11-Month-Old Sleep Schedule: Naps & Wake Windows

An 11-month-old sleep schedule includes 10-12 hours of night sleep plus two daytime naps totaling 2-3 hours, for around 12-15 hours across 24 hours, within the American Academy of Sleep Medicine's 12-16 hour range for infants 4-12 months.¹ Most babies still need two naps. The drop to one comes later, between 13 and 18 months.

Why Does Sleep Feel Harder at 11 Months Than It Did a Month Ago?

If you're here after a fought second nap or a new night waking, you're probably already suspecting it: is it time to drop to one nap? Almost certainly not yet, and this guide explains why. The two-nap schedule that worked at 9 months hasn't really changed at 11 months; wake windows are barely longer. What's changed is your baby. Separation anxiety is at or near its peak, and the drive to pull up, cruise, and practice standing is intense enough to disrupt sleep on its own, even on a schedule that's still correct. For a broader look at how sleep evolves across infancy, see Pelio's baby sleep hub.

What's Actually Happening in Your 11-Month-Old's Brain and Body Right Now?

Two developmental forces are colliding right now, and neither one means the schedule has failed.

Your baby's circadian rhythm is reliably entrained by 11 months.² Melatonin, cortisol, and body temperature cycle on a steady 24-hour pattern, which is why an early, clock-anchored bedtime between 6:30 and 7:30 PM is genuinely appropriate now, not just tolerated. What's disrupting sleep on top of that stable system is separation anxiety and motor development, both running at full intensity.

Separation anxiety is peaking, and it's a sign of healthy attachment

"Beginning in the second half of a child's first year, separation anxiety can cause many nights with disrupted sleep," according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, and it lasts for months before fading toward the second birthday.³ The mechanism is object permanence: at 8 months, a baby who watches you hide a toy under a scarf will lift the scarf and search for it; by 10 months, they're certain enough that the toy still exists to keep looking.⁴ The same certainty now applies to you. The baby who barely blinked at a goodbye at 5 months genuinely understands, at 11 months, that you've left, and protests because they want you back. That's forward movement, not a setback.

Pulling to stand and cruising are hijacking naps and nights

Most 11-month-olds are pulling to stand, cruising along furniture, and some are taking early steps.⁵ A study following infants through this period found sleep disruption clustering around the active window of learning to pull to stand, easing once the skill consolidated.⁶ Unfortunately, practice doesn't stop at bedtime: babies wake mid-cycle to work on the skill, and some get stuck standing in the crib, unable to lower back down. That's a motor-skill gap, not a sleep problem. It resolves once mastered, usually within a few weeks.

The two causes look different once you know to watch for it: separation-driven waking is protest at being left, while motor-driven waking is a baby stuck standing or practicing. The fix differs for each; more on that below.

The American Academy of Pediatrics puts 11 months squarely inside the expected window: separation anxiety "usually peaks between ten and eighteen months." It "can cause many nights with disrupted sleep", with a child waking repeatedly and crying for one parent — which the AAP classes as "a normal stage in children's emotional development," not a regression.

This in-between is exactly where parents get stuck. One on r/sleeptrain described an 11-month-old who, after a single 15-minute oversleep on the second nap, moved to "complete refusal of the second nap" and 5:45am wakes — but still could not make it through a one-nap day (r/sleeptrain, March 2026).

How Much Sleep Does an 11-Month-Old Actually Need?

Total sleep, night sleep, and naps at 11 months

Total sleep per 24 hours	12-15 hours in practice;⁷ 12-16 hours is the AAP/AASM clinical guideline¹
Night sleep	10-12 hours
Daytime sleep	2-3 hours across 2 naps
Number of naps	2
Nap duration	45-120 minutes per nap
Bedtime	6:30-7:30 PM

These are reference points, not targets. A baby getting 12 hours and a baby getting 15 hours can both be on track, as long as they wake up rested and manage their wake windows without falling apart. For nap patterns at every stage from newborn to toddler, see Pelio's baby nap schedule by age guide.

Why the last wake window of the day is the longest

In short, the schedule barely changes between 9 and 11 months. What's different is what comes after: by 12 months, nap count starts to become inconsistent for some babies as the 2-to-1 transition approaches.

Age	Total daily sleep	Night sleep	Naps	Wake windows
9 months	12-16 hours	11-12 hours	2 naps	2.5-3.5 hours
10 months	12-15 hours	10-12 hours	2 naps	3-4 hours
11 months	12-15 hours	10-12 hours	2 naps	3-4 hours
12 months	12-15 hours	10-12 hours	1-2 naps (transition beginning)	3-4 hours

Wake windows also get longer across the day. Overnight sleep pressure carries into the morning, so the first window is the shortest. By the last window, accumulated sleep pressure and a full day of stimulation make late-afternoon fussiness common. That window runs the longest.

Wake window ladder at 11 months

Window	Duration	Notes
Morning (wake to nap 1)	3-3.5 hours	Shortest window; overnight sleep pressure carries into the morning
Midday (nap 1 to nap 2)	3-3.5 hours	Fairly stable; supports the longer of the two naps for many babies
Afternoon/evening (nap 2 to bedtime)	3.5-4 hours	Longest window of the day; late-afternoon fussiness is common here

One safety note that matters more this month than last: once your baby is pulling to stand, set the crib mattress at its lowest position before, not after, they've mastered the skill, and keep the crib clear of pillows, loose bedding, and bumpers.⁸ For the full wake window chart across every age, see Pelio's wake windows by age guide, and for how sleep needs change stage by stage, see how babies actually sleep by age.

What Does a Sample 11-Month-Old Daily Schedule Look Like?

Because the circadian rhythm is reliably entrained by 11 months, clock-anchored scheduling works well now. Treat it as a reference point, not a rigid alarm; expect variation of 20-30 minutes day to day. Feeding has changed too: most babies eat 3 solid meals plus 2-3 milk feeds, and meals now anchor the day alongside naps. Cap nap 2 by around 3:00-3:30 PM to protect bedtime.

Sample schedule for a 6:30 AM riser

• 6:30 AM: Wake, milk feed
• 7:15 AM: Breakfast (solids)
• 9:15-9:30 AM: Nap 1 starts
• 10:15-10:45 AM: Nap 1 ends (45-90 min)
• 10:45 AM: Wake, milk feed or snack
• 1:00-1:30 PM: Nap 2 starts
• 2:30-3:00 PM: Nap 2 ends (45-90 min; cap by 3:00-3:30 PM)
• 3:00 PM: Wake, snack
• 5:15 PM: Dinner (solids)
• 6:15 PM: Begin bedtime routine
• 6:45-7:00 PM: Bed

A consistent bedtime routine, 15-25 minutes, same sequence every night, is one of the more evidence-backed levers available at this age: in a study of over 10,000 mothers, children with a nightly bedtime routine every night slept, on average, more than an hour longer than children with no routine at all.⁹ At 11 months, keep the goodbye at the end of it short and warm rather than long. A brief, predictable exit tends to settle separation anxiety better than a drawn-out one.

Adjusting for earlier or later risers

If your baby's natural wake time runs 30-60 minutes earlier or later than 6:30 AM, change every anchor by that same offset. Keep the evening window at 3.5-4 hours from the end of nap 2 rather than forcing a fixed clock bedtime; bedtime should track when nap 2 actually ends.

My Baby Is Fighting the Second Nap. Is It Time to Drop to One?

The real 2-to-1 nap transition window (and why 11 months is early)

Most 11-month-olds are not ready to drop to one nap. The readiness window is 13-18 months, with an average around 15-16 months, and 11 months sits right at the early edge of that range. A large longitudinal study of infant sleep behavior found average daily naps falling from 3.4 at 3 months to just 1.9 at 12 months, which means the average baby is still closer to two naps than one on their first birthday.¹⁰ A day or two of nap-two resistance at 11 months doesn't change that.

Actually, real readiness looks different from a rough day. It looks like the second nap being consistently refused for 2-3 weeks in a row, not occasionally; a first nap that's easily sustained at 2 or more hours; and the ability to manage a full wake window to bedtime without becoming overtired. Dropping to one nap before those signs are reliably present tends to backfire: overtiredness, earlier or more fragmented night waking, and sleep debt that builds up over days. For the full breakdown of what genuine readiness looks like versus what doesn't, see when to drop a nap.

What to try before dropping the second nap

Occasional nap-two resistance at 11 months is much more often schedule drift or developmental noise than a readiness signal. Before assuming it's time for one nap, try these adjustments in order:

1. Push nap 1's start 15-20 minutes later if your baby is arriving at nap 2 undertired. A later first nap lets more sleep pressure build before the second one is due.
2. Cap nap 1 at 45-60 minutes if it's consistently running long. An oversized first nap can eat into the sleep pressure that nap 2 needs to happen at all.
3. Move nap 2 slightly later if the midday window has gotten shorter. You're matching the nap to the wake window, not the wake window to the clock.
4. Review total daytime sleep against the 2-3 hour target across both naps. A fought nap 2 sometimes just means nap 1 already covered most of the day's sleep need.
5. If one nap is unavoidable on a given day, travel or illness, move bedtime 30-45 minutes earlier that night instead of treating it as a permanent change. One short day doesn't reset the whole schedule.

Two different problems that look the same: separation anxiety vs. motor practice

Both show up as nap resistance or new night waking, but they call for different responses.

Separation-driven resistance looks like protest and crying specifically at being left, and clinginess before naps. What helps: short, warm, predictable goodbyes. A prolonged, emotionally loaded farewell tends to intensify distress rather than ease it.

Motor-driven waking looks like a baby stuck standing in the crib or cruising the rail, without necessarily protesting your absence. What helps: practice sitting back down from standing during the day, repeatedly and playfully, so it's familiar by 2 AM. At night, a calm, brief return to lying down is enough. Make sure the crib mattress is already at its lowest setting for a baby who can stand.⁸

How Do You Know If the Schedule Actually Needs to Change?

Sign	Overtired	Undertired	On track
Falls asleep at nap/bedtime	Under 5 min, or fights it intensely	Takes 20+ min, doesn't settle	5-15 min
Nap length	Short and restless, or refused	Short but wakes content and rested	45-90 min
Mood before sleep	Hyperactive, then rapid collapse	Content, engaged, not sleepy	Mild sleepy cues (eye rubbing, clinginess)
Night sleep	Fragmented, early waking	Delayed falling asleep, prolonged waking	10-12 hours, 0-2 brief wakings
Pattern	Persists 2-3+ weeks, no clear developmental trigger	Persists 2-3+ weeks	Resolves within days to a few weeks if tied to a developmental leap

The good news: waking at night is common at this age and, on its own, isn't a sign the schedule is wrong. In a longitudinal study tracking infants through their first year, frequent night waking, more than 2 wakings a night, was present in 26% of infants at 9 months and had already dropped to 17% by 12 months.¹⁰ If your 11-month-old is waking more than they were a month ago, that's consistent with where the data says most babies are right now, not a sign something has gone wrong.

What actually justifies an adjustment is a pattern, not a few rough nights: overtired or undertired signs lasting 2-3 or more weeks, showing up outside any identifiable developmental window (the motor leap or separation-anxiety flare has settled, but the pattern hasn't). If overtiredness is the pattern, the fix is an earlier bedtime or a shorter wake window, not a bigger schedule overhaul. If you're unsure whether your baby's total sleep is on track in the first place, see is my baby sleeping enough.

Call your pediatrician if total sleep is consistently under 10 hours in 24 hours despite an appropriate schedule, if you notice breathing difficulty, snoring, gasping, or observed pauses in breathing during sleep, if settling difficulty is extreme and unresponsive over multiple weeks, if there are signs of pain around sleep, or if sleep disruption comes with feeding refusal or poor weight gain. Breathing pauses and poor weight gain in particular tend to matter more the longer they go unaddressed, so call this week instead of waiting to see if it resolves on its own.

What This Means for You Tonight

If nap two was fought today but has been fine most days, hold the two-nap schedule. One rough day is not a readiness signal for one nap.

If your baby is stuck standing in the crib, practice sitting back down from standing tomorrow during play. Tonight, a calm, brief return to lying down, without extended interaction, is enough.

If bedtime protest has gotten worse, keep the goodbye short, warm, and consistent. A longer goodbye tends to intensify separation distress rather than ease it.

If this has been a stable pattern for 2-3 or more weeks with no clear developmental trigger behind it, that's the point to consider a real schedule adjustment rather than waiting for it to resolve on its own. And any breathing concerns or signs of pain are worth a call to your pediatrician this week, not a wait-and-see approach.

More by age: 10-month sleep schedule · 12-month sleep schedule · every age in one place

Frequently Asked Questions

How many naps should an 11-month-old have?

Two, for most babies. Total daytime sleep across both naps runs 2-3 hours. The drop to one nap isn't expected yet; the readiness window is 13-18 months, with an average around 15-16 months, and a third nap isn't needed at this age either. If the second nap is being resisted, that's much more often schedule drift or a developmental phase than genuine readiness for a single nap.

