Here are great sample 9, 10, 11, and 12 month baby routines and schedules. I’m continuing my sample schedule series with our routine for the 9-12 month period. During this time your little one is more mobile, awake more, but still has some sleep and nutrition needs that’ll dictate if they’re in a good mood or not. Here is a sample routine that’ll help your baby have calm peaceful days, good long naps, and easy bedtimes. Of course, with some play and snuggle time thrown in there too.
- Newborn Sample Routine
- Sample 6 Month Schedule
- 9 to 12 Month Sample Schedule
- 18 Month Sample Schedule
- 2 Year Old Sample Schedule
- 4 Kids (4 Years and Under)
- Ultimate Newborn Sleep Schedule: Week by Week
Y’all don’t even know.
We’re not supposed to say we have a favorite age, but I mean really…. this 9 to 12-month phase is my absolute favorite.
Okay fine, I said that at the 6 month age too…
Why? They are sweet, gushy and cuddly, and they laugh a lot. All smiles and no attitude.
Need I say more?
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Notes about 9 to 12 month olds
- 9 to 12 month olds are less sleepy than they used to be, but should still be taking two naps a day. If your baby takes one super long nap and has an early bedtime they may still get along without being overtired, but if that one nap isn’t at least 3 hours try putting them down twice.
- Solids are super important at this stage. Not only for their nutritional needs, but for proper sleep. All 5 of my kiddos wouldn’t sleep well or would wake super early if they hadn’t had adequate food throughout the day. Also, I was able to discern my milk supply wasn’t what it should have been due to this very thing. 9 to 12 month old babies need to eat a good amount of solids in addition to milk.
- This 9 to 12 month period is when babies start crawling around, making huge messes, trying to empty the trash can, and want to shove everything in their mouths. While you may not need to “baby proof” in a very strict sense of the word, it is a time to practice more vigilance. But hey, you’re already used to being hyper-vigilant aren’t you?
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Read: Feeding baby until 1 year of age
A sample routine for 9 to 12 month old babies
Note: This is the routine I’ve used with all 5 of my babies, more or less at the same times.
That’s not to say it’s the only way… there is probably not an “only way” for much in this life.
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Learn MoreSample 9 Month Old Routine
- 7:30 am – milk and solids
- 9:30 am – morning nap
- 11:30 am – milk
- 12:00 pm or so – lunch with family
- 1:00 pm – afternoon nap
- 3:30 pm – milk and snack
- 5:00 to 5:30 pm – dinner with family and solids
- 7:00 pm – milk and bedtime
- 6:30 pm – bedtime snack if desired
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Now, let’s break the sample schedule down
7:30 am – Milk and solids. If the baby hasn’t had a substantial bedtime snack he’ll wake earlier, but I don’t feed him milk or solids until this time because that encourages him to sleep later, which he will.
We’ll eat breakfast, then he will have some free play with is siblings.
9:30 am – Morning nap. My 4th doesn’t take a long nap at this point, maybe 45 minutes, but that’s enough to keep him content and rested until his afternoon nap.
If he wakes early, I’ll often put a few toys or board books in his crib and let him play as part of his independent play time.
11:30 am – Milk. I’d nurse him or give him a bottle at this time then let him play a bit more until noon, which is when we all have lunch at the table together.
If he’s particularly hungry I’ll give him some finger food in his high chair so he isn’t antsy.
12:00 pm – Lunch at the table with siblings.
1:00 – 1:15 pm – Afternoon nap. I put all 4 of my babies down to nap at the same time. I do a brief wind down, lots of cuddles and kisses, then into the bed with white noise.
4:00 pm – Most days the baby sleeps until at least this time or even 4:30.
Yes, this is what happens when you give them enough food! When he wakes up I’d nurse (though he is now 13 months and weaned… sob…) or give him the bottle.
Want your kids to learn to independently follow their routines? These visual routine cards do the trick.
Learn More5:00 – 5:15 pm – Dinner. This is a very early dinnertime, but it works for us. We’ll all sit and eat as a family.
I’d like to say it’s calm and peaceful but it’s loud and does my head in most nights. Let’s all be honest together. After dinner we’ll do the baths (though they don’t take one every single night), have free play, and generally get ready for bed.
We’ll often read this book after we’ve finished eating together.
6:30 pm – Bedtime snack. I forget this about half the time, but it’s what helps the baby sleep later in the morning. I’ll usually do something like applesauce or yogurt.
Just enough to top him off.
7:00 pm – Nurse/bottle and bed. My husband has always been “jealous” that I get to put the babies to bed. Mwahaha, mommy privileges. This is when the baby is calm and sweet and tired.
Eyes rubbing, singing, praying, and off to bed.
Read: When Babies Go To One Nap (A Step By Step Guide)
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Sample 10-Month-Old Routine
Note, these times can be adjusted based on your own preferred morning wake time. For example, if you have to do a school morning routine with older kids, you may need baby to wake slightly earlier or later.
