diff --git a/blendsql/parse/_parse.py b/blendsql/parse/_parse.py
index 873c4eb..c28c486 100644
--- a/blendsql/parse/_parse.py
+++ b/blendsql/parse/_parse.py
@@ -402,7 +402,7 @@ def create_regex(
                 # This is 20 digits long, so to be safe, cap the generation at 19
                 base_regex = r"((\d{1,18}" + f"|{DEFAULT_NAN_ANS}){DEFAULT_ANS_SEP})"
             elif output_type == "float":
-                base_regex = r"(((\d|\.)+" + f"|{DEFAULT_NAN_ANS}){DEFAULT_ANS_SEP})"
+                base_regex = r"((\d(\d|\.)*" + f"|{DEFAULT_NAN_ANS}){DEFAULT_ANS_SEP})"
             else:
                 raise ValueError(f"Unknown output_type {output_type}")
             return lambda num_repeats: base_regex + "{" + str(num_repeats) + "}"