Daily Routine for 14-Month-old

R.
Schedules are what help produce/guide/raise healthy kids! Consistency is key. I have five and the schedule will make or break you! My 14mo old gets up at 7a...has breakfast...banana/egg/toast...water....plays, naps at 11 until 130/2p...lunch...toddler sized meal...water throughout day...snack (fruit/applesauce/snack bar, etc); dinner at 530/6p....bath; bed at 730...sleeps all night! happy/healthy full of joy...fun loving.....and craves her schedule. hope this helps...make one and stick to it the best you can...even through the tears and fits! :) you will be thankful you did!

My little man was 16 mos when he was weaned and I'm so happy when I hear about others that have done so well for their little ones too! At that age, my son was still napping 2 x per day. He too would nurse when he got up, then we'd have breakfast, play, run errands, whatever, have a little snack, nap, lunch, more play/whatever,, nap,he usually woke in the afternoon, snack, play, etc,dinner, bath and bed. Some babies nap 1 or 2 times per day at that age. He got a little juice cut with water with his snacks, and cow's milk at lunchtime (about 4oz). One thing that will help with weaning (when you are ready) and sleep in general is to switch that evening feeding. Don't nurse him to sleep. Nurse him, give him his bath, do a relaxing, sleep-inducing bedtime routine and help him get to sleep. I never nursed my son to sleep once he was old enough not to fall asleep at the breast and it made weaning and eventually getting him to sleep thru the night so much easier.

There is no normal. I have two children now 16 and 10. Both weaned at a year from bottle and pacifer. My oldest son did not sleep through the night until he was four and the younger one slept through the night at about six months. The only thing I would worry about is him being use to going to bed early so he can get up early when it is time to go to school. Everything else we worked around our schedule.

W.

Hi R., I have 4 boys 4 years old and under and I am a registered nurse. So I have been doing this for a while. I can only tell you what I do and it works for me. The boys eat regular meals three times a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner). They also get a snack at around 10am and at 3pm. My 21 month old still drinks whole milk, which he gets in the morning after breakfast at nap time and at bed time (so about 24oz/day). I have been doing that since he was 12 months old. If you are worried that he is not eating a lot at each meal, don't worry. They usually make it up at one of the meals. Sometimes mine would eat a small amount for breakfast, but then have a huge lunch and not so much for dinner.

From what I can remember about naps is that a 14 month old is usually still taking two naps a day or one big nap after lunch. My boys at that age would take a morning nap and then one after lunch or a short one in the evening. Usually when they start approaching two years old, two naps will turn into one nap a day that is about 2 1/2 hours or more long. Mine would start doing that at about 18 months and it would be right after lunch (around 1230 and they would wake up about 3ish).

As far as the breastfeeding goes...once you wean him you will probably get a good nights rest. It is easy to do that with one child, but if you have more you will cherish your sleep. If you haven't transitioned him to whole milk yet, now is the time. They really don't get any nutrients from breast milk after a year. You can still do it, just make sure you are still supplementing with other things. Sounds like you are already.

If you have anymore questions, I will be glad to help out. Like I said before..not only am I a seasoned mom, I have worked in Post/Partum, Nursery and Pediatrics.

Take care and good luck.

B. C.

My son is 15 months and here is what our schedule is like. He sleeps from 7pm - 7am. When he wakes up at 7am, I change him and we go into the kitchen. Breakfast consists of milk in a cup, a couple of slices of banana and then either small pancakes (he takes it in his hands and eats it) or small waffles. Sometimes he wont eat that and I feed him Greek Yogurt. Then we play for a couple of hours or I run errands at this time. We then have a snack 2 hours after breakfast. My son takes 1 nap and that is around 12pm and goes for about 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours. (He has lunch before he goes down). When he gets up, I give him a little snack and water between all meals. More play......and then the dinner routine starts around 530pm or so. Hope that helps. Kids at this age should be eating table foods - mostly by themselves. No baby food and I avoid juices since they don't really need it and its just sugar.

Hi R.,
Who would have thought before we had kids that eating, sleeping (and pooping) would be such important topics in our lives! I think it's important to have routines when it comes to sleeping and eating, but a lot of that depends on your lifestyle and your child's temperament.
Here are two books that will be answer many of your questions about "normal" sleep and eating behaviors based on ages. My son is 2 1/2 and I find myself going back to them as he hits different points in his life.
The first one is on feeding:
Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense by Ellyn
http://www.amazon.com/Child-Mine-Feeding-Love-Sense/dp/09...
A very good friend bought and mailed me this book saying it was that important for me to read as a mother--and it was. I love, love, love this book and think my son is a good healthy eater because of it. Another good friend of mine is a pediatric dietitian and she said she wished all parents would read it.
The second is everything you wanted to know about normal (and not normal) sleep habits of kids based on their ages. The author (who is a Pediatrician) has done so many studies on children and sleep you will find this book quoted in almost every other book out there on babies/kids and sleep...
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth
http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Sleep-Habits-Happy-Child/dp...
This books has tons of information and doesn't advocate any "method" (like CIO or Family beds). It's more of a reference book on what to expect and do regarding sleep/naps at specific age ranges.

Both should be available at the library.

I hope they help!

Hi R.,

At 14 months, my little girl was in daycare (school) from around 8:30am to 5pm daily, so she was ahead of most her age... but here is her schedule and it still suits her well at age 2!