- 6:30 am – milk and solids
- 8:30 am – morning nap
- 10:30 am – milk and small snack
- 12:00 pm or so – lunch with family
- 1:00 pm – afternoon nap
- 3:30 pm – milk and snack
- 5:00 to 5:30 pm – dinner with family and solids
- 6:30 pm – bedtime snack if desired
- 7:00 pm – milk and bedtime
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Learn MoreSample 11-Month-Old Routine
This is a later bedtime, but can work if you are a stay at home mom. Also, to get baby to sleep later you’ll need some super dark blackout blinds!
- 8:30 am – Wake up for the day, eat, play
- 11:00 am – Nap
- 12:30 pm – Wake, eat, and play
- 3:00 pm – Nap
- 4:30 pm – Wake, eat, and play
- 6:00 pm – Solids with family at dinner
- 8:00 pm – Bedtime routine, milk
- 8:30 pm – Bedtime
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Sample 12-Month-Old Routine
- 7:00 am – Wake up, eat breakfast, play
- 9:30 am – Nap
- 10:45 am – Wake up, play
- 12:00 pm – Lunch, play
- 1:00 pm – Nap
- 3:30 pm – Wake up, snack, play
- 5:30 pm – Dinner
- 6:00 pm – Bath, wind down, family time
- 7:30 pm – Bedtime
The Key to a Good Routine with 9, 10, 11, and 12-month-old babies
This may be so simple it goes without saying… but the key to a good routine is keeping the routine. It can be tricky to remember everything in order when you’re beginning, but once you get the hang of it, routine will be second nature.
It can seem very difficult to get started doing or keeping a routine when you do not have one at all. Here are some ways you can learn to keep your routine.
Hang the routine up.
In my Rhythms, Routines, and Schedules ebook (see more below) I have 25+ sample routine printables from babies age 6 weeks to 5 years.
You can take these printables and hang them in your nursery, on the fridge, or keep them in your planner. Whatever works.
You can hang the routine cards as well and pretty soon you won’t need to reference anything, it’ll be second nature.
Want your kids to learn to independently follow their routines? These visual routine cards do the trick.
Learn MoreSet alarms.
While you don’t need to live and die by the clock, setting your phone, watch, or a timer will help you keep aware of routine transitions.
We can often get so wrapped up in what we’re doing we forget we’ve let the baby sleep 4 hours. Why is that bad? Because 4 hours is a stretch littles ones should only sleep at night!Â
I set alarms on my phone that show on my watch and this works for us.
Practice.
As with anything, if you want something to work then work it. Keep pushing what you’ve decided to do. If it doesn’t work then change it up a bit and keep going.
Move forward.
I assure you 100% that a routine will work if you keep at it.
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Want Routine Printables to hang up?
If you want routines and schedules for not only the 9 to 12 month age, but 18 months, 2 years,  and on and on I’ve got great news. I’ve created a book chock full of routines that work.
Routines that keep babies well rested, happy, and content. Routines that account for all the things you need to do and they are mom tested.
The best part?
The book comes with printable routines (3 choices for each age) that you can hang up and use! So instead of having to reinvent the wheel every few months, you’ll have tried and true mom tested routines right at your fingertips.
Get your own routine book and printables here!
9, 10, 11 and 12 Month Old Baby FAQ
I think that this can vary slightly, but I’m going to say 2 hours is a solid rule of thumb you can go by. 7 am wake up then a 9 am nap. Then maybe up by 11 am and a 1 pm nap.
First, oh no! These 45 minute nap intruders are the worst. I need more info to help, but if baby has 3 naps at this point, I’d probably try dropping the third nap so that baby is taking a morning and an afternoon.
If baby is only on 2 naps, I’d try tweaking the time of the afternoon nap. Perhaps baby isn’t quite tired enough to sleep a good nap at 1, but then is super overtired by his bedtime.
Also, if he has a bad nap I’d move bedtime up a good chunk. So if he normally sleeps at 7:30 pm, I’d probably go to 6:30 pm and see what happens. This, at least, will keep him well rested enough as you begin to tweak his routine. Sometimes the routine will get all out of whack, but ultimately if he’s well rested things will fall back into place!
What an excellent question. First, I’d work on helping your newborn sleep even though the louder siblings are trying to wreck the nap. Ha. This isn’t easy, but with some good white noise and a little self-control training, it can be done.
Also, I’ve been there. It’s hard to feel like you are at home all day, but equally hard to run errands with baby. What I did was to sort of balance it. I’d give a day or two where I knew baby’s nap would be wrecked and go for it.
Then the other days we’d stay at home. I’d try to remember the days are long (longgggggggg), but the years are short and that my older kids could also be okay and get out their hyper energy in other ways.
This is a great question.
“How does this work if your child doesn’t eat solids? My son is almost 11 months and refusing any kind of food. He only wants his bottle- we are in feeding therapy. He has always been an awful sleeper- 20-30 minute naps 4 times a day until a few weeks ago when he started to take an hour-90 minutes and then a 45 minute and another 45 minute.
Once in awhile we would get a few nights where he would sleep well… he also is in daycare full time and has been since on and off from December to Now from colds, ear infection, hospital stay, ear tubes and chronic cough. *sigh* I just want to help him get enough rest so he thrives.”
First, routines are supposed to serve you, not the other way around.Â
So, if a certain routine doesn’t work for your 11 month old then it doesn’t work for you and it can be thrown out. Your little one is likely very hungry since he isn’t yet able to take solids. Babies systems are made to take solids around 6 months (they used to say sooner!) so he’s likely extra hungry as he only wants his bottle.
I believe unless his tummy is well and truly full he’ll have trouble sleeping, but as soon as his feeding issues improve and he’s able to have as much nutrients as his body craves, then sleeping will fall into line.
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“I have a 9 month old…i am struggling with her night routine…and hee day naps..she is breastfeed….I put her to sleep at 7-7.30 pm…she wakes at 10.30 ish for a feed, then 2.30 ish then 5.30/6.00 am then wakes up at 7.30 am….i try to let her cry it out at night but eventually have to feed her…
she does have good 3 meals at the moment…also her day naps are short 45 min to an hour in the morning….try to put her down early but is not interested…..afternoon naps are hit and miss and are 30 mins ish…she is sometimes overtired but just wont sleep…”
What a tough spot! You are wanting baby to stop waking as frequently at night and stop fighting sleep. First, here are 28 things you can try if baby won’t sleep. Next, I’d see how much food is she getting with her solids? Is she having the full servings as suggested by the American Academy of Pediatrics?
Not saying we should live or die by that, but if she isn’t getting enough solids then she won’t sleep through the night at this age.
Also, when she wakes at night, does she want to feed or does she want comfort? If she wants food, then the best way to prevent more night wakings is to make sure she’s getting enough food during the day.
If she wakes up and wants to nurse for comfort, but isn’t hungry, then it’s time to wean her from that sleep prop and help her find another way to find comfort.
Sources:
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Thank you so much for taking the time to share your wisdom from experience! We (I) have been dealing with our LO waking up at 4am, 3am, sometimes even 2am, ready to laugh and play! *sobbing* I will be transitioning to this schedule right away, fingers crossed!
Heather, YOU CAN DO IT!
Hi Rachel!
I come to your blog to check on routines often, they are so great! Thank you! I was wondering if you keep a routine like this until the baby drops the morning nap. I noticed you don’t have a 12-18 month old routine, is that the reason?
Also, at your 18 month old routine I didn’t see a milk feed, do you stop nursing/giving bottle at this age? I’m pregnant with my second and my babies will be 19 months apart, so I’m searching how life will be for my oldest when the baby is born. Thank you!
I NEED ONE OF THOSE. Ha. I’ll put it on the list :) Noen of mine have fed past 12 months though I hope to this time ,but I normally do milk 4 times a day on until 2 years of age or so. Hope that helps :) and Congrats!
So my little guy was sleep trained and everything but then we moved to another state and it has made him all our of whack. Part of it right now is he is walking so I think it’s making him more fussy (developmental leap stuff) but he used to be a 7am-7pm baby. My husband is now a youth pastor so I was trying to get him to stay up later which I think has really hurt things. He will get up at 6am which wouldn’t normally worry me but he is screaming every time. I finally got him down at 730 the other night and he woke up happy! I thought I figured it out but today his naps were all over the place which isn’t normal for him and we were home all day. So all this to say I’m praying this works. For now if he wakes at 6am how do I get him on this schedule if he is not tired at 7? Because he wakes from his nap a bit later. Let me ask what is the longest time frame you would let your 11 month old be awake? Thank you and sorry for all the questions. He just took an hour to go to sleep which just isn’t normal so I’m hoping this works.
Kara, moving is hard. I’d just pick a schedule you want that doesn’t make him overtired and keep it. If he wakes at 6 and you don’t mind, then bed at 7 or 7:30 pm. Also, I proably wouldn’t keep rearranging the schedule if he gets up late/early because then his body doesn’t “set” to the routine, yo uknow?
I wanted to double check, are you feeding baby at the lunch at table and dinner at table? If so, what are you giving baby? Thanks.
Leah, yes I do and I usually give him (current baby but much the same with the others) pureed veggies, bananas, applesauce, yogurt, any type of food we have available really.
Hi Rachel, I have 9 month old triplets and routine is what keeps us sane. Currently they eat dinner between 6 – 6:30 and that includes solids and then a bottle. We try to get them in bed by 7:30-7:45. While they rarely wake through the night, they get up every morning at 5am for a bottle. We change them, feed them and then immediately put them back down. They go right back to sleep and then usually wake by 7:30 giggling and happy. I want to get to the point where they aren’t dependent on that 5am feeding. There was a month stretch where they were sleeping until 6:30 but now its back to 5am. Any suggestions?
Amanda I wonder if you did a dream feed around 10:30 or 11 if they’d drop that 5 am feed?
