What does a Babywise 12 month schedule look like? Let’s walk through baby’s first full year with the Babywise method!
Quite a while back I wrote a post covering all of Britt’s schedules from birth through age 6 months and it’s my most popular post ever on the blog.
I have gotten a lot of feedback from it with requests to do a full year’s worth of schedules. Now that Tess is passed a year old I thought it’d be a good time to put together such a post.
Another thing I’m asked about often? HELP with getting started with Babywise! I decided to put together this exclusive e-mail series as a quick start guide to everything you need to know when it comes to Babywise. Be sure to subscribe here:
You will notice when you compare Tess’s schedules with Britt’s that they are different. Every single baby is unique and different and will require tweaks to their schedules to best suit their needs.
I followed Babywise (I also recommend reading The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems
as I do combine both when creating my babies’ routines) with all three of my children and all three slept through the night at young ages and all three had slightly different schedules.
Hopefully, this will benefit others who are implementing a 12 month Babywise schedule in their homes!
Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links.
Additional posts that may help to encourage you:
- Where to Get Help with Babywise
- Britt’s birth – 6 month schedules
- Starting Babywise from Birth
- How to Start Babywise
- Newborn Sleep Hierarchy
- Baby-Led Weaning Guide
- Newborn Sleep Guide
- Infant Sleep Guide
- Tips for Successful Breastfeeding
- Myth of the “Perfect” Babywise Baby
- 4 Month Sleep Regression
- Weekly and Monthly Summaries for the 1st Year (This post will give MUCH more details in addition to the Babywise 12 month schedule posted below!)
Babywise 12 Month Schedule
Week Three and Four of Life (2 and 3 weeks old)
7:00: Up for the day
7:00-7:30ish: Nurse
7:30ish-7:45ish: Awake Time
7:45ish-10:00: Nap
10:00-10:30ish: Nurse
10:30ish-10:45ish: Awake Time
10:45ish-1:00: Nap
1:00-1:30ish: Nurse
130ish-1:45ish: Awake Time
1:45ish-4:00: Nap
4:00-4:30ish: Nurse
4:30ish-4:45ish: Awake Time
4:45ish-6:00: Cat Nap 1
6:00-630ish: Eat
6:30ish-6:45ish: Awake Time
6:45ish-7:45ish: Cat Nap 2
7:45ish: Bath, ready for bed
8:00: Eat with lights low and then straight to bed
11:00: Wake up for dream feed, keep lights low and put straight back to bed
Sometime around 3:00 AM: Middle of the Night Feeding
Week Five and Six of life (4 and 5 weeks old)
7:00 Eat
7:50-10:00: Nap
10:00: Eat
10:50-1:00 Nap
1:00: Eat
1:50-4:00: Nap
4:00: Eat
4:50-6:00: Nap
6:00: Eat
6:50-7:45ish: Nap
7:45ish: Bath, ready for bed
8:00: Eat
10:30: Dream feed
3:00-4:00 am: Waking on own for middle of the night feeding
Week Seven – Nine of Life (6 – 8 weeks old)
7:00 up for day, nurse
7:45 down for nap
10:00 nurse
10:45 down for nap
1:00 nurse
1:45 down for nap
4:00 nurse
4:45 down for nap
6:30ish bath and bedtime routine
7:00 nurse then straight to bed
1030: df
by the end of the week I ended up moving the dream feed to 11:00
waking one time to eat around at around 4:00-5:00
Weeks Ten – Fifteen of life (9 – 14 weeks old)
7:00 nurse
8:00 down for nap
10:30: nurse
11:30: down for nap
2:00 nurse
3:00: down for nap
5:00: nurse
6:00: down for nap
8:00: bath routine then nurse then immediately asleep for night
10:30: dream feed
Weeks Sixteen and Seventeen of Life (15 and 16 weeks old)
This was a BIG MONTH for Tess (we had a lot of 4 month sleep regression issues). She started the month out on the 3.5 hour schedule with dream feed. So she was eating at 7, 1030, 2, 5, 8 and 10:30.
By the end of her 4th month of life, her schedule ended up being the 4-hour schedule without the dream feed. So it was 7, 11, 3 and 7 for her feeding times.
Just for reference, I moved her to the 4-hour schedule first (she was 14 weeks old). I moved the schedule by waiting to feed her for the 10:30 and instead of feeding her at 11:00.
I didn’t transition it slowly, I just jumped to it. I had a BUSY day planned (always smart to be busy when changing the schedule) and it worked out great! She ate at 11 and then slept awesome until 3 and we were officially moved 🙂
Leading up to the 4-hour schedule change… I had been trying different things to help Tess’s sleep issues improve.
One of the things I tried was extending her awake time length. She did fine with 1 hour and 30 min of awake time so I went ahead and made the move to the 4-hour schedule which would allow her 2 hours of awake time and dropped a nap!
I dropped the dream feed when she was 16 weeks old.
My oldest baby to still have a dream feed but she was also my worst night sleeper! So it made sense that I held onto it as long as I did.
With that, I did the same thing, no transition. I just stopped feeding her for it.