She would wake around 7am.. bedtime is 7:30pm every night except special occasions (but she begs me to sleep most nights, so I rarely keep her up past 8pm!)... and she eats breakfast ( at 14 months, ate oatmeal a lot, scrambled egg, microwave mini pancakes, waffles, yogurt, etc. with milk in a sippy cup (we did no bottle after 12 months and she weaned herself from my breast at 11 months). Then she would go to school, have a snack at around 10am... lunch at 11:15-11:30am and then nap time at 12pm-2pm, sometimes shorter and sometimes longer. The total bonus for me about school is that once your child learns to go to sleep in a room full of 12 other toddlers, naptime at home is a SNAP! :) Really! It's a hard learning curve, but once embedded, is amazing!

So... they wake around 2pm, have snack around 3-3:15pm and then play outside for 30 mins. before 4:30pm. I would then pick her up at 5... we'd be home by 5:30pm... she'd watch 30 mins. of her favorite show "Clifford" and then dinner every night is at 6pm sharp. On bath nights, she is in the tub by 6:45pm, on non-bath nights, she is allowed to simply "play" after dinner until 7pm. After bath, it's jammies, stories, etc. until bedtime at 7:30pm and most often, later in the week, earlier than that... she gets more and more tired as the week goes on! She sleeps at least 11hrs per night, mostly 12... and eats everything I give her!

Hope this helps!
K.

Normal is whatever works for you and him. My kids all ate whenever they were hungry until they started school. For some kids that is every two hours, some every few hours. As long as he gets play time and time with his parents. Playgrounds for toddlers like the ones at the malls are great places to start socializing him with other children, as are play groups. If you are lost trying to find a play group (like I was when I moved here) you can go to meetup.com. He will only be this small for a very short time, so just enjoy him and don't worry too much about "normal" and what others say about schedules, etc...

I would first suggest getting a good book to help you.
You can also ask the baby's doctor if he is growing enough and weighing enough. If your child doesn't act sleepy than he probably is getting enough sleep. If your child is putting on a little weight than he probably is getting enough food. If he isn't sick than he probably is getting enough water. If he isn't doing these things than maybe you need to make some changes. For instance: giving more nap time, more food, more fluids (preferable milk).

First of all congragulations on being students with a son, that is tough. I would say what ever your routine, it needs to be to your family's rythem. As far as feeding, I am on my third son and they were all completely different. They all breastfed. One still is. Weaning is meant to be slow again to your own pace. Do what is in your own heart. Again congragulations on being a wonderful and caring mom!

R.'
Mom of 3 boys 14yr, 11yr, and 11 months.

Hi R.,
well my son is 26 months now, but i was in your same situation. So this is what i have been doing. In the morning when he wakes up i gave him his milk in his bottle w/a little bit of chocolate or strawberry quick, and then maybe an hour later he would eat breakfast (keep in mind he wakes up at 6am)warm cereal (instant or regular box cereal) and some juice maybe like 3oz and 3 or 4 of water mixed. And if you can maybe some fruits or if yours is like mine fruit baby food. Then, at lunch time he has always loved chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, rice and beans, stuff like that ...just a small amount w/veggies (peas!!!!) and again water or water/juice. During the afternoon give him yogurt, vanilla wafers, or cookies (healthy snacks). Just try to give them lots of liquid during the day. At night something simple, like sandwich of cheese only or cheese and turkey. If not (cause most of the times he is not hungry at night) just his milk in his bottle. After he turned one he slept most of the night from 8pm-6am..most of the night!!!! And then a nap during the day usually at noon for 2 hrs. Well, i hope this help, let me know if i can do anything else for you.

Dear R., congratulations on your beautiful son and good mothering. And also, congratulations on still breastfeeding! Breastfeeding toddlers continues to provide them with a great source of nutrition, as well as protection from illness, and can play an important role in supplementing typically picky toddler diets. The feedings related to waking up and going to sleep are the hardest to give up, so please take your time. You didn't mention why you are weaning, but all major medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, recommend nursing as long as both desire. Nursing is also a great way to reconnect and remain close to a toddler when mom is separated for other responsibilities.

There is such a wide range of normal that the best thing to do is learn some basic principles and then do what seems to work best for your individual family. There is now a lot of emphasis on juice being a major contributor to childhood obesity, so I would recommend using it very sparingly. It is more nutritious to eat the fruit itself, and use only water to quench thirst. And particularly since he is still nursing, he does not need cow's milk (If he likes, a bit, that is fine though). We are very hooked on dairy products in our culture, and eat much more than is necessarily good for us. Try to avoid refined and processed foods, especially sugar, sticking to whole grains primarily. Having a young child is a great time to evaluate and improve our own diets, because they will want what we eat and will adopt eating habits they see modeled in the home. And after all, he is only 14 months old, so cannot exactly get himself to McDonald's!

I would strongly recommend contacting your local La leche league group. They have some great books on nutrition in their lending library and also are very knowledgeable about nursing toddlers and gentle weaning.

Good luck!

J.

Hi R.,
I have a home daycare and this is the schedule I follow (as far as naps and eating go) for all the kids in my care once they turn a year old:
Breakfast-7:30, Snack-9:30, Lunch11:30, Nap-12:00-2:30 or 3:00 (some require more sllep), Snack-3:00. These children are in bed at night by 8:00pm, and up at 5:30 or 6am. I give them 8 ounces of whole milk at every meal and water any time they are thirsty. Sometimes snack is juice (rarely, though) but mostly water. Since a 14 month old eats small amounts, they need to eat often. USDA requires that I feed them no further apart than every three hours, unless they're asleep. It's great that you are still nursing him, he is surely getting some needed nutrition that way!
Anyway, in my experience, most 1 year olds still take long afternoon naps, and some even take a morning nap also.
Hope this gives you some idea of what other 1 year olds are doing.