Your 14-month-old's sleep
At a glance: at this age your baby can stay awake for 3 h 40 min–5 h 20 min at a time, and needs 11–14 h of sleep per 24 hours.
Recommended awake time
3 h 40 min – 5 h 20 min
Number of naps
1
Total sleep per 24 h
11–14 h
Bedtime
8:00 PM
Sample schedule (14 months old)
Assuming a 7:00 wake-up — adjust it to your real wake-up.
- 7:00 AMWake up
- 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM Nap 1
- 8:00 PMBedtime 🌙
What’s happening with sleep now
Somewhere in these months, most toddlers begin the well-known 2-to-1 nap transition. The clearest sign of readiness is a toddler who has been consistently fighting or flat-out refusing the second nap for one to two weeks or more, not just an odd bad day. You may also notice the first (morning) nap starting to stretch longer, as if it wants to become the single nap of the day. At 13 months many babies are still comfortably on two naps with wake windows around 3h20m to 5h10m, so there's no rush to push the change before the signs are truly there.
The kindest way to move is gradually rather than dropping a nap overnight. Little by little, push the morning nap later toward midday and let it lengthen, so it slowly becomes one solid nap that anchors to after lunch. Across 14 to 15 months wake windows widen to roughly 3h40m to 5h30m as the single nap settles in. Your toddler still needs plenty of total sleep during this stretch: around 11 to 14 hours a day, typically about 11 hours at night with 2 to 3 hours of napping.
Expect the schedule to feel wobbly while it settles. On some days one nap is plenty; on others your toddler seems caught between too little and too much sleep. The single most useful tool during the transition is a temporary earlier bedtime, which acts as a safety valve on the days the one nap ends up shorter than you'd like. Anchoring the nap to 'after lunch' gives the day a reliable rhythm your toddler can lean on.
Common challenges — and what helps
The rough in-between fortnight: your toddler is too tired to make it happily on one nap, but fights hard against two. Days swing between overtired meltdowns and battles at nap time.
This awkward middle usually lasts a few weeks, so lean on patience and flexibility rather than forcing a fixed schedule. Alternate as needed: offer a one-nap day when the morning nap runs long, and fall back to two naps on the days your toddler clearly can't stretch. On one-nap days, bring bedtime earlier as a bridge so the day doesn't end overtired.
Early rising creeps in during the transition, with your toddler waking sooner than usual in the morning while their body clock is readjusting.
Resist starting the day too early by keeping the room dark and the morning calm. Protect night sleep by using an earlier bedtime as a bridge on the days the single nap is short, since being overtired tends to worsen early waking rather than help it. Give the new rhythm roughly two to four weeks to settle before judging it.
The single nap comes out split or too short, so your toddler wakes after only a little while and can't quite reconnect into a full midday sleep.
Protect the midday anchor: aim the nap for after lunch and keep the wind-down consistent so the body learns to expect one longer sleep there. If the nap still ends up short, bridge the rest of the day with an earlier bedtime rather than squeezing in a late second nap that would push bedtime too far out. Consistency over two to four weeks usually lengthens it.
What’s coming next
Over the coming weeks the schedule settles into one solid midday nap after lunch, and the daily rhythm feels calmer and more predictable again. On the horizon is the 18-month regression, when growing autonomy brings boundary-testing and separation feelings, often alongside molars coming through. Knowing it's coming lets you meet it with warm, steady routines rather than surprise.
What helps most right now
- Watch for genuine readiness before dropping a nap: consistent refusal of the second nap for one to two weeks or more, plus a lengthening morning nap, rather than a single off day.
- Shift the morning nap later in small steps toward midday and let it lengthen, so it becomes one solid nap anchored to after lunch.
- Keep an earlier bedtime in your back pocket as a safety valve for the days the single nap runs short or the two-nap day falls apart.
- Give the transition roughly two to four weeks and check in with your pediatrician if sleep or mood concerns feel out of the ordinary.
Safe sleep
Toddler safe sleep: keep the mattress firm and the space simple. As soon as they start climbing the rail, drop the base to its lowest setting or move to a toddler/floor bed to prevent falls, and keep cords and blind pulls out of reach. A small comforter or lovey is generally fine at this age, but keep the cot clear of large objects.
When to check with your pediatrician
When to check with your pediatrician: sleep varies a lot from baby to baby, but do mention it to your doctor if you notice loud snoring, pauses in breathing, or very laboured breathing, if your baby isn’t gaining weight or is feeding poorly, if they consistently sleep far less (or more) than expected and seem unhappy or unusually drowsy, or if anything about their development worries you. This guide is general guidance and not a substitute for medical advice.
More free tools
General guidance for healthy babies — every child is different. This is not medical advice; talk to your pediatrician about your baby.
Want this calculated automatically, every day?
Nana learns your baby's real rhythm and adjusts nap times and bedtime as the day actually unfolds — not just by age. Free to start.