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

Between 6:30 and 7:30 PM for most families, timed off the end of nap 2 and the 3.5-4 hour wake window that follows it. This is genuinely appropriate, not just tolerated: by 11 months the circadian rhythm is reliably entrained, so an early bedtime lines up with your baby's actual biology rather than working against it.²

My 11-month-old was sleeping through the night and now wakes up crying. What happened?

Most likely one of two things, sometimes both at once: separation anxiety, which the American Academy of Pediatrics describes as capable of disrupting "many nights" of sleep in the second half of the first year,³ or motor-skill practice, pulling to stand or cruising, continuing into the night.⁶ Separation-driven waking looks like protest and crying at being left; motor-driven waking looks like a baby stuck standing or practicing, not necessarily upset about you leaving. Most of this resolves within a few weeks as the phase passes.

Is 11 months too early to drop to one nap?

Yes, for most babies. The readiness window is 13-18 months, average around 15-16 months, and 11 months sits at the very early edge. Real readiness looks like the second nap consistently refused for 2-3 weeks running, a first nap easily sustained at 2 or more hours, and a full wake window to bedtime without overtiredness. Dropping early backfires into overtiredness and more fragmented night sleep more often than not. For the full readiness checklist, see when to drop a nap.

How long are wake windows for an 11-month-old?

3-4 hours, structured as a ladder: shorter in the morning, around 3-3.5 hours, similar at midday, and longest before bed, around 3.5-4 hours. That's barely different from 9-10 months; the schedule itself is stable even when sleep feels harder right now. See the full wake windows by age chart for every stage.

Why is my baby standing up in the crib at night?

Because pulling to stand gets mastered well before lowering back down does.⁶ It's a temporary motor-skill gap, not a sleep problem. Practicing sitting back down from standing during the day, repeatedly and playfully, plus a calm, brief response at night, resolves it within a few weeks. Make sure the crib mattress is already at its lowest setting for a baby who can stand, and that the crib is clear of pillows, loose bedding, and bumpers.⁸

Sources

1. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Paruthi S, Brooks LJ, D'Ambrosio C, et al. "Recommended Amount of Sleep for Pediatric Populations: A Consensus Statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine." Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. 2016;12(6):785-786. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5078711/
2. Wong SD, Wright KP Jr, Spencer RL, Vetter C, Hicks LM, Jenni OG, LeBourgeois MK. "Development of the circadian system in early life." Journal of Physiological Anthropology. 2022;41:6. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9109407/
3. American Academy of Pediatrics. "Separation Anxiety & Sleeping." HealthyChildren.org. Updated August 25, 2022. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/sleep/Pages/separation-anxiety-and-sleeping.aspx
4. American Academy of Pediatrics. "Cognitive Development: 8 to 12 Months." HealthyChildren.org. Updated November 20, 2023. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Cognitive-Development-8-to-12-Months.aspx
5. American Academy of Pediatrics. "Movement Milestones: Babies 8 to 12 Months." HealthyChildren.org. Updated April 7, 2021. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/Pages/Movement-8-to-12-Months.aspx
6. Atun-Einy O, Scher A. "Sleep disruption and motor development: Does pulling-to-stand impact sleep-wake regulation?" Infant Behavior and Development. 2016;42:36-44. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26704990/
7. Hirshkowitz M, Whiton K, Albert SM, et al. "National Sleep Foundation's sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary." Sleep Health. 2015;1(1):40-43. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29073412/
8. American Academy of Pediatrics. "Make Baby's Room Safe: Parent Checklist." HealthyChildren.org. Updated August 14, 2020. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-home/Pages/Make-Babys-Room-Safe.aspx
9. American Academy of Sleep Medicine, citing Mindell JA, Li AM, Sadeh A, Kwon R, Goh DY. "Bedtime Routines for Young Children: A Dose-Dependent Association with Sleep Outcomes." Sleep. 2015;38(5):717-722. https://aasm.org/study-shows-that-children-sleep-better-when-they-have-a-nightly-bedtime-routine/
10. Bruni O, Baumgartner E, Sette S, et al. "Longitudinal Study of Sleep Behavior in Normal Infants during the First Year of Life." Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. 2014;10(10):1119-1127. https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.4114

Track Your 11-Month-Old's Schedule Without the Guesswork

Telling apart developmental noise from a schedule that actually needs to change is genuinely hard to do from memory at 11 months, especially with two naps, changing moods, and a baby who's suddenly harder to read. Pelio logs sleep automatically, tracks the pattern over the 2-3 week window that actually matters (not just last night), and flags a real 2-to-1 transition trend when one emerges, rather than reacting to a single hard day.

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