Ever wonder what a daily one year old routine looks like? Spoiler alert: It’s busy, sometimes downright chaotic, but they’re a lot more productive than I ever imagined possible. Getting here took real time and the ability to embrace some chaos. So lean in, take a deep breath, and let’s talk about a day in the life of a one year old.
The Morning Routine
Alexis usually wakes up around 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. and we leave her in her pajamas. She enjoys the coziness and it helps her wake up comfortably for the day. We also do this because if she makes a mess at breakfast we’re not changing her into a second outfit already, it’s a great parent hack!
Parent Hack: Keep them in their overnight pajamas for breakfast, because if they make a mess you’re not changing them into a second outfit already!
Since around 11 months she’s been sleeping through the night (queue happy dance!). If that’s the case, we give her a bottle in her room before heading downstairs so she isn’t empty.
Afterwards, we head downstairs to the living room play. Oftentimes, dad is the one up with her and will prepare breakfast while I get ready upstairs. Once I’m downstairs I’ll eat breakfast (oftentimes a yogurt parfait, pre made in my yogurt parfait cup) while we play and check work emails. I’ll address anything I can on my phone and save bigger requests like project quotes for later.
Around 8:30 a.m. Alexis eats breakfast. She has eggs, bacon or sausage, and fruit. She’s a BIG fan of breakfast food just like her dad so it’s usually our best meal of the day. We love our toddler feeding set from Amazon, it keeps all the foods separate. She seems to really enjoy it and the bib is my favorite. We also bought a few of these identical suction cup plates for the other two meals of the day.
While she eats I clean up the kitchen. Alexis is NOT a fan of being ‘monitored’ during meals. She’s a fiercely independent eater, so we keep an eye on her from close by while doing some chores.
After breakfast we usually play a little more before heading up for her first nap. She gets a bottle and usually goes down pretty quickly. Once she’s in the crib I settle into my office and get as much work done as possible.
Afternoons on a One Year Old Routine
Alexis usually wakes up around 11:15 a.m. from her morning nap and this begins our afternoon wake window.
She’s usually in a great mood after sleeping as long as she’s awoken gently and slept for at least an hour. This makes post-naps one of my favorite times for snuggles and play with her. We typically head downstairs to play, sometimes with TV on in the background either for me or her. If she’s in a stinky mood I’ll put on the Universal Kids channel (usually Cocomelon) and we’ll snuggle on the couch for a few minutes until she’s in better spirits.
Some days we’ll put on a Disney movie because they’re great with upbeat background noise (and music). We’re slowly making our way through the Disney/Pixar library of classics! If you have any specific recommendations of what we need to watch next please leave them in the comments!
Nowadays she’s got quite the appetite, so I make sure she has a full snack cup to munch on while she’s playing. These are some of her favorite snacks, in current preference order. We use these fantastic snack catchers everyday; they do an excellent job keeping the snacks in and even have a lid so they travel perfectly!
Our Top One Year Old Snacks
- Veggie Straws
- Fruit or Yogurt Pouches
- Cheerios
- Yogurt Bites
- Goldfish
She’s drinking more water as she gets older too, so we have these sippy cups around the house. If you know me, you know I value healthy daily water intake. You can tell how proud she is to use these cups herself. She’s also figured out how to use these similar baby straw cups as well. We love both!
After snack time she plays until around 2:15 p.m. and we head up for her second nap. She gets a bottle ahead of this nap too and then mom is off to work again.
I leave literally everything that needs cleaning for after her nap, both morning and afternoon. Toys are all over, that empty bottle remains in the sink not rinsed and any dishes all wait. I have very little uninterrupted worked time each day so when she’s in her crib I’m at my desk. I fully believe it’s good for her to see us doing household work anyway, so it’s win-win.
Evenings on a One Year Old Routine
Around 4:15 p.m. I wake Alexis up from her second nap. She usually takes longer to go down for this second nap, but still takes a solid, full second nap. If she falls asleep after 3:00 p.m. sometimes I’ll let her sleep as long as 4:30 p.m. so she can get a full hour in.
Waking her up short of an hour just doesn’t work for us. She’s more likely to be cranky for this big wake window so we really strive for that full 60 minutes. However, we don’t want her sleeping too long and messing up the wake window before bed time so it’s a delicate balance. I’m no sleep expert, but this is what works for us!
Now that it’s nicer out we’ll head outside if weather permits. However, she HATES the grass, so we either put down this picnic blanket or spend time on the patio or driveway. We get lots of afternoon sun out front and full shade in back, so the patio is ideal for afternoon water table time. But If I’m working out front, I’ll close the garage door halfway so the water table is in the shade but I can still watch her. It works perfectly!
If you’re looking for a similar Amazon water table option, we actually also have this fishing water table, too.
Parent Hack: Set up their water table in the garage, closing the door partway for shade if needed. Baby can splash freely and mom can keep an eye on them without worrying about too much sun. Win-win!
She loves being outside though, so we like to get her out as much as we can. She has TONS of water safe toys. Here are some of our favorites!
Our Favorite Toddler Water Table Toys
- Toy tug boat set
- Ocean squirt toys
- Whale sprinkler bath toy (her current favorite water toy!)
- Fishing floating water toy set
When she’s at the water table she’s not moving around as much so I take her inside to crawl and play before dinner. If she doesn’t shake off that extra energy she can be fussy at meal time.
What does a one year old routine look like for dinner, you ask? Well, we typically serve a protein, noodles or potatoes and some sort of veggie. While she eats dinner I either start to prepare ours, or oftentimes we all sit down to dinner together because she’s just eating what we are. That’s a hugely underrated part of the toddler stage, they’re now feeding themselves, oftentimes whatever you’re eating. So convenient!
Afterwards, we have a big window of family time to play and hangout together. Favorite activities include our ride on pony, a few Lovevery toys from various sets and taking a big walk around the neighborhood or park. Most evenings include a walk now, at which time we give her a fruit or yogurt pouch as a final snack. This is a treat for her because she doesn’t get them at other parts of the day and she usually eats most of it, filling her up nicely ahead of bed time!
Bedtime Routine
Around 7:30 p.m. it’s up to bath and bedtime. We like to share the bath time routine when able. However, if I have lots to catch up on for the day, Kev will give her the bath on his own. She’s really good in the bath so it’s not really a two person job, thankfully. Afterwards, we get her groomed and ready for bed before her bottle. Dad does the bed time feed and story afterwards most nights, giving me a kid free break either way which is HUGE. He doesn’t see Alexis as much during the day so he really cherishes that time at night with her (and I cherish the me-time to decompress).
Thanks for coming through a day with us! How does our one year old routine stack up? If you’re a new parent I hope you can take some tricks away to help with your future routine. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
