Day 354 - 1st Year Round Up - How Much Should Your 12 Month Old Sleep

Today's first time parenting tip - At 12 months, your baby "should" be sleeping 11-13 hours at night, with one or two naps during the day

As part of the first year round up, I'm going to look at taking stock of where your baby is at. Keep in mind that these are averages, and they could fall above or below these ranges and be perfectly fine. The numbers are meant to give you a general idea of what your baby should be doing.

Sleep is a tricky thing. Too much, and your baby might seem lethargic or inactive. Too little, and they'll be cranky. If your baby falls outside this range or sleeps irregularly and they chronically seem unhappy or lethargic, they might have sleep problems.

My son sleeps 10-11 hours at night and takes two, hour-and-a-half long naps during the day. So he's on the low side, but he seems to be happy and he's pretty regular, so I'm not worried.

Your baby's sleep patterns could also change based on any new stress they might be experiencing, or they may sleep more if they're sick or going through a growth spurt. The important thing is to keep an eye on patterns and consult your pediatrician if you see anything irregular.

Parenting, Sleep, Average, Rest

Day 294 - Traveling at Night

Today's first time parenting tip - If you've got a long drive with your baby, make it at night

Once your baby is moving around, they probably don't like to be restrained very much. So long car rides can quickly turn from a Sunday drive into a screaming drive.

If your baby gets antsy when they're in the car for long periods, try timing your trip to begin right when they go to bed. Take them through their normal bed time routine, but instead of laying them down in the crib, put them in the car seat and head out.

They should have no problem falling asleep, and will probably stay that way (our son does) until their normal wake up time.

Of course, if you have trouble staying awake at the wheel during the night, maybe it's a good idea to have a screaming child in the car to keep you alert.

Another strategy is to try and time the trip to begin right after they wake, have some food and get a diaper change. That way they're as happy as possible and can amuse themselves by looking out the window or playing with something in the backseat for a while.

Parenting, Travel, Fussy, Screaming, Sleep