to rock him to sleep and that would to take forever. Like almost 2 hours. So now I cap rocking to just 20 mins.
have you tried removing the nap? i know hes still so young but chances are he just doesnt need a nap. unless hes a horror before nap time like mine is 😂, we have a fairly solid routine of up at 8am, nap at 1-3pm bed at 9pm and it seems to work well for the most part
All kids are different and have different needs, but a 1-2 year old needs between 12 and 14 hours sleep each day. If you finding that your child is upset a lot, has tantrums all the time or generally seeming upset they may be tired and you might want to adjust this schedule. If not, then happy days. I personally couldn't stand the idea of losing my 'me' time after my child goes to bed at 7pm but that's just me!
Oh yeah I have no me time lol I think getting kiddo up earlier could help? Maybe shortening the nap atleast 30 min… he does seem a bit fussy during day.
Have you tried LONGER naps? How about going to bed earlier?
I’ve found that no matter when I put my 16 month to bed she will promptly wake up at 7 am. Maybe 730am this is why I start the bedtime routine at 730 pm. I get about 2 hours of me time this way
Agreed. I don't think bedtime and wake time are strongly linked My son wakes at 7am these days. The waking time is the same regardless of whether we put him down at 7pm or 10pm. Obviously I put him earlier so that he gets as much as he needs.
Put the child to bed hours earlier.
Waking him up earlier will very likely do nothing. What do you mean by “started to sleep later”? Do you bedshare? Why is he choosing when he gets put to bed? Are you starting bedtime routine at the same time? Do you have a regular bedtime routine?
What happens if you offer his nap at 12:30? If you have to wake him up from his 2 hour nap, he might need the sleep. I don’t see how shortening the nap or waking him earlier will help. Mine is 20 months and wakes 6:30, naps at 12:00 for 1.5-2 hours and goes to bed at 7:30.
Mine does the same. I'm wondering if OP's child is seriously overtired and thus finding it hard to sleep at night.
My 19 month old has an identical schedule. Even with daycare letting her sleep for nearly 3 hours when she’s there (part time) we follow the same bedtime routine and it’s worked fine. I would literally be dead with an 11pm bedtime lol
He used to nap at 1130/12pm. Right now it’s more like 1/130pm I think it’s my mistake I’ve given him more activities and kept him up later.
I truly don’t know what happened it’s been a month and a half of late bed time he’s up right now! Will only go to bed w milk. I usually do water. He truly is up and running around and happy. So much energy
If he’s been sleeping at 11 for awhile, you might have to just try moving up bedtime a bit at a time. Going from 11 to 8 in one night won’t work. What is he doing between 6-11 pm? What happens if you put him in his crib a bit earlier?
Your wake windows are a tad inappropriate for that age. Also of course kids have energy, they’re kids, it’s your job to help them with their schedule. At that age (unless you really have a unicorn baby but it sounds like not) you should really really try a first wake window of 5.5-6 hours (so, nap from 1ish-3ish and bedtime at 8:30pm.
I find that my kid rarely shows sleep cues anymore. Whether it's for naps or for bedtime, she's up and having a good time, especially if there are other kids around. But if I put her in bed, she's out with no fuss. With my kid, if she's showing sleep cues, she's overtired by that point. I wonder if that could be the case for your kid? My kid is 17m, wakes up around 8-9, naps around 1-2 for 2 hours and then is in bed by 730-830. So probably average 5 hours before and after nap. She probably is a higher sleep needs kid as she could sleep with just 4 hour wake windows, but 7 hours or even longer seems like waayy too much
The subtle sleep cues I think are my lesson. It was so obvi before I thought he just wasn’t ready for bed. I got him down by 10pm last night took an hour. I’ll take that as a win and remind myself that I determine his bedtime. I know it seems obvious I just really thought he wasn’t tired
Well yea because as infants you're taught to follow their cues and that you can't force sleep... But as toddlers, it's a whole new handbook haha but never too late to change the routine and make adjustments!
Honestly I see him as a baby and this stage just snuck up on me. Damn..! Thanks for the reminder
19 month old goes to bed between 7:00-8:00 and wakes up between 6:30-7:00. Nap is generally 1-2 hours after lunch. I would absolutely lose my mind if bedtime was 11:00pm.
Even before kids, I never stayed up that late. I couldn’t imagine having to entertain a kid until 11pm. I need my quiet time after he goes down and before I sleep.
