13–17 months
15 month old sleep: schedule, naps & wake windows
Between 13 and 17 months the big transition to a single nap happens. It’s probably the trickiest schedule change of early childhood: a few weeks of adjustment where flexibility with bedtime is key.
How much sleep does a 15 month old need?
Between 11–14 h in total across the day: about 10–12 h at night and 2–3 h during the day, spread over 1–2 naps. These are guide ranges: if your baby wakes rested and cheerful, they’re probably getting what they need. Compare all stages in the baby sleep chart by age.
Wake windows at 15 months
The wake window at 15 months is 4–5 h: the time they can comfortably stay awake before needing sleep again. Overshooting the window usually means overtiredness, crying and shorter naps; undershooting means bedtime resistance. The first window of the day is usually the shortest and the last one the longest.
Don’t feel like clock-watching? The wake windows calculator gives you the exact range for the next nap.
Naps at 15 months
Expect 1–2 naps of 1 – 2.5 h each. During the transition, the single nap starts early (12:00–12:30 pm) and gradually shifts to 12:30–1:00 pm. Goal: a 2–2.5 hour crib nap. On hard days, temporarily fall back to the 2-nap format. Nap transitions and lengths by age are in the baby naps guide.
Sample schedule for a 15 month old
Based on a 7:00 am wake-up. Shift the times to your baby’s real wake-up, keeping the windows.
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 7:00 | Wake up & breakfast |
| 11:45 | Early lunch |
| 12:30 | Single nap (2–2.5 h) |
| 15:00 | Awake, snack & playground |
| 19:00 | Dinner, bath & routine |
| 20:00 | Bedtime |
In the first weeks of one nap, bring bedtime forward to 7:00–7:30 pm: the afternoon window still feels long to them.
What time should bedtime be?
The usual range at 15 months is 7:30–8:30 pm. More than a fixed time, what matters is the window from the end of the last nap. A short, repeated bedtime routine (bath, pyjamas, story or song) helps them anticipate that sleep is coming.