Here is what her schedule looked like by the end of her 4th month:
6:45-7:10: Up for the day! Nurse
Sometime during awake time: 15 min of independent playtime in pack and play
8:45-9:00: Down for nap (give paci if needed mid-nap)
10:45-11:10: Up from nap, nurse
Sometime during awake time: 15 min of independent playtime in pack and play
12:45-1:00: Down for nap (give paci if needed mid-nap)
2:45-3:15: Up from nap, nurse
Sometime during awake time: 15 min of independent playtime in pack and play
4:45-5:00: Down for cat nap
6:00-6:15: Wake up from cat nap
6:30-6:45: Bath
6:45-7:00: Last feeding of the day, straight to bed after feeding
If wake during night: let cry it out
5th Month of Life (4 months old)
6:45-7:10: Up for the day, nurse
8:45-9:00: down for nap. If wake mid nap do paci
20 min of independent playtime in pack and play
10:45-11:15: Up from nap, nurse
20 min of independent playtime in pack and play
12:45-1:00: down for nap, if wake mid nap do paci
2:45-3:15: Up from nap, nurse
20 min of independent playtime in pack and play
4:45-5:00: down for nap
6:00-6:20: up from nap
6:35-6:45: Bath
6:45-7:10: Nurse then straight to bed if wake in night let cry it out
6th Month of Life (5 Months Old)
6:45-7:10: Up for the day, nurse
8:45-9:00: down for nap
10:45-11:15: up from nap, nurse
12:45-1:00: down for nap
2:45-3:15: up from nap, nurse
4:45-5:00: down for nap
6:00: wake from nap, spend time with family
6:30ish: bath routine
6:45;7:00: last nursing session then straight to bed for the night
7th Month of Life (6 Months Old)
7:00 Up for day. Nurse. Feed solids (unless I take kids to school then she skips solids)
If not taking kids to school then she has 25 min of independent playtime in pack and play after solids
8:45-9:00: Down for nap
10:45-11:15: Up from nap. Nurse. Pick up kids from school
12:30: Solids when we get home from school (it’s not ideal but it works!)
1:00: Down for nap
2:45-3:45: Up from nap (since I dropped the cat nap I let her sleep late for this nap if she wants). Nurse.
25 min of independent playtime in pack and play
5:30-6:00: Solids while family eats dinner
6:30: Bath
6:45: Nurse then straight to bed (I did bath early and fed earlier if needed for the days she took to adjust to dropping cat nap)
8th Month of Life (7 Months Old)
7:00 up for the day. Nurse and then do solids.
25 min independent playtime, if not taking kids to school
9:00 down for nap
10:45-11:15 up from nap, nurse
12:30 solids with kids after school for lunch
1:00 nap
2:45-3:15 up from nap and nurse. Sometimes she will still sleep a little later, but usually she’s awake right at 3.
25 min of independent playtime
5:30-6:00 solids during family dinner
6:30 (or a little earlier) bath
6:45 nurse then straight to bed
9th Month of Life (8 Months Old)
7:00 up for the day. Nurse and then do solids.
25 min independent playtime, if not taking kids to school
9:00 down for nap
10:45-11:15 up from nap, nurse
12:30 solids with kids after school for lunch
1:00 nap
2:45-3:00 up from nap and nurse
25 min of independent playtime
5:30-6:00 solids during family dinner
6:30 (or a little earlier) bath
6:45 nurse then straight to bed
10th Month of Life (9 Months Old)
6:45-7:15: Get up then nurse
Solids
9:00-11:00: Nap
10:45-11:15: Get up then nurse
12:00ish: Solids
1:00-3:00: Nap
2:45-3:15: Get up then nurse
6:00: Solids for dinner with family
6:40: Bath
7:00: Nurse then straight to bed
11th Month of Life (10 Months Old)
7:00 Up for day, nurse, breakfast (whole milk in sippy with meal)
9:00 Down for nap
11:00 Up from nap, nurse, lunch (whole milk in sippy with meal)
1:00 Down for nap
3:00 Up from nap, sippy of whole milk with some cheese/cheerios as snack
6:00 Dinner with family (whole milk sippy with meal)
6:30 Bath
6:45ish Nurse then straight to bed
12th Month of Life (11 Months Old)
7:00 nurse then solids for breakfast (with whole milk to drink too)
8:00 indepdenent playtime for 30 min
9:00-11:00 nap
11:00 your baby can read movie while I make lunch
11:30ish: lunch with whole milk to drink
1:00-3:00 nap
3:00 small snack (usually dairy) with whole milk to drink
5:30 dinner with family (whole milk to drink)
6:15 bath
6:45 nurse
When done nursing: straight to bed for night
13th Month of Life (12 Months Old)
7:00 Breakfast with whole milk
9:00 – 11:00 Nap
12:30: Lunch with Whole Milk
1:00 – 3:00: Nap
3:30: Small snack with whole milk to drink
4:00: 35 min of independent playtime
5:30: Dinner with family (whole milk to drink)
6:15: Bath
6:45: Nurse (nursed for last time when 13 ½ months old)
When done nursing straight to bed for night
I have had both a high sleep needs as well as a low sleep needs baby. Britt was a high-sleep needs baby so when you look at her schedules you can tell I shifted things based on the fact that she could sleep for longer periods of time. (You can see Britt’s first six months of schedules here)
With Tess things shifted because she could handle being awake for longer periods of time since she required less sleep.
Knowing your baby and their needs is so crucial to sleep training and to developing the best routine to their day. But hopefully, this Babywise 12 month schedule can help you get started!
Read more about high sleep needs vs low sleep needs here!
Needing more Babywise help? Don’t forget to sign up for my quick-start email series here:
