Autumn is 18 months old now! I can’t believe she’s a toddler. Here is her 18 month old schedule! I don’t know about you but I researched the heck out of the right schedule for Autumn. While I wish I had started sharing my baby schedules sooner and posted all the sleeping strategy I used, I’m happy to share any questions you might have for our one kid schedules at younger ages.
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A few key parts of our schedule are:
- She doesn’t eat (or drink) before bed, except at the end of the day. This is known as the EASY (Eat-Activity-Sleep-You) method. Basically, this means that she eats right when she wakes up and not before she goes to sleep.
- The activity section of her life is simple without any technology. She’s just learning food, her body, basic words and how to relate to people. Over the last couple weeks though, I see a huge change. So the post-18 months activity section is going to explode! It’s going to be a blast.
- Her sleep has transitioned. This is great. We have longer wake times to allow for more outings.
Eat
Currently, Autumn is pescatarian and has never consumed sugar. She eats fruit until noon and veggies/fish afterward. Since I expect a lot of questions on this, a separate post is coming on how to get a good eater. Most of the food we make at home is natural. We love Trader Joe’s produce!
Breakfast: Typically, she has 6 ounces of milk at wake up. Then a green smoothie (spinach, water, banana and a little bit of berry). If she is still hungry, we might sit down afterward for some more berries or a pear.
Lunch: She drinks another 6 ounces of milk when she wakes from first nap. Then, she will eat a full avocado and a cup of zucchini. If she’s still hungry, I’ll offer her more until she is done.
Dinner: Yet another 6 ounces of milk at wake up from nap. Then she’ll eat squash, cooked peas, sweet potato, carrots, avocado, until she is finished.
4 more ounces of milk before bedtime.
Activity
As of now, our activities are baby led. She is very curious. Whenever she says, “this,” it’s a question. She will point and ask for me to tell her something.
So, all day long, she learns as we pay attention to her activities. We’ve inserted things like coloring books, water play, blocks, cooking, etc.
Three days a week for eight hours, she is with our nanny who speaks 100% portuguese to her. So, she is experiencing some language immersion, which is great for her!
Sleep
Sleep is where the child’s brain develops. So, I have considered sleep to be the #1 priority since day one. Currently, we are in a big transition. Many people tell me that by this age it’s 12 hours of sleep and one 2-3 hour nap. However, I have fought to keep two naps. When she had a growth spurt that many parents said, “Oh she’s dropping her nap,” I resisted the urge to let one variable determine such a dramatic action.
When her first year molars finished coming in, she delightfully went back to two naps and a 12-13 hour night sleep. Now a couple months later, we are teeter-tottering between the following two sleeps.
- 14 hours of sleep + one 2-hour nap
- 12 hours of sleep + two naps (2-hour AM + 1-hour PM)
Ultimately, Autumn settled on the 14 hours of night sleep (7PM to 9 or even 10AM sometimes). She did this until about 30 months old (2.5 years), when she transitioned to 12 hours plus one 2 hour nap. Both her wake-ups are followed by one hour quiet time.
Overall 18 Month Old Schedule
Breastfeeding
We finished pretty much right when she turned 18 months old. She just decided to be done. By 16 months old, we had two daily breastmilk sessions – at wake up and at bedtime. One morning, I changed her diaper and we headed into the master bedroom to cuddle and breastfeed. She basically yelled at me the whole way there and said, “up” (which means down) on repeat. That happened a few times. Then I caught on – she was done. To confirm, she would pull at my shirt periodically and I would offer, but she turned around and ran the other way. She’s growing up!
Currently, Autumn drinks 50/50 goats milk to water. She drinks 6 ounces four times a day, at each wake up time and once before bed.
We LOVE the Lansinoh Bottles based on recommendation from my midwife, who is also a licensed lactation consultant. Our first batch of bottles sustained us for long over a year. We just now ordered a batch of new teets because two of them ripped a little. She drinks breakfast smoothies and her goats milk/water combo from the bottles.
Water is in a sippy cup. We have begun that transition to sippy cups as well.
Nanny Management
We have a nanny three days a week and a date night – every single week. She fills out a nanny log, which is a lot less robust than it used to be. Now, it’s just her start/end times, meals and sleep/wake times.
We have set “text” times to help me stay connected to Autumn’s day. These are milestone moments of her day. This has helped me to stay attuned to growth spurts and transitions to the schedule. The 18 month old schedule is so much easier and less maintenance than newborn and infant.
For instance, each time Autumn wakes up, I add 3 hours and tell the nanny when her next nap will be. Then when the nanny prepares a meal for Autumn, she texts me a picture before she serves the meal to her.
Date Night
Date night is crucial for our marriage. We love our Autumn Rose, but we know that the foundation we provide her starts with our strong marriage.
I was thinking the other day about this arrangement. We were pretty newlywed when I got pregnant. We are foodies who enjoy a good adult beverage pairing – we like to be wined & dined. Pregnancy after 7 months married meant no more alcohol for me for a while (9-months pregnant and then breastfeeding). Date night has given us space to keep connection and growth in our relationship. It legitimately has helped us stay “dating.”
Tell me what’s your toddler’s 18 month old schedule! Check out more of our motherhood topics
