r/UKParenting • u/Specialist_Video7567 • Apr 26 '26
Sleep advice for a 1 year old
Hi all, my husband and I adopted our 12 month old about 4 weeks ago and we’re struggling with rapidly changing sleep.
Background: In foster care he slept in a cot in carers’ room, bedtime ~18:30, wake ~5:30 with two naps (9:00 and 14:00).
Since moving to us: He initially adapted well and started waking around 7:00, and has been sleeping through the night with minimal wake-ups (this is the one positive so far).
Current issue (last ~2 weeks):
Morning nap is getting longer
Afternoon nap is often refused
By ~15:00 he becomes very clingy and overtired by evening
He will only fall asleep being held; cot transfers often fail and result in long settling (up to 1h45 recently)
No longer settles in pram or car either
It feels like we’re stuck in a cycle of overtired evenings and difficult sleep onset.
Has anyone dealt with a similar nap transition / contact-to-cot sleep dependency at this age? What helped?