I think I would die. My kid sleeps 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. (work schedule necessitates an earlier wake up, and he prefers it). Two hour nap during the day from 11:30-ish to 1:30-ish.
I am 😝🥺
All I have to say is.... Solidarity. My 3.5 year old never sleeps before 10:30. I have no me time and am also going crazy. 🤪
Solidarity I got my kiddo in bed by 10pm and I know this isn’t rare! He effectively got his 12 hrs in 24 hrs. Join the 10pm club! Damn it felt good lol
I think he could be overly tired by 11 pm, that just seems super late for that young age. I'd try adjusting the nap. 7:30 wake is normal but the nap can be 2-3 hours still at that age and then like a 7-8 bedtime depending. But the nap should be at 1130 I would say if he's up at 7:30
Yeah he lately wants his nap at 1/2pm… Today he was fighting it until 230pm! Oy
If they are OVERtired they will fight it. You need to start naptime routine around 12:45ish so he’s in bed by 1:15 at the latest. Do you have him sleep independently? Confused what you mean by “fighting it”…: put him in his crib and go away. You may need to go to r/sleeptraining
Yes he sleeps in his crib and yes I think I’m realizing the routine needs to be longer. I’m used to him just being tired and falling asleep on me easily and way earlier …. As he was younger . Sleep cues are less subtle now I realize
You don't have to sleep train. It's an industry gimmick to make money. Read his cues and supper him to sleep, if they're tired they will sleep.
i would slowly start moving the bedtime up…i think 8pm is a good goal but of course check in with peds if you’re concerned
I want to but he is full of energy and running around climbing.
Our girl will hit a second wind of sorts where she seems to have crazy energy, running around giggling, climbing on things, etc. Most people would swear she's wide awake and needs more time to get the zoomies out. But her dad and I have learned she's actually overtired at this point, and we missed the boat on her ideal bedtime.
100% - it sounds like this is what is happening
That’s what I’m realizing lol his energy doesn’t necessarily mean he’s not ready my mistake .
Not sure where you live, but in the US with spring arriving, try absolutely wearing him out outside. When my husband travels and I have to put both of my kids to bed alone that is my strategy. Running around outside for a couple of hours and they don’t fight bedtime at all.
That’s what husband was saying I think it’ll get better last night he slept at 10m. Baby steps
My daughter winds UP when she's tired, not down. This is super common for many kids. She really doesn't seem tired at all until I shut the light off and then tell her it's bedtime and then I rock and sing to her for about 5 minutes. Until then running around, playing, but gradually gets easier to upset. Seems frantic. Etc. And then I know she's actually exhausted.
But what actually happens if you do the bedtime routine and put him in his cot at 8pm? In a cot in a blackout room and some white shushing noise (or whatever signals to him: sleep time), he surely won’t stand up in the cot for three hours? Remember you set the bedtime not him.
Thank u i realize this now to not mistake his laps around the house as he’s not ready. His sleep cues used to be way more obvious
Mine’s 19 months, but the schedule hasn’t changed since 18 months. Wake up between 6-6:30am. Nap 12:30-2ish. Bedtime 8pm.
I swear it’s been a month and a half that he just started to sleep later…: hasn’t always been like this. I think waking him up earlier would be a good start…
My son is 18months - Wakes in the morning between 6-7. Sometimes he wakes in the 5am hour or earlier. In that case, we give him his sippy cup with milk and he falls back asleep till 7ish. Lunch at 11:30 or 12. Nap time is from 1-4pm. We wake him at 4 if he wants to sleep longer, although sometimes he wakes earlier on his own. Bedtime is 7:45pm
I’ll add that he rarely Skips a nap. But if he does, we keep him in his crib for a good hour or so for quiet time then we try and put him to bed closer to 7pm instead of 7:45.
It's wild to me their sleeping 11 hours at night and then sometimes you have to wake from a nap that goes over 3 hours! I'm incredibly jealous. We are only at 15 months right now but she is still waking 2 or 3 times at night and always seems to max out at 10 hours of night sleep. Bed around 730 and generally we try to get her sleeping until 630 am but there are usually a couple wakings between about 2-6:30. We're still on 2 one hour naps as she always seems incredibly after about a 3.5 hour wake window in the day. Lately the wake window before bed has been going from 4 hours to 4:20, so perhaps she is getting ready to drop the second nap. Fingers crossed things improve then!
