11 Month Old Sleep Schedule

Why is my 11 month old fighting naps? Is my 11 month old baby ready to drop a nap? #

Quite a few babies begin to fight naps around 11-12 months. Babies this age are so busy! They are moving around and growing more interested in the world around them. With so much development happening, we often see a disruption in sleep. 

Perhaps you’re seeing that your baby is:

• Taking longer to fall asleep at nap time

• Not staying asleep as long for naps

• Experiencing more wakings during naps

• Completely refusing a nap altogether

Even if you see these signs, it’s unlikely that your 11 month old is ready to drop a nap.  Here’s why: In order to successfully transition to one nap, a baby needs to handle wake windows of about 5-6 hours before the nap and 4-5 hours after the nap without being overtired. Most 11 month olds just aren’t able to do so. If we transition to one nap too early, we often see other sleep issues, like night wakings or early morning wakings. 

Instead of dropping a nap, consider these questions: 

What are some 11 month old milestones? #

When your baby is eleven months old, they may be:

• Cruising along furniture

• Standing without assistance or taking a few steps

• Saying a few familiar words, like “mama,” “dada,” “baba”

• Trying to communicate using hand movements

• Throwing or trying to throw objects

• Finding hidden objects (ex: hiding a toy under a blanket, they know to look under the blanket for their toy)

• Showing more independence with self feeding

Please know, every baby develops at their own individual pace, and your baby may experience these milestones before or after 11 months. Be sure to speak with your pediatrician if you have any concerns about your baby meeting their milestones. 

What are some activities I can do with my 11 month old? #

You’ve probably noticed your eleven month old baby is showing more interest in what you’re doing and wanting to be a part of everything. They’re more mobile than ever and showing better coordination. Here are a few ideas for activities to do with your 11 month old: 

• Encourage mobility by supervising your baby cruising along the sofa. 

• Try an activity walker to get your baby moving as they practice standing up and pushing it along.

• Promote hand-eye coordination by rolling a ball back and forth with your baby.

• Build on your baby’s understanding of object permanence by hiding objects under small boxes or containers or consider toys that demonstrate object permanence.

• Offer toys that allow your baby to imitate you like a toy phone.

• Create a safe space in the kitchen for your baby to explore, like a bottom drawer with plastic containers and measuring cups.

• Turn on the music and have a dance party! Let your baby make music by drumming on a bowl with a spoon (This helps with hand-eye coordination too and can be a great tool for stretching those wake windows.).

If you need more inspiration for your 11 month old, check out my Amazon store for other developmental toy ideas.

What time should an 11 month old go to bed?#

I recommend a bedtime between 7:00-8:00 pm to help your eleven month old fall asleep and stay asleep. I have found that a bedtime in this range really helps minimize sleep disruptions overnight. 

If your baby is going to bed after 8:00 pm and getting 10-12 hours of consolidated sleep, that’s great! There’s no need to make any changes. But, if bedtime is after 8:00 pm, and your little one is having false start bedtimes, fighting bedtime, waking multiple times during the night, or waking before 6:00 am, consider moving bedtime a bit earlier for a few weeks to see if it helps.

On occasion, we do need to shift bedtime before 7:00 pm. Here are some reasons I may suggest it: 

• Your baby refused a nap.

• Your baby took a very short nap.

• Your baby got less than 2-2.5 hours of total daytime sleep.

• Your baby is really having a hard time making it to bedtime (after being awake at least 3.5 hours from the end of the second nap)

Having a predictable bedtime routine can be so helpful for bedtime success. See the blog Creating a Bedtime Routine if you’re not sure where to start. 

How long should an 11 month baby sleep at night?#

We want to aim for 10-12 hours of overnight sleep and 2 naps totaling about 2.5-3 hours. Our goal is 13-15 hours of total sleep in a 24-hour period. Babies who are on the higher end of the range for night sleep are often on the lower end of the range for daytime sleep and vice versa. 

If 13-15 hours of restful sleep seems impossible with your little one, please know I can help. My 5-24 Month Collection will give you a holistic, step-by-step, and fully-customizable plan to set you up for sleep success for days, nights, and every bump along the way.

Is there an 11 month sleep regression?#

There can be! We typically see sleep regressions around 8-10 months and around 12 months. Since 11 months falls right in between those sleep regressions, I do see some babies struggle with sleep at this age. You may also be seeing changes in your 11 month old’s sleep because your baby is: