Baby Sleep at 11 Months: Sleep Needs, Naps & the 11-Month Nap Regression

Your baby's first birthday is coming up soon, and they are probably keeping you very busy right now. You may have already noticed that your baby's sleep starts shifting around month eleven. A nap regression in particular can turn into a real challenge.

There is quite a lot you can do to support your baby's sleep during this time. In this article you will find answers to all the important questions about sleep at 11 months, along with a sample daily routine.

How Much Should an 11-Month-Old Sleep?

At 11 months old, your baby needs roughly 13 to 14 hours of sleep within 24 hours. That breaks down into about 10.5 to 12 hours of night sleep and 2 to 3 hours of daytime sleep.

(Please keep in mind that every baby is different. There will always be babies who need more or less sleep than the average.)

What Does Daytime Sleep Look Like at 11 Months?

For almost all babies this age, those 2 to 3 hours of daytime sleep are spread across two naps. Ideally, each of these two naps, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, lasts at least one hour.

Lots of babies at 11 months start acting like they want to give up that second nap. But for most of them it is far too early, so if you can at all manage it, this is not a request to give in to.

Switching the sleep rhythm too soon can make your evenings very challenging. For most babies, the result would be serious overtiredness, and with it, rough nights.

Daily Routine and Wake Windows at 11 Months

Wake Windows for an 11-Month-Old

11-month-old babies need wake windows of about 3 to 4 hours between sleeps.

The wake window before the first nap is usually the shortest of the day, normally around 3 hours. The longest one comes at the end of the day, at about 3.5 to 4 hours before bedtime.

In general, try to keep your baby from getting overtired before any nap, because overtiredness can make falling asleep a lot harder.

What Is the Best Bedtime for an 11-Month-Old?

A good bedtime at this age falls 12 to 13 hours after your baby wakes up in the morning. So if your baby wakes at 7:00 AM, a bedtime between 7:00 and 8:00 PM would be a good fit.

That said, there are a few scenarios where you may end up shifting that time:

• If your baby tends to sleep longer during the day than the average times above, they will probably sleep less at night.
• If your baby is resisting their second nap (which happens often at this age), that nap may end up starting later. Bedtime can then shift a little later as well.
• If your baby does end up skipping a nap, put them to bed earlier than usual that evening. Waiting for the "normal" bedtime is often counterproductive when your baby is completely overtired by then. Overtiredness frequently leads to waking up several times at night.

As a general rule, though, try not to let night sleep drop below 10 hours.

Sample Daily Routine for an 11-Month-Old

A typical day for an 11-month-old baby could look like this:

(The exact nap times and bedtime naturally vary from baby to baby. These are meant as a rough guide.)

Sleep Regression at 11 Months

By the time your baby is 11 months old, you have probably already met a sleep regression or two. These temporary sleep setbacks throw your whole sleep plan into disarray every now and then.

During a sleep regression, babies are generally more restless. They wake up suddenly, fuss a lot, have a harder time falling asleep, and want nothing more than to be in Mom's or Dad's arms all day long.

Besides the very intense 4-month sleep regression, most babies also go through one at 8 to 10 months. If you are noticing signs of a sleep regression in your baby right now, it may simply be that developmental steps (which every child reaches a little earlier or later than others) mean they are only living through that regression now.

Otherwise, many parents do not see the typical signs of a sleep regression in their babies at this age. That does not mean there cannot be sleep problems, though. At 11 months, they are usually set off by growth spurts and by a nap regression instead (more on that in a moment).

You can read more about sleep regressions and what you can do during those stretches in my separate article on sleep regressions.

Why Does My 11-Month-Old Have Sleep Problems?

Is your baby exhausting you right now? Sleeping very restlessly, or waking again and again at night? Regularly overtired by the time you want to put them to bed?

Baby sleep at 11 months can be quite the challenge, and the causes can be all sorts of things. But one thing that shows up fairly often is what is known as a nap regression.

The 11-Month Nap Regression

Nobody can really explain it, but this behavior shows up in a great many babies: they start "fighting" a nap. In other words, they try to boycott the second nap of the day.

The tricky part of this situation is that babies this age are usually not ready to sleep only once a day.

For that, they would have to handle a wake window of 4 to 6 hours. And most children this age simply cannot do that without becoming overtired.

Important!

On top of that, many parents assume their baby's nap refusal is a sign that they are now ready to move to one nap. But that is a mistake.

In those cases, the result is an overtired baby, exhausting evenings, and restless nights in which your little one may wake up many times over.

Experience shows the opposite: the 11-month nap regression really is just a temporary phase of roughly two weeks, after which little ones happily go back to two long, peaceful naps a day.

So what helps during this stretch?

Try to stick with the two naps consistently. If you need to, stretch the wake window before the second nap by 30 minutes. Or see whether a walk outside can coax a nap out of your little sweetheart.

Growth Spurts at 11 Months

When babies make a bigger developmental leap, they also have to process it. Learning to stand, saying their first words, or taking their first steps is very exciting for them too.

And that often shows up at night. (Just like us grown-ups, babies process their impressions and experiences while they sleep.)

So restless nights can absolutely have their roots here.

A New Tooth?

Those lovely teeth can be another reason for poor sleep. Teething is often uncomfortable for babies, and sometimes genuinely painful. A teething ring or a cooling gel can help here. If it is really bad, a mild pain reliever is an option too.

You can spot teething by frequent drooling, lots of fussing for no obvious reason, and plenty of chewing on their hand or on other objects.

My 11-Month-Old Has Trouble Falling Asleep

It is not unusual for babies at 11 months to have a hard time falling asleep on their own. In most cases that leads to Mom (or Dad) helping them along by nursing, holding them in their arms, or rocking them.

All of that is lovely and perfectly fine, but on the other hand it builds an association. Your baby links this situation with falling asleep, and then asks for that same help every single time.

It can become a problem when your baby wakes several times at night and cannot drift back off on their own. In that waking moment, they notice that their situation has changed compared to when they fell asleep. And then they ask for their sleep association (nursing, being carried, being stroked) again, quite insistently.

Can an 11-Month-Old Learn to Fall Asleep on Their Own?

Developmentally, your 11-month-old is absolutely ready to learn to fall asleep independently. (That skill develops somewhere around 5 to 6 months of age.)

And once your baby has learned to fall asleep on their own, they are much more likely to drift back to sleep on their own at night, too.

You will find more on this in When and How Babies Learn to Fall Asleep on Their Own: The Ultimate Guide.

How You Can Help Your 11-Month-Old Sleep Better

If your baby is sleeping poorly, it can come from all sorts of different reasons. But there are a few things that help little ones (and us big ones) get through this time considerably better.

Keep Things Calm

At bedtime especially, try to keep everything very calm. A cool, dark room with few sounds and lights will help your sweetheart settle and get ready for sleep.

Routines

Whether it is bedtime, getting a meal ready, or naps, steady structures and routines help babies enormously. They give them security through all these developmental steps and changes.

Naps in Their Own Crib

Your baby will get more sleep if they sleep mainly in their own crib during the day as well. It reinforces the routine of falling asleep, which in turn helps in the evening and at night. Naps in the stroller or car seat are of course fine too. They just should not become the norm.

A Lovey

To help work through separation anxiety, many babies find it soothing to get used to a soft toy or a small comfort blanket at bedtime. It does not work right away, but after a few days it can become a real help.

You will find plenty more support on our overview page for babies aged 5 to 12 months who are not sleeping well.

I hope this article has given you a good overview of your baby's sleep. I wish you a healthy stretch of development ahead, and peaceful, dreamy nights.

Warmly, Sarah

Frequently Asked Questions

How much should an 11-month-old sleep?

Babies this age sleep 13 to 14 hours. That includes 10.5 to 12 hours at night and 2 to 3 hours during the day.

When should the last nap be for an 11-month-old?

There should be roughly 3¾ hours between the last nap and night sleep. If at all possible, that nap should last at least an hour.

When should an 11-month-old go to bed?

The best way to work out the ideal bedtime is to count from your baby's morning wake-up time. Since night sleep should be about 10.5 to 12 hours, bedtime should land roughly 12 to 13.5 hours after they wake up (depending on how long the naps ran and when the last one happened).

So if your baby wakes at 7:00 AM, a bedtime between 7:00 and 8:00 PM would be a good fit.

My 11-month-old keeps waking at night! What should I do?

There can be different reasons behind waking at night. Maybe your baby is teething, or processing the impressions of the day.

It is also possible that they have not yet learned to bridge sleep cycles. (In that case, it is worth practicing falling asleep independently, as described above.)

And another common reason is that the daily routine does not match what your child actually needs. (Perhaps they were already overtired at bedtime.)

These articles might help:

• 10 Reasons Your Baby Keeps Waking Up (+ 12 Solutions)
• When and How Babies Learn to Fall Asleep on Their Own
• My article on when babies start sleeping through the night, with 14 tips for calmer nights