If you transitioned to 1 nap...how did you survive..lol. ;)

dairygirl19

Backstory: I've had a 2 a day napper since about 6ish months. Usually about 9 and 2. One nap was always about an hour, the other less than 1/2 hour (good night sleeper, not much of a napper).

Well now she's working on going to one nap by herself...the afternoon one.

What do you do during that morning time during the transition? She's so ridiculously crabby...she doesn't want to sleep but she still needs the downtime. I"ve been throwing her in her crib with a sippy, books and some toys and letting her work it out or letting her watch a bit of Baby Einstein on her chair with her blanket. (Yes, sue me. I'm fine with TV in moderation )

Any other downtime suggestions? She will not listen to me read a book..so that's out for now.

How long did it take your LO to fully transition?

rnbeth477

When we first dropped the morning nap, I got him out of the house in the morning to keep him busy. We went to the park, walks in our neighborhood, playdates with friends, shopping, toddler gym class, etc. I also go to a mom group once a week in the morning. They have child care, so he gets to play with other kids that day too.

I actually feel like we have more of a life now that we're not stuck in the house for morning naps. Plus, he sleeps much longer in the afternoon.

Good luck!

dairygirl19

rnbeth477:

When we first dropped the morning nap, I got him out of the house in the morning to keep him busy. We went to the park, walks in our neighborhood, playdates with friends, shopping, toddler gym class, etc. I also go to a mom group once a week in the morning. They have child care, so he gets to play with other kids that day too. I actually feel like we have more of a life now that we're not stuck in the house for morning naps. Plus, he sleeps much longer in the afternoon. Good luck!

Thanks. Yeah, I'm thinking at this point it is what it is and she's just going to have to whine it out until she figures it out. She usually is pretty good about being happy after her downtime, so I might just stick with it.

Thing is, I live on a farm, so while I work in the mornings she's outside with me all morning, running around being busy etc. That's half the problem here I think. She's wore out by midmorning but doesn't know how to handle it just yet. I used to do errands afternoons and she'd nap in the car, maybe I'll have to try mornings instead during that time.

Lhyacinth888

When my son dropped his 1st nap he also seemed crabby by late morning.  I always tried to get him out of the house or engaged in something he would find exciting or he would be miserable.  I love the one nap now...  he sleeps from 1-3:30/4:30 and at night 7:30-7/8:30.  Another thing I did to ease the transition was to move the morning nap up in the beginning, instead of 1 I did it at around 12.  It was sorta a pain to have to have him eat lunch by 11 but I think it was worth it.  I eventually pushed the nap back til 1.  It probably took my son about 3 months to transition, he would sleep an hour for his morning nap and sometimes skip his afternoon nap so I knew it was time.

twirlyjack73

Maybe she doesn't want to sleep b/c her crib has lots of stimulating things in it that you mentioned.  Mine gets the same stuffed animal that he loves, 1 blanket with a cute teddy face on it & that's it.  I don't know why people put sippys in cribs, do they get crazy about their drink for that short of a time?  I don't mean that obnoxiously, I just really don't understand.  I ditto pp to start with a really late morning nap & keep moving by 15 minutes or so each time she resists.  She might be overtired by the time you are putting her in.  For us too it went from 11 or so & now we're at almost 1:30 for put down time.

dairygirl19

twirlyjack73:

Maybe