Yes I do this with my boy girl twins. Change nappies and feed at 10-11pm when we go down and they then mostly sleep until 7am. I give them a 300 ml bottle and they keep it with them in their cots and drink it whenever they like if they wake during the night. They just find it again and start drinking
Hi Rachel my LO is almost 9months, he sleeps at around 10:30-11 pm & wakes up at around 7- 7:30 am, has a bottle then sleeps till around 10- 10:30. Is there a way he can sleep earlier at night & still wake up around 7- 7:30 am?
Thank you!
I think I answered this, can you see it?
My 9 month old does one long 3 hour nap from around 12-3. This makes it very difficult for him to have three meals. I was wondering if you could tell me a schedule and how we can incorporate three meals?? Currently LO wakes up around 8:00-8:30 and gets milk. Has breakfast around 9:30 and then another bottle around 11:30-12:00. He has milk again at 3:30 ish but he only takes around 3 oz. He then has lunch around 4-4:30 and then dinner again at around 6-6:30 and milk around 7:30 again. I feel that the lunch and dinner are to close and he only snacks during dinner and does not finish. If we delay the dinner to much then he does not have his bedtime milk properly. Would really appreciate it if you had some recommendations.
I have a 9 month sample routine on here that you can search and it’ll help! Typically shortening the afternoon nap will help and bringing bedtime up, but look at that schedule and see what you think!
Hi Rachel my LO is almost 9months, he sleeps at around 10:30-11 pm & wakes up at around 7- 7:30 am, has a bottle then sleeps till around 10- 10:30. Is there a way he can sleep earlier at night around 7:30-8 pm & still wake up around 7- 7:30 am?
Thank you!
Nadine, yes try moving up his bedtime. He may still take a nice morning nap, babies LOVE the morning nap so that won’t go away this early. If you put him down at 8:00pm then feed again at 11 but don’t wake him up that might work.
My daughter will be 1 on September 1st and I am currently trying to move her schedule around little by little so that when she turns one I will have her formula feedings included in her table food feedings as a drink instead of a separate mealtime. But… I need help. I’m a first time mom and up until this point I was very used to raising her (due to baby sitting younger babies) but I have no idea what to do with a child that is only wanting table foods but no eating a lot when it’s time to eat, and she is always so upset and ready for her formula as soon as she wakes up in the morning because she’s starving! I know the schedule I want to have her on, but how do I get her there and get her to eat enough to sustain her through the night so that she’s not starving and too eager to eat first thing in the morning??? Seriously, I’ve asked so many people and so far no help and I’m starting to get desperate. I’m so afraid she will start losing weight because she’s not eating enough to make it through to the next mealtime. Any help at all would be useful!
Jaki, if it were me I’d offer a full bottle then immediately offer food. Give it 15 minutes and if she won’t eat, move on. IN a few hours I’d repeat it. This is how I communicated to babies they needed to eat when I offered it and it worked amazingly. I think it’s hard to know what baby wants when so the best bet is to offer their needs frequently when you know they need it!
wont the baby be too full from the formula?
We have been doing well on this schedule, but I am starting to transition from nursing to bottles during the day and I’m not sure how much to give. My ten month old loooves milk, so he’d rather nurse than eat, but when I tried to cut back the milk he’d eat more but was generally unhappy. Any tips? Should I just limit how much he drinks before meals? I am going to wean completely when he turns one. Thanks!
Hi Rachel, my daughter is 9 months old now. She is having disturbed sleep since the last few months. When she was 6 months, she would sleep through the night without a feed.
But since her 7th month she keeps waking up at night anytime between 2-5am and plays and screams actively. I want her to sleep through the night. The mistake we did was to keep her awake till 9-10 pm so that she would be tired. But after reading your posts I realized it wasn’t the right approach.
Since yesterday I stuck to a routine and put her to bed at 7:45pm. But she woke up (still sleepy though) at around 1:30 am and had a full bottle of milk and then she woke up at 4:50am all fresh. Had another bottle of milk again at 6am.
She didn’t have the full 12 hour no feed sleep as I expected. Am I going wrong anywhere ?
I’d just keep at it. Sometimes it takes them longer and they need more solids to get through.
Hi just wondering any tips or tricks, my little one is 11 months old has always fallen asleep breastfeeding for his naps, and now that im weaning him im not sure what to do, if i try to put him in his crib for a nap all he does is cry and scream until i go pick him up, the only way he will fall asleep is ontop of me and even that is a fight.
My lo was sleeping through the night at 11 weeks (8:30-6:00) and then right around 7.5 months she started waking up in the middle of the night and it has progressively gotten worse the past month and a half. I worked up a new schedule, very similar to the one you posted above but I have one question that I can’t find an answer to…
We’ve had a consistent bed time routine that is solids, bath, storytime and nursing. However, she typically falls asleep while nursing and then I put her down for the night. Everything I’m reading says not to nurse them to sleep, do you have advice about when I should nurse within the nighttime routine?
Janae, I nurse in the evenings cluster feeding. If baby falls asleep at the breast for bedtime, but not the rest of the day I don’t stress about it.
My son is 10 months and has never slept through the night…i both nurse and bottle feed and he wakes up every 3-4 hours. I give him a full bottle of formula so i know he’s full but he still wakes up after 3 and half hours.
Also i read in the comments above that you recommend giving the bottle/breast then baby’s meal immediately after. Wont the baby be too full ?? I usually feed then an hour later give the bottle and he naps.
Rima, it depends what they’re used to. Mine usually took a full breastfeed and then a full solid feed and they were FULL and slept well
Hi, Rachel! Thanks for your posts and routine samples. I’ve been wondering what is the longest time she can nap during the day? She wakes between 6 and 7 am and goes for a nap around 9-9.30 till 12 or even 12.30. Is it ok or should I wake her up? Second nap lasts 1 to 2 hours and is between 4 and 6 pm. I’ve been trying to put her to nap earlier, but she just wouldn’t sleep. She goes to bed after 9 pm.
Another problem is that she wakes at night round 2 am and can’t fall asleep on her own. Sometimes nursing helps to put her back to sleep. I give her both solids and breastmilk before putting her to bed, so I don’t think she might be hungry. I hope you can help as I’m beginning to be desperate.
Reading this makes me realize my little guy may not be getting enough to eat during the day. He currently nurses to sleep for nap, wakes often through the night to nurse. Suggestions for changing our bad habits? He is 11 months old.
My 9.5 month old has been a great sleeper so far and very easy to put on a schedule. But, we are in the process of dropping the 3rd nap and I’m having trouble. We leave to pick up my older son from school at 3pm. I usually put baby down for his nap at 1ish and he sleeps until 2:30-3. Then what is the best bedtime? 7 pm seems like too long to keep him awake but if he goes down any earlier I’m afraid of what time he will wake up! Right now it’s 6:45-7 and I don’t want it much earlier than that!!
Dear Rachel,
I’m willing to try your routine sample as my 9month old is keep waiking and his daily naps aren’t as easy either. We are on soids and he is bottle fed. I wanted to ask, is this working, The milk and solids at the same time? How much milk and solids should a meal contain? At the moment My little boy can’t have a great amount of solids at a time, so this would be great:) I also have a toddler and i’m so into making a routine that somehow fits both of them. He is in bed around 8-9PM fed 5 times until then, but the wakings are frequent.
Hello, my daughter will be 1 yr and 1/2 next month and is extremely stubborn. She has been on a backwards routine since she was born, honestly it was already beginning right before she was born. She sleeps during the day and is awake at night, I have tried numerous ways and routines to get her on a bedtime routine, but she figures out what I’m doing and rebels to it. So sticking to it doesn’t work, I have taken her in to a Dr. and had her seen and after a few visits they said “Well some babies just don’t sleep in the night!” So I’m losing my mind of ways & ideas on how to do a bedtime routine. Please help me!
No, this is not working. no more sleep. they don’t sleepd much. 11months old, 11 disturbed hours at night and a short nap or two during the day. it has been weeks and weeks of trying. up at 630am, ready for the day. up at 1130pm and won’t go back to sleep. up at here up at there, up up up. agggghh
Hello, this schedule is already helping with my baby and mines sanity! Haha I was wondering what you do if baby always seems to wake up about 4am. Would you give him a bottle? My man is 9 months and still does this every night.
Just came across this while googling “what is happening to my 11 month old baby?!”. She has been waking up every hour or even less. She has never slept well – my other two children didn’t, either. My youngest slept through the night from 10pm-7:30 am a few nights ago for the first time ever. I was feeling hopeful but then the following days since then have been the worst they’ve ever been.
I know we could benefit from a better routine but here’s my question out of curiosity – in the given schedule, when do you run errands, go grocery shopping or in my case, do school drop offs and pick up or attending kids’ extra-curricular activities (we only do piano and hockey at the moment) ?
My husband works shift work – two weeks of day shifts (up at 4:30am, home at 7:00pm) and then two weeks of night shifts (leaves at 5:00pm and home by 7:00am and straight to bed until around 3 or 4:00pm). He has very few days off. I want a routine and I don’t want to make excuses but I feel like there’s not even one day in the week that is consistent from week to week, given all those factors. Is routine the one and only solution to getting her to sleep better?
Hi Rachel, I’ve been following this routine and it has helped me out a lot! (Especially the second nap from 13:00- 16:00) recently my dear son of 9 months has started to wake up around 01:00 until 03:00 ish . What can i do to make him sleep through the whole night? Please help.
Hi, do you have any sleep routines with later bedtimes? I’m going back to work soon and will be getting home at 6:30-7pm and would like my 11 month old to sleep around 9pm and wake as late as possible. Her routine has been pretty good up until now. However for the last 3 nights she has woken at 5:30am and gone back to sleep at 7am so I’m not sure how to break this new habit.
Hi. I have a LO 9 months old. He’s been a schedule since about 6.5 months but is still not sleeping through the night. ?
He naps from 9:30-10, then at 12:30-2:30. Bedtime is at 6:30, I’ve tried pushing it to 7 since he’s been waking at 5am, and at night he’s waking at 11:30, 1:30, 3:30.
This just started at 8 months.
Last night i tried a 6:30 snack and he hung till 6:45 for his feeding. I had hoped he’d sleep till 1 but woke at 11:30.
I’ve tried rousing him an hour before his wake times, but no success.
I’ve been told to check temperature in his room. Im not sure what to do.
He’s getting about 2 hours of nap time, as he wakes early from his lunch nap.
Any suggestions? Would shifting his lunch nap to 1-3 help him stay up till 7?
Thanks for the info. My boy is almost 10 months old and is an excellent night time sleeper. He goes to bed between 730-800 and wakes around 8-9 am, without waking at night. My trouble is naps. I am not sure if it’s because he sleeps so well at night but he refuses to nap until around 1230-100 and it’s usually only a half hour to an hour. Any tips on trying to get him 2 naps or one really long nap?
Hi we struggle to get milk into my 11 month old he will only take 3 may be 4oz at a time. Any tips to help get more into him please. He is not great with snacks and also to eat food/ even open his mouth for food u have to totally distract him. It’s a constant battle. His sleep is non exsustant atm and I’m really struggling. ?
so we have my son on a similar routine. We wake and eat at 7:30 and first nap is usually at 9:30 but lately he has been staying up until 10:30 or 11:00 which interferes with his next feeding at 11:00 not sure what to do!
Dang. You’ve got it down girlfran. Everyday with my 11 month old is different. He wakes every 45 min – 2 hrs overnight (since birth) and nurses back to sleep. Doesn’t eat much solids so I can’t fillem up yet! Drives. Me. Nuts.
Hi, reading your blog has been mind blowing. I’m a first time mum to a 9 month old and I’m diagnosed with clinical depression. My husband and I have been blessed enough to have 3 homes. Yorkshire, Hertfordshire and French Riviera. Our main home is in Yorkshire. I’ve noticed that my son sleeps well in Hertfordshire or France. But Yorkshire is a completely different story. Could you please give advice as to what I can do to ensure that he sleeps well in our main home? Maybe he notices that we are less stressed and care free in our other homes? Help!? Xx
Hello, I follow almost the same routine for my 9 month old baby boy. His day ends at around 8pm and he wakes up at 7:30 in the morning. The only thing that disturbs me is his 4 or 5am wake up time for bottle even after 11 pm dream feed. Thou he sleeps after the morning bottle but still Is there any way I can get him sleep through the night and make him wake up at 7:30?
How much is he eating solid wise? I’d try to make sure he’s getting lots of solids and then try and drop that nap. He will eventually do it unless he’s super hungry!
This blog and your routine have been a life saver! I found it about 1 month ago.. my daughters 9 months and she was close to this schedule but just tweaking her food helped her have a more consistent stretch at night and day time naps. Thanks so much!
I have two questions tho
Over the past week her morning nap has been really good but her afternoon nap has been like 45 minutes. Not sure what to do?
Also, since you have multiple kids did you find yourself tied to the home because of their nap schedules? How did you navigate having obligations outside the home with their naps and feeding times?
Thanks so much!
Hi Jess, yes I felte quite homebound for a while. We’d just go and brave it and let what happened happen sometimes, but most days I was homebound.
I’d try moving naptime back slightly if the afternoon nap is short, or shortening the morning nap!
HI Rachel,
I have a 10 month old and when she was 6 months old we did some sleep training and she was sleeping through the night. She was going to the bed around 7 but she was waking up early at 5-530 am. I was not feeding her at all during the night. We went to Europe for holidays for almost a month and her schedule was disrupted at all. We ended up co-sleeping and she was fed once during the night. Now we are back at home and she goes to bed around 630-7pm and wakes up at 4 or 5 am screaming. Just to mention there were a few days that she did 7-7 with no feeding. I tried to feed her at 4am and she slept until 545 but her sleep was not deep because she was waking up occasionally. Are you suggesting inrtoducing a dream feed? Also to mention that she is always catnapping 30-40 min naps. I am feeding her 24 ounces mild a day and she has cereal in the morning, fruit, lunch and lately dinner Do you think that I should try to give her more food and maybe a snack before bed? I am afraid that she wont take her bottle if I feed her too much. Are you suggesting dreamfeed at 10 or so? I am wondering if she will get the habit and wake more often
Thank you in advance for your help
Hi Rachel,
I am trying to follow a routine but it hasn’t been easy as we moved country. My baby is 9 months and baby led so not always easy to know how much he has eaten. My problem is: he does not nap for more than half an hour. Sometimes he does 1 hour but it is ages he doesn’t do 2 hours in the afternoon (which I wish he was). He doesn’t sleep well during the night as well. If he does 4 hours stretch is a miracle! He was much better before the move. I tried to put him down at 1.30 wake at 2.15 and then he fell asleep at 6pm! A disaster! Any suggestion? many thanks Ornella
My daughter has twin girls 10 months old. I watch them during the day. I have them on the same schedule during the week. But during the weekend she has no schedule she basically puts them down around the same time but if they are not fussy then she keeps them up. So during the week they sleep great for me because they are so over tired. They do not sleep through the night. My question is should I try to do what she does during the weekend or should I keep to my schedule?
Hi Rachel,
Thanks so much for this article! Made me realise that I’m really NOT feeding my 9 month old enough during the day to keep him full and happy during the evening :) I still formula feed, have three solid square meals a day, and we have snacks in between, but I think my snacking schedule might be a bit inconsistent haha.
Thanks again for such a simple and straightforward approach to yummy time for babies. Also wanted to mention that I’m so very happy that you have faith based inspiration within your principles also :)
We have started a routine but I’m struggling with how my 9 month daughter at moment is waking so early in the mornings, 5am when it used to be 6.30/7.00. She has also been surrending her afternoon nap which is something I cherish at moment, she seems to go off to sleep but then 20mins later, wakes herself up and is ready to party???
She has just gotten her top and front teeth and we are doing lots of solids with her. I also feel she doesn’t like her cot, as we rock her to sleep and she falls off pretty much straight away in our arms but then when it is time to be put down she pretty much immediately wakes up. She was a good self soother but lately this isn’t the case.
She was a very good sleeper but since her teeth have started her sleeping routines are off. She also is experiencing what I think is night terrors, waking up screaming after a few hours asleep.
How does this work if your child doesn’t eat solids? My son is almost 11 months and refusing any kind of food. He only wants his bottle- we are in feeding therapy. He has always been an awful sleeper- 20-30 minute naps 4 times a day until a few weeks ago when he started to take an hour-90 minutes and then a 45 minute and another 45 minute. Once in awhile we would get a few nights where he would sleep well… he also is in daycare full time and has been since on and off from December to Now from colds, ear infection, hospital stay, ear tubes and chronic cough. *sigh* I just want to help him get enough rest so he thrives.
Answering this, great question, in the above post so it can help other moms.
Thanks for these schedules, Rachel. I’m struggling with a 8 1/2 month old and really feeling the conflict of being homebound with her 2 1/2 year old brother. At home, he tends to wake her very easily and his behavior is escalated when he is home all day, but when we are out and about she doesn’t get any sleep. How do you decide on priorities as a family? I’m going to try to make some tweaks to see if this works well for us- we are post surgeries and other health issues and hoping to get back to solid sleep!
Answering this question above, great one Chelsea!
Just came across your site and am excited to purchase the daily routines for my children. I have a 2 year old and a 9 month old. I’m having trouble keeping a routine And sleep training my second child because they share a room! I don’t know what to do.
Hi Rachel, i have a 9 month old…i am struggling with her night routine…and hee day naps..she is breastfeed….I put her to sleep at 7-7.30 pm…she wakes at 10.30 ish for a feed, then 2.30 ish then 5.30/6.00 am then wakes up at 7.30 am….i try to let her cry it out at night but eventually have to feed her…she does have good 3 meals at the moment…also her day naps are short 45 min to an hour in the morning….try to put her down early but is not interested…..afternoon naps are hit and miss and are 30 mins ish…she is sometimes overtired but just wont sleep…
Sima, I’m answering this above so that others can see it.
Hello! Our 9 month old only takes a 45 minute nap in the afternoon (from 1:15-2:00) then he is EXHAUSTED by 6:00pm causing him to wake at 5:00am every day. Any advice? I know we need to adjust his bedtime but I’m not sure how! Thank you ?
I’ve answered this in the post above!
Hi Rachel,
PLEASE:)
How long is 9 month old awake between first wake up and first nap? I am really stuck with this . I see different advice everywhere and I’m so confused and keep trying various lengths which is probably making it worse . Or is it watch closely and wait for first yawn or eye rub?
Please help . I’ve been following your advice since pregnancy. This is my first baby . Also did u ever experience Mumsomnia? I’ve had it all year even with baby sleeping through since a young age .
Thanks
Emma, I absolutely have experienced Mumsomnia! It’s a real thing :) I think that this can vary slightly, but I’m going to say 2 hours is a solid rule of thumb you can go by. 7 am wake up then a 9 am nap. Then maybe up by 11 am and a 1 pm nap. Does that help?
I love everything about this post! Thank you for sharing with so many details! What time during the day do you run errands?
HI Shauna, oh errands… the bane of a mama’s existence with babies. Ha! I have a whole post about actually here (https://amotherfarfromhome.com/fit-errands-in-routine/) but generally I do morning errands after the first good nap!
Hello Rachel,
Can you please correct the following?
“7:30 am – Milk and solids. If the baby hasn’t had a substantial bedtime snack he’ll wake earlier, but I don’t feed him milk or solids until this time because that encourages him to sleep later, which he will.”
I am so sure that this is not what you meant, since it could imply child abuse. Your baby might wake up at 5 am from hunger/thirst and you wouldn’t give him milk or solids until 7:30? I’m sure that this is not what you meant…
Casey, in the context of the entire article, choosing one time every morning to feed baby means that babies will often sleep to that exact time. So there’s no abuse or torture or whatever else… because they are sleeping. Hope that helps! I say over and over around here that we always feed a hungry baby :)
Thanks for sharing! My little one is 9 months next week and we are getting him on a similar schedule. He’s formula fed, so previously we’d put him down for 3 naps according to his feeding schedule. Now that we’re dropping the 3rd nap we’re getting him on the same timeline every day.
When your little would wake up from the afternoon nap (let’s say an hour into it) what would you do? That’s where I’m struggling. Do I keep him up from 2-7 or put him to bed earlier and try again the next day?
Sara, you could try some resettling techniques with him and see if he’ll lengthen that nap! If he won’t, then you could just move bedtime up a bit! Perhaps moving that afternoon nap back a tad will make him a bit more sleepy for it?
Hi Rachel! My daughter is 11 months (can’t believe she’s almost ONE! :( ) I’ve followed all of your schedules so far (with minor changes to fit our daily routine) and it’s been great, thank you!!! I noticed there is no new 12 month schedule, the next one is 18 months. Do you continue following the 9-12 month schedule until then?
Thanks!!
Cristina
Hi Rachel! My daughter is 11 months (can’t believe she’s almost ONE! ?) I’ve followed all of your schedules so far (with minor changes to fit our daily routine) and it’s been great, thank you!!! I noticed there is no new 12 month schedule, the next one is 18 months. Do you continue following the 9-12 month schedule until then?
Thanks!!
Cristina
Hi Cristina, thanks so much for following along :) Yes, we will more or less follow the 12 month until about 15 month or so then start shortening the morning nap getting ready to drop it!
W. is 11 months old and I have seldomly been able to have her down by 7:30.
Our day goes like this…
We wake at 7:30 & nurse
8-breakfast
9:30-10- Nurse and quick shut eye… like sometimes 5 mins sometimes 20
11- nurse a bit
12- Lunch
1:30-2- Nurse & sleep hopefully an hour
3:30-4- Nurse
5:30- Dinner Starts to get cranky like she may want to nurse and sleep
6:00- maybe nurse or stroller ride
7- Shower
7:30- Nurse and she always seems to be asleep and riiiiiight at the last minute she’s wide awake
9:30- nurse and usually asleep by 10:30
12- Nurse
2-4- Nurse
7:30- up again.
WHY is this happening? How do I change this? I would love to be in bed by 9 myself so I could get up earlier than she does and get a little me time. She’s exclusively breastfeed with some solids as we are doing baby led weaning. We’re vegan but I make sure my diet is up to par since I’m also trying to gain healthy weight. She doesn’t seem to have full meals but she does eat some things. We eat all day really.
Shannon, i would suggest trying for even a 6:45 bedtime for a bit. SOUNDS NUTS but if baby is nearly asleep but then WIDE AWAKE it’s almost like an overtiredness.
Hi, Rachel. My son is almost 10 months old, and we’ve never had any sort of routine. Most days he probably naps for a total of 1-1 1/2 hours. If I’m really lucky, he’ll take a 1 1/2 + hour nap once, but that’s rare.
I’ve started trying to implement your routine, but that long afternoon nap is a struggle and seems impossible for my son. Every afternoon, he wakes up after only 30-45 minutes, and he refuses to go back to sleep. He just cries like something’s is wrong, which I’m pretty sure is just because he’s tired, but he will not go back to sleep. Which means that most days, he’s awake from about 2:00-7:00 pm.
Is it possible that he doesn’t want/need a long afternoon nap, or is it just going to take a few days or weeks of letting him cry in his crib for him to learn to sleep longer?
Meagan, if he’s overtired then it’s likely he DOES need that nap but is waking up during his sleep transitions and not knowing how to get himself back to sleep. So you can try and settle him and help him get back to sleep to teach him to have that longer afternoon nap, then put him to an earlier bedtime if he won’t!
Some of the info was helpful, but most was personal opinion. 9 month olds don’t need to have food shoved at them 4-5 times a day. My LO gets by with 2 and her milk feeds. She’s thriving. Milk is by far way more important under 1 years old. Solids are for fun and experimentation for now.
Hi!
Thank you for the great article! I have a question about feedings..logically I understand that if baby is hungry, he won’t sleep well or long. But I’m struggling to wrap my mind around the feeding times, in the sense of there’s milk, then there’s solids, lunch with family, etc. it seems like baby is essentially snacking every 2ish hours instead of having a few solid meals per day. Their digestive system doesn’t really get a break and frequent feeds can lead to overeating/obesity. Could you please explain the rationale behind this? Thank you so much!!
Hi Alina, the rational is typically that babies will struggle to take full milk and immediately eat enough solids to get what they need in a day without waking up all night to snack. If your little ones will fully nurse then eat solids back to back, have at it! the key is they get all the nutrients they need in the day, NOT night.
I love your blog! Thank you for sharing.
I love this routine! It’s so simple and straightforward, and it sounds like it would be really helpful for new parents.