12-Month-Old Child: Feeding, Sleep, and Milestones by Month

Congratulations! You’ve made it to your child’s first yr! Take a while to marvel in any respect they’ve achieved up to now yr and study all they’ll obtain sooner or later. This text will stroll you thru the brand new milestones your 12-month-old child will obtain and provide you with perception into how their feeding schedule and sleeping habits may change, their common weight, actions you are able to do collectively, and extra.

Throughout the previous couple of months, your child has turn out to be fairly the mover, and this month might be no totally different. They may proceed to develop their mobility and develop of their independence. Some new developmental milestones to look at your 12-month-old attain embrace:¹

• Taking part in video games, akin to peek-a-boo and patty cake, with caregivers
• Understanding the phrase “no” and hesitating when informed “no”
• Persevering with to babble, with some stable phrases akin to “mama,” “dada,” or “baba” (for bottle)
• Pulling as much as stand
• Strolling round whereas holding onto furnishings (aka cruising)
• Placing toys into and pulling them out of containers
• Searching for toys you’ve hidden
• Feeding themselves finger meals
• Consuming from a cup and not using a lid (with some help)

Now that your child is 12 months old, they’ll transition from breast milk or system to complete cow’s milk. In the event that they’re getting breastmilk, you’ll be able to proceed so long as there’s a provide and your child continues to need breastmilk. They will additionally begin transitioning from a bottle to a sippy cup. To make the transition smoother, provide cow’s milk, breastmilk, or water in a sippy cup at mealtimes as an alternative of a bottle, and slowly lower the variety of bottles provided. Typically, the final bottles dropped would be the ones earlier than nap/bedtime.²

To make sure your child will get sufficient stable meals, restrict their cow’s milk consumption to 16-24 ounces day by day.² Another meals to keep away from embrace sugar-sweetened or food regimen drinks, high-sodium meals, and unpasteurized dairy or juice. Additionally, keep away from scorching canine, uncooked laborious greens, laborious cheeses, popcorn, nuts, and grapes, as these are choking hazards.² In the event you plan on giving your child juice, restrict it to 4 ounces day by day and guarantee it’s 100% fruit juice.¹

Juice isn’t a necessity for youths; consider it extra as a deal with! The rationale to restrict juice is as a result of the sugar isn’t sometimes wanted for his or her our bodies and might be detrimental to their enamel and oral well being.¹¹ Nonetheless, in case your little one is sick and having bother feeling nicely sufficient to eat/drink, juice or different sugar-containing liquids (akin to an oral rehydration answer or ORS) is acceptable to maintain them hydrated and preserve their blood sugars regular.¹²

It may be daunting to think about meals in your 12-month-old, so right here’s a pattern menu to assist in giving you some concepts for his or her feeding schedule:³

• ½ cup iron-fortified toddler cereal
• ½ cup complete milk, breastmilk, or water
• ½ banana or 2-3 items of fruit minimize up into small items

• ½ cup of complete milk, breastmilk, or water
• 1 piece of bread with cream cheese or peanut butter
• ½ cup of yogurt

• ½ cup of cooked inexperienced greens
• ½ cup complete milk, breastmilk, or water
• 2-3 oz of protein akin to hen, turkey, or eggs

• 1-2 ounces of cheese
• 2-3 items of fruit
• ½ cup of complete milk, breastmilk, or water

• 2-3 oz of protein like hen, turkey, beef, beans or eggs
• ½ cup cooked yellow or orange vegetable
• ½ cup of grains or starches like rice, pasta, or potatoes
• ½ cup of complete milk, breastmilk, or water

Additionally, at this age, many infants nonetheless have a cup of complete milk or breastmilk earlier than mattress.

Your 12-month-old’s sleep schedule will look fairly just like the earlier months. They may want 11-14 hours of sleep per day, which incorporates one to 2 daytime naps.⁴ Some 12-month-olds will transfer to one nap per day, and a few will keep at two naps per day; it will depend on your child!⁵

You will have thought that sleep regression can be one thing of the previous at this age, however sadly, some 12-month-olds will expertise one other interval of sleep regression. Sleep regression occurs when your child has a change of their sleeping habits. They will expertise elevated fussy durations at night time or have problem falling asleep. A number of the commonest causes of sleep regression embrace:⁶

Fortunately, sleep regression doesn’t final without end. Sleep regression cycles sometimes final one to 4 weeks. Some methods to assist your 12-month-old overcome their sleep regression embrace the next:⁶

• Know their sleep cues and put them to mattress on the first signal of tiredness.
• Have a constant bedtime and naptime.
• Hold a constant daytime and bedtime routine.
• Give them further consideration through the day and earlier than mattress to assist them with any separation anxiousness.
• It’s okay to permit them to fuss for a couple of minutes in the course of the night time earlier than soothing them if that feels proper for your loved ones.
• Some mother and father will restrict cuddling, rocking, and nighttime feeding since these actions can encourage frequent awakening in your 12-month-old.

Throughout the previous couple of months, you and your child have been on a predictable schedule, which is able to stay comparatively unchanged. The one important change could come in case your child transitions to at least one nap per day as an alternative of two. In case your child has moved to at least one nap per day, purpose for a nap time round 1 p.m. or following lunch.⁵ Use a shortened model of their bedtime routine to assist your baby put together for his or her nap.⁵ Attributable to shifting to at least one nap per day, some 12-month-old infants can have longer wake home windows than others.

At this age, it’s nonetheless applicable in your child to go to mattress between 6 p.m. and eight p.m., however each household is totally different with what time works for them. Begin your bedtime routine in loads of time to make sure your baby is prepared for sleep at their bedtime.⁵

This month, your child can have their 12-month-old well-child checkup. It’s going to embrace a quick bodily examination, a test of their weight, and the administration of vaccines. On common, a 12-month-old child ought to have doubled their beginning weight and grown roughly 10 inches.⁷ Your physician will allow you to perceive in case your child is rising appropriately and provide you with recommendation in the event that they’re behind of their progress.

At this go to, your child may also obtain their scheduled 12-month vaccines. These vaccines embrace:⁸

• Measles, mumps, rubella (MMR)
• Hepatitis A
• Varicella, also referred to as the chickenpox vaccine
• Annual flu shot (if wanted)

Although your child can have a scheduled well-child checkup at 12 months previous, their physician could must see them if any of the next signs happen:⁹

• Decreased urge for food for quite a lot of days
• Elevated sleepiness, problem waking up, or crying greater than standard
• Temperature greater than 105 F or that lasts longer than three days
• Diarrhea that lasts longer than every week or vomiting that lasts longer than a day
• Indicators of dehydration akin to decreased tears, dry/cracked lips, and a lowered quantity of moist diapers
• Constipation
• Bother respiratory, chilly signs lasting 10 days or extra, or a cough lasting greater than two weeks
• Unexplained rash or rash with a fever

Your child is turning into much more expressive and interactive as they hit their first birthday, and interesting them is a lot enjoyable! Some simple actions to have interaction with 12-month-olds embrace:¹

• Studying them books, particularly ones with flaps
• Telling them what actions you’re doing
• Singing to them
• Responding to all their babbles, even in the event you don’t know what they’re saying
• Stacking blocks with them, constructing the tallest tower, and watching them knock it down
• Encouraging their love for music by giving them toy drums, cymbals, or different noisemakers

Making certain your own home is a protected atmosphere in your child is essential. As they turn out to be extra cell, they’ll begin to get into issues they shouldn’t. Comply with these security tricks to preserve child from hurt:¹⁰

• Hold all family cleaners and drugs out of attain (name poison management at 1-800-222-1222 if unintentional ingestion happens).
• Pad or take away any furnishings with sharp corners.
• Set up gates on all stairs.
• Hold your water heater at not more than 120 F to keep away from unintentional burns.
• Take away all water from the bath after use, and by no means depart your baby unattended within the bathtub.
• If weapons are within the house, make certain they’re secured in a gun protected and unloaded always.
• Use a rear-facing automobile seat that’s secured accurately within the again seat.

It could appear that your child’s first yr of life has flown by, however it has additionally been stuffed with huge quantities of progress for each you and child! Every new stage of their growth is unbelievable to look at, and plenty of extra pleasant phases are but to return.