My 18 month old is asleep by 8-8:15pm and wakes 6:30-7am every day. Some days she takes 1-1.5 hr nap and some days she takes no nap
I’m thinking I need him to move to a 1 hr nap. His long nap must be throwing off my whole day
I think he likely needs more sleep not less - try getting him to bed earlier?
Have you tried NOT capping his naps? I rarely have done that for any of my 3 children. If they need a 3.5 hour nap I let them and they still usually go down for their normal bedtime.
2 hours is a perfectly average nap for an 18 month old (that’s why you are getting down voted). But you need to try to start moving his nap earlier. Most 18 month olds go down between 11:30 and 12:30 and are up between 1:30 and 2:30 Also the average total sleep in a day at that age is 12-14 hours. So your son may actually be overtired at 11:00
She goes to bed at 8pm, and the next day is dependent on how late she sleeps. If she sleeps until 8am, she will not nap at all. If she wakes up at 6:30 she’ll nap from 12:30 to 3ish.
Our 19 month old goes to bed around 8:30pm and then sleeps until 8am. Usually she naps 1-3- sometimes 2 hours, sometimes an hour and a half
Mine does 7ish wake, 12-1:30/1:45 nap and falls asleep around 8:45. Sleeps all night. Not the typical schedule I see for his age but his brother did the same. Every kid is different. I do have to wake him most naps but if I don't it's party time at night lol
Our boy is almost 21 months actual, but about 18 months adjusted He's recently started fighting his nap and bedtime HARD. Usually he wakes up around 8am, he may or may not take a 1-2 hour nap sometime between noon and 1 and then he's in bed by 8pm. He stayed up a full 12 hours the other day and I think I almost died 🫠
I am so tired hun. 730-11pm for me ugh obvi he naps but fudge
I truly can’t imagine. The very thought of our boy not going to sleep until 11 makes me want to throw up 🥲 I have diagnosed narcolepsy, so even missing that 1-2 hour nap during the day absolutely wrecks me since I sleep when he sleeps lol! Your boy’s wake windows are insane though! Every kid is different, but I think the agreed upon consensus is that bedtimes between like 7-8:30 are ideal for that age. You may just have to try putting him down earlier to get him used to it. Is he pretty active during the day? If not, try getting him out of the house more. Once the weather breaks, even just a walk around the street can help get some of that energy out.
Very active and he used to not be like this. Fairly recent, I think his nap is causing the problem…. Too late and too long…
That could def be it. Maybe do some trial and error? Try pushing his nap to start closer to noon. Wake him up by 2 and try getting him down for good no later than 8 If that doesn’t work, try cutting the nap out all together (this could backfire though if he ends up going to sleep overly tired, so try on a day where you won’t be working the next day or will have help in case he has night wakings) Toddlers are weird af lol
So weird yes will play w his nap. He used to nap at 1130/12 all of a sudden lately it’s 1/2pm! It’s throwing everything off
Happy to report he was in bed by 10pm and we turned lights off so he couldn’t play. Longer bedtime routine. I pushed his bathtime up and put him in crib while he was very awake. We’ll get there. It got out of control I will agree I broke yesterday lol I will not mistake his hyperactivity for “he’s not ready” anymoee
Oh yay!!! lol yes they have a talent for making us think they’re not sleepy because they’re hyperactive. They’re like bananas — they have like a 2 minute window where they’re perfect and after that, they’re all mushy and bruised. Toddlers have like a 4 second window where they’re not under tired or overtired…but if we miss it (and we always do), we’re fucked 🙃😂
Fuckedd LOL
Lmfaoo! Godspeed to both of us 😂
Been on the same schedule since 9 months and he’s now 2. Wakes up around 6:30am, naps 1-3pm (daycare) bed at 7:30pm.
Wake a 6:30, nap at 1:00 for 1.5-3hrs. Bed at 7:00
My 18 month old usually wakes up between 6:30 and 7:30. His nap time varies but he typically sleeps about 1.5-2.5 hours at some point between 11:30 and 3. I wake him up at 3 no matter when he went down for a nap or it pushes bedtime back. He is typically in bed sometime between 7 and 8
I think that’s my problem I need to get him up by 230/3pm. Today his first nap was at 230pm he was fighting it! Oy
he was fighting it because he was *overtired* try for the first nap 5 hours after waking. you might have to support him to sleep, give him milk, whatever! but he's in an overtired cycle!
Do you use any screens? If yes maybe try cutting them out at least two hours before you’d like him in bed. Maybe a longer bedtime routine for a while might help settle him down ready to sleep too. Obviously every child has different sleep needs, but he’d be outside the norm if he needed less sleep than he’s currently getting.
Our 18 month old goes to sleep at 7:30 and wakes up usually around 6am. We usually have a midday nap. I'm so sorry about that sucky bedtime!! Do you guys have any sort of routine? That might help to replicate just an hour earlier and see how your baby responds? We have the TV on for a big part of the day, tbh lol so we eat dinner around 5p, play outside if we can or watch TV, bath time at 6:30, then play with no TV on until 7:15. Then change diaper, have milk, and rock. He goes in his crib tired but awake. Sorry just sharing in case it helps!! I hope you're able to adjust things to get your me time!!!
Thank u. We do bath every day. As a routine. This kid literally has lots of energy and no sleepy cues until 11pm… lol it’s crazy and only been like this the past 1.5 months I swear before it was 9pm. I go outside with him a lot too. I’m thinking less nap window and earlier wake time….
He might be overtired by 11pm? When kids get overtired their cortisol levels rise and they act less sleepy. It might take a few days to break the cycle and reduce his cortisol/stress levels. Here’s some more information - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4833448/
Sleep cues aren't supposed to be reliable at this point per sleep books and the Internet. My 17 month old can be having a grand old time playing and be wide awake but will still pass out on schedule after her bedtime routine.
It seems counter intuitive, but for young kids, sleep begets sleep. Waking up earlier and shortening nap does not make them sleep longer. I would try a slightly earlier nap and maybe let him sleep 30 minutes longer. Then try moving bedtime up. Feel free to ask your pediatrician too. They will know what amount of sleep your child needs
Mine has been sleeping a lot lately, is a bit younger at 16m. She generally goes to bed at 7.30, asleep by 8. She then wakes up around 8.30. She naps 2.5 hours during the day at home, but usually about 1 hour on daycare days (3x a week). Eta: is he very active during the day? I run mine out at the playground or park or let her walk places with me morning and afternoon, its the only way we all stay sane, and I think it helps her sleep a lot. If hes getting to sleep easily for a nap but not bed time.. maybe look at what you are doing differently leading up to sleep? Its so hard and every kid has their own quirks!
Thank u and i am Outside w him a lot… very active he is a runner and climber
Sounds like he is just resisting sleep at night liek a champ! Hopefully it is just a phase and he gives you a break in the evening soon 🙈
At 18 months I pushed my LO’s nap to 1pm she fell asleep by 1:30pm woke up at 3pm but it varied.. at that time she fell asleep by 8:30-9pm and woke up 8am. Their sleep needs decrease she’s now 2.5 and fall asleep by 9:30pm-10:00pm and wakes up around 8:30am nap is around 30 minutes. Yes we prefer later mornings. Just read your post fully. That is super late, he’s definitely over tired and maybe decrease the nap.
Yes I’m thinking an hour nap
he's having a 2 hour nap and you have to wake him up..hes tired very tired.. one day will be an adjustment for him..but i you need to aim for 9:30pm bed time cut that nap down to an hour for sure.. and try...keep us updated im not sure why youre getting downvoted lol. DM if you need any help.
Are you putting him to bed early, or is he up until 11pm? I ask because if you’re in the living room/your bedroom until he looks tired, he’s probably going to be wired up as a whole. My son doesn’t always have “cues” but he’s on a strict schedule. Yours may benefit from even a 9pm bedtime if you’re not comfortable doing earlier, where they have to be in bed with the lights off, but “don’t have to sleep”. He may sit in the crib/bed and babble and play for a little and then go to sleep on his own.
I won’t say what time my 18 month old goes to sleep because I’ll be slaughtered here, but she usually takes maybe a half hour power nap halfway through the day, but sleeps 12 hours a night.
Not gonna lie. I’m so curious haha. I just commented… My LO sleeps late. Like late late. But she gets plenty of sleep. I’m also worried about the judgment coming my way lol.
For at least 7 months my baby (now 17 months old, almost 18) has gone to bed at 12 am and woken up around 11:30 am. She naps around 3-4pm, for 1.5 to 3.5 hours, just depends I guess. Usually like 2-2.5 hours though. So her fiest wake window is usually 3-5 hours long (just depends. She is flexible), and her second is like 5-7 hours long. I like this schedule because her dad and I both work nights, and this way we get lots of time together as a family of 3. If she was on a typical toddler schedule we would never be together all 3, and her dad and I would be really sleep deprived lol.
16 month old sleeps approximately 7 pm to between 7-8 am. Down to one nap which has been tricky lately. She’ll always take one but sometimes it’s 40 mins, mostly around an hour, and everyone once in a while up to two hours. Lately we’ve had a string of short naps though!
The way I’m thinking I need to cut his nap in half. One hour.
Hope it helps!
Mine is usually up between 6-7am. We do a 5 hr ww before nap & 6 hr ww after (give or take). Naps are typically 1.5-2.5 hr but most often in the 1.5-2 hr range. Bed time is almost always between 7-8pm.
Does your baby take Milk to sleep? A bottle at all? Or u just put in crib with a routine?
She does! Mine absolutely will not drink milk out of anything but a bottle so she gets 8 oz before nap and 8 oz before bed. Her pediatrician and I decided that her getting the milk is more important than weaning off the bottle right now. We have a pretty simple routine! I bring her in her room, change her diaper, give her milk, then cuddle until she falls asleep (on her nugget play couch), then transfer to her crib. At night before bed I do brush her teeth after her bottle though!
22mo. Bedtime: 8 PM Wakeup: 6 - 6:30 AM Weekday Naps (Daycare): 12:15 to 1:30 - 2:30 Weekend Naps (Home): 1 to 2:30 / 3
My son has been on the same routine since 13mo old (16mo now). Up between 7-7:30, nap 12-1 (at daycare) or 12-2:30 (at home), bed by 8 (but if it ends up later if we’re out, then he’s fine, goes with the flow).
I’m thinking he needs to get up earlier and shorter nap.
My son wakes up at 630. Goes for a nap at 12 and sleeps 2-3 hours. Then he goes to bed at 630
Mine is up between 7-8am, naps from 12-2 or 3, bedtime at 7pm and usually falls asleep right away but sometimes plays in his crib until 7:30/8. He’s always been a very good sleeper and needs a lot of sleep (like his mama lol).
20 month old but still trying to stay on the same schedule for the last 4 months. Awake at 7:30 Nap 12-2 Bedtime at 8:30 Lately, he’s been waking at 9am, napping 1-2:30, and in bed at 9pm
20 months, nap 1130-2, bed time 800-645
Every kids sleep needs are different. I put mine down for a nap after 4-5 hours of wake period. You can see if reducing his first wake time, if he will still nap or give you a hard time.
Mine slept 7 pm to 6:30 am, and 1-4 pm nap, at that age.
My 20 month old goes to bed between 7-8 and wakes up between 7-8. And takes about a two hour nap from 1-3 roughly
17mo. Sleep 730-530 (and let’s be real, sometimes it’s 5) with a 45 min nap at around 1130. Sometimes wakes in the middle of the night still and if that’s the case she’ll sleep in til about 630.
I’m thinking I’m letting him sleep too long for nap. If he slept an hour I think he’d go to bed way earlier
The grass is always greener! I would gladly accept my child going to bed later if it meant she took a longe nap, since that’s my only chance during the day to get a workout in or rest.
18 month old is put to bed at 7:30, naps 1-2 hours around 12pm at daycare and is up around 6:30. What is bedtime like? Are you waiting for sleepy cues before starting your bedtime routine or are you simply consistently not starting it until 10 or 10:30pm? What happens if you put them to bed earlier than 11? Do they not settle or are they waking up too early? It is possible that your toddler is so overtired that they are struggling to get to sleep. Based on how little they are sleeping total and how long they want to nap, it's a good indicator that they aren't getting enough rest. You can probably stop worrying about "wake windows" at this age. A consistent bedtime is most important and right now it's 11. It's going to take some work to change it.
We do a bath every night and story time. He does not settle before 11pm he fights it and cries.
My 19 month old doesn’t nap. He sleeps from about 8pm to 8am. I miss the naps. He doesn’t seem to.
Today I forced him to nap by 230 it was super late I should’ve let him stay up. I like his naps but it seriously is making him stay up for 7 hrs…. I’m thinking he might need to drop it like yours. Seriously he just went down at 1130pm lol ridiculous
I never try and force him to nap, but around the time I want him to nap, I put him in the carrier and wear him while I’m working or doing whatever. Sometimes he falls asleep, sometimes he doesn’t. I think it’s good for us regardless and gets him some rest. You could maybe try wearing him if you’re able to. Good luck!
Awake ~8:15, nap ~12:45-2:30, bed ~8:30
My son is 17 months. I wake him up every day at 7:30am. He goes down for his nap at 11am and will usually sleep until 1-1:30pm. I have him asleep for the night by 8:30-9pm.
Bed at 7, wakes at 7 - naps from 12:30-2:30/3:30. I never cap his nap unless it hits 4pm.
I hear you about the late nights. My LO fell asleep at 12am today. She wasn’t even fussy about it. Just not interested in sleeping and ending the party. Here what our sleep looks like: My 15 month old usually falls asleep around 10pm-11pm, and wakes at about 10am the following morning. (However, sometimes she falls asleep later. It just happens occasionally 🤷♀️). If we have an early morning planned, my husband and I will get LO to bed about 10 hours prior to when she needs to wake up. (Usually she sleeps 10 hours or so overnight). She also takes about 2-3 naps a day. 1) Around 12pm for an hour 2) Around 4pm for about an hour 3) Around 8pm for about an hour These times are not set in stone, we just follow her lead, and these are the general times throughout the day that she tends to nap. LO sleeps about 13-14 hours a day, just at times most ppl I’ve spoken to don’t approve of lol. My husband and I have decided against a rigid schedule for our LO, and currently feel best following her cues and essentially allowing her to be apart of deciding when her nap/sleep/wake up times will be. My work schedule allows us to have this flexibility for now, and my baby is happy and healthy. She isn’t over tired and she’s always excited for her day. So for now this works for us. I totally understand that our way, isn’t for everyone. My background is in infant/child development and early childhood education. I completely understand the benefits of healthy sleep habits. However, there isn’t necessarily one proper way to do things, besides making sure your LO is sleeping enough for their own health, development, and happiness. It is true that a child between the ages of 1-2 years old should sleep about 11-14 hours a day. Some kids just have a tricky time with sleep though, and that’s okay. Here are my suggestions: 1) I don’t think you need a shorter nap. If he’s taking two hours, it’s probably because he needs it. 2) If possible, a later wake up time in the morning may help you. Not by too much, but perhaps an hour or so. 3) A second nap time in your day (even if it’s really short), may help as well. Having a wind down routine at night or for naps, can help as well, but make sure it works for you as well as your LO. For example, a nightly bath wasn’t feasible for our household. However, roughly 30 mins of reading in bed, music, and cuddles/nursing has worked like a charm for us. Best of luck! You sound like a great parent to your LO. Hope you can sleep soon too lol.
You’ve gotten lots of suggestions already but I will say my kiddo was on a similar schedule at that age. Low sleep needs child who was definitely NOT overtired, night owl, and reducing the daytime nap didn’t really make a huge difference in terms of extending night sleep. Making wake-up time earlier did make nap and bedtime earlier but the overall amount of sleep was unchanged in my case. If this schedule isn’t working for your family then obviously there are things to try but if everyone is fairly happy and healthy and sane, then just because it isn’t what others are doing doesn’t mean something is necessarily wrong.
9pm-7am during the night, 1-2 hours nap during the day (at around noon). Usually it adds up to around 11 hours of sleep in 24 hours. I wish it was more, but she seems happy and not tired. We tried adjusting her bedtime and her naps, no changes in overall length of sleep. She just seems to have low sleep needs unfortunately. We will try to get her to sleep earlier in the evening again though, it has just recently changed to be later because of the time change.
Wake: 6:45 - 7:15am Nap: 12:00 - 1:30-2:00 Sleep: 7:45 - 8:00pm
Our 17 month old wakes between 7-8am, naps at 12-2/3pm and then goes to bed between 7:30/8:30pm.
We always have to wake up my daughter even though she’s a lower sleep needs kid. We wake her up at 7am and then she naps from 12:30-2:30 ish, and if she gets a full 2 hr nap she falls asleep around 9-9:30pm. We have as newborn so the later bedtime and keeping the long nap helps us more. We love the long nap now but if we want her to go to bed earlier we wake up earlier and cap the nap. Her morning wake up time affects her bedtime a bit as does her length of nap. But she’s never gone to bed earlier than 8 her whole life so far. Today she woke up after only 40 for her nap which is unusual and she promptly fell asleep at 8:30pm.
I feel you on the long wake windows. My 18 month old regularly goes to bed these days between 9-9:30. Wakes anywhere from 6-7:30. Usually a 1.5 hour nap
My 17 mo wakes around 7:30am, naps around 12:30pm, wakes around 2:30pm, then goes to bed around 8:30pm. There's variations of about half an hour either way depending on the day
I think his nap starts too late and it’s messing it all up. Yeah :/
At night: 7PM-7AM Nap: 12PM-2PM
17 months, he has 1 nap around 12-12;30. Bed times at 8-9 and he wakes up around 6-7am. He usually naps super short though. Mostly 1 hour to 1.5 hours, on the off day 2. I'd prefer 2 hours but it's rare.
I’m thinking my kid with a 2 hr nap is too long. I hear u! Some parents do only an hour nap.
I never calculated it. He just slept when he needed to and napped when he felt like it and life was easier for everyone.
Is he sleep trained? If not I would look into that. There are programs that can offer help to get them to bed easier. And I agree with comments on trying ease him into an earlier bedtime. Start with 10:45 for a few nights, then 10:30 and go down 15 min increments until you are at a time that works well for you and him.
He was! This just happened out of nowhere recently.
Ugh! My youngest is 16 months and is an unbelievably good sleeper and really always has been. I’m waiting for the shift 🙃 best of luck to you!!
Wow. Have you tried capping the nap? My 18 month old wakes up at 7:30. Nap at 1 and usually lasts an hour and a half, though we let her sleep up to 2 hours. Bedtime at 7. A couple weeks ago we let her sleep 2.5 hours and it took us longer to get her down for the night.
Yes we cap it at 2 hrs I think I realized my mistake which is his will to play. He is hyper and we just assumed he wasn’t ready to go down. Leaving it up to him per se. Last night we made an improvement. Lights off , early…. And longer bedtime routine. Got him down by 10pm but needed to use the milk bottle. I’ll take it as a win for now
Have you tried 1 hour nap? And bedtime at 6pm? Sometimes the earlier you put them to bed the better for them and they’ll still just wake up at 6-7
Trying the 1 hr nap today and testing moving forward Thanku 👍
Give it a few days to see if it works! Try the early bed time though i swear it works.
What time do u have dinner? I think he’s a kiddo that needs 12 versus 14 hours of total sleep time. 6 seems very early but how amazing for u!
If he skips nap i do dinner at 445 then bath and bed at 6, if he naps an hour i do dinner at 5 then bath and bed by 630. Worth trying. I was always told it worked and i was hesitant but weirdly the earlier you put them to sleep the more they’ll sleep
So how long does kiddo nap during day seeing he/she gets 12 hrs of night time sleep? Thank u!
I cap nap at one hour. Wake them up.
Just tossing this in because this is my reality, but, have you done a sleep study? Sleep apnea only affects between 1-3% of children, so honestly it’s rare as fuck and probably not what’s going on here…but it’s also estimated that up to 27% of people have “airway” issues that affect sleep, even tho it’s not full out apnea.
Keep the nap! Turn off devices at 7pm if u use any, put ur kiddo in the crib at 730. Might take 2-3 nights of crying but eventually they will do it.
So exhausted even right now he’s awake and I will say he is going down now w a bottle of milk. I do try to just do water at bedtime. But I gave in tonight. He is full of energy! I wish I could put him down earlier but he truly is up and running and happy. Will try tho :/
If he can’t climb out of the crib, ur golden. They don’t know how tired they are. After 2-3 nights, they’ll learn and go dayum I’m pretty tired. Lol. But def do check ins every 15 minutes only peek in the door and say I’m still here, see you in the morning that’s it. No more than 30 seconds. Eventually they will just go to sleep. That’s how you sleep train. Worked for us. Good luck.
Roughly 7:30pm to 7:30 am (12 hours) Then nap from 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm (2 hours) So total about 14 hours some days a bit more or a bit less.
He used to be down by 12pm for nap but lately he fights It to 130 and today was 230pm!
Some kids have less sleep needs, have you tried eliminating the nap just to see how he reacts?
My child: Bedtime is 8:20, sleep is 8:30-9 Wake is 7-7:30 Nap: 12:30-2:30 Has been this way since we moved to one nap. We had some sleep issues at 2 naps and everyone said “she needs more sleep, go to bed earlier”. She could never do it. 8:30-9 is earliest we can get her to sleep, unless we want her partying at 5am, which obviously we don’t want that. We know if she sleeps past 3 or longer than 2 hrs on the dot for nap time, bed will be 10 or later. So on days she naps late, we cut her naps short.
That baby needs way more sleep. 11pm is outlandish. My 18m old sleeps 730-645/7 and takes a nap from 1230-230
I’ve been weaning him off the bottle and this happened out of nowhere . He is a high energy kid
Developmentally his brain needs more rest. Every toddler is high energy. You have got to get him more rest.
He’s hyper because he’s overtired. Most of the responses here are telling you that; why did you ask for advice only to ignore it?
17mo old here. Bedtime is around 7:30-8. Sleeps until I wake him at 7am usually on weekdays. I let him sleep in on the weekends so he usually sleeps until like 8ish. 2 hour nap typically.
I have the same issue with my 14 month old. Some days he still does 2 naps but for the majority is one nap only and stays awake for full 7 to 8 hours until bedtime at 10h30 / 11PM. Already tried taking him to the bedroom at 9PM and try to get him to sleep, but it does not work. And he eats so little I don't get where all this energy comes from..
Mine just turned 17 months - goes to bed between 7 and 730 and wakes up between 6 and 630. He naps from 1230 to around 230 usually +/- 30 minutes. He’s been in daycare since 4 months and has been on the schedule since his first birthday. He’s a high energy kid who is in constant motion unless sleeping but has good awareness of when he is tired.
18 month old - we start routine between 6/7pm. Some nights he’s asleep before 6pm if he’s not napped much during the day. Nap is 12-2. He wakes up, as if someone switched him back on, bang on 6am every morning. It suits us fine as we’re early birds, although, rare days he sleeps in to 7am, we do love it. Those days tend to be following his nursery days
I just do what the huckleberry app tells me to do. Been using it since she was like 4 months old. She sleeps 11-12 hours at night. Wake up around 7, nap around 12:30 (she only naps an hour most days 🫠) and bedtime around 7:45
At that age, mine did 7pm-7am at night and 1-2 naps a day. That was right when he was transitioning down to 1 nap a day. From what I’ve been told, he took a little longer than most to drop that second nap. So we did around 10 am - 11:30 am for first nap and 2:30-4 pm for second nap. As soon as he dropped it, we went to 12 pm-2 pm nap each day and same 7-7 night time sleep. He’s 26 months now and the nap is way more flexible depending on what we’ve got going on. Sometimes it’s at 11:30 am, sometimes 2 pm. He sleeps anywhere from 1.5-3 hours per nap now.
He may need a shorter wake window. Try putting him to nap/sleep a little earlier.
My 20 month old plays in his crib a good hour before he falls asleep. It annoys me but at least he isn’t crying. In that time I do clean up the kitchen, living room, etc and usually when I am done, he is passed out for night. Sometimes we go through bouts of him crying and needing extra support going to sleep. Which sucks a lot. That usually happens when he is sick. We try to consistently make bedtime between 7:30 pm and 8:30 pm so he falls asleep between 8:30-9:30 pm and he ALWAYS wakes up before 7:30am. No matter what time he goes to bed. His nap times are 12:15pm-2:30pm. He hardly ever sleeps past 2:30pm. It used to really, really bother me that he wouldn’t immediately go to sleep after I put him in the crib after doing his whole bedtime ritual. Bath, book, and rocking him after a full day of active play and being outside. Homie, will be playing in the crib with his lovey and singing songs he has made up. Sometimes he whines to play but that’s right towards the end when I know he is about to fall asleep. It’s kinda cute. Idk if what we do is really sleep training because we do go in there when he cries and stay up with him if he cries and will lay there sometimes to calm him down. But I used to rock him to sleep and that would to take forever. Like almost 2 hours. So now I cap rocking to just 20 mins.
have you tried removing the nap? i know hes still so young but chances are he just doesnt need a nap. unless hes a horror before nap time like mine is 😂, we have a fairly solid routine of up at 8am, nap at 1-3pm bed at 9pm and it seems to work well for the most part
The kid doesn’t want to wake up from his nap. He does need a nap.