Baby sleep schedule at 19 months: nap, bedtime and settling after the regression

Nineteen months brings no change to the numbers — 11 to 14 hours of sleep a day, 10 to 12 of them at night, and one nap. The shortest wake windows have stretched, so the range is now 4.5 to 5.5 hours, and the morning runs long, the nap sits in the early afternoon, and bedtime lands in the region of 8 pm.

If the 18-month regression hit your house, this is often the month things settle again. The limits you held are now familiar, and the routine can go back to being short and unremarkable — which is exactly what you want it to be. The daily numbers have not moved, so anything that still feels hard is usually about the evening rather than the schedule.

Language takes off around 19 months, and toddlers use new words where they are most effective. Calling out after lights out, asking questions, narrating what they can hear — none of it means the routine has failed. Answer briefly the first time, then keep each response shorter and duller than the last. Toddlers stop performing for an audience that doesn't react.

Stalling is the other feature of this age: one more drink, one more book, one more trip to the bathroom. Building those requests into the routine in advance takes their power away — the drink happens at a fixed point, the number of books is stated before you start. What you don't want is a routine that grows by one item a week, because it will keep growing.

A sample day

Here is one shape a 19-month day can take, with a single early-afternoon nap and wake windows of 4.5 to 5.5 hours. Read it as a sketch, not a rule; the order of the evening matters far more than the exact minute bedtime starts.

A sample day to give you a rough idea — every baby is different. Adjust the times to your child's sleep cues, and talk to your pediatrician about anything that worries you.

Tips for this age

• A quick log in Lulla each night makes it obvious whether a bad patch is really getting worse or just feels that way at 2 am.
• Put the drink of water, the last book and the goodnight kiss inside the routine at fixed points, so there is nothing left to request.
• Keep responses to calling out brief, quiet and progressively less interesting rather than escalating or ignoring completely.
• Hold the nap at the same time even on days when your toddler seems fine without it — 19 months is far too early to drop it.
• Night waking with crying that you cannot settle, or that comes with fever or pain, is worth a call to your pediatrician.

Common questions

Keep reading

• Baby tiredness signs: how to read them before the crying starts
• How to build the perfect sleep routine for your baby
• How many hours should your baby sleep? Age-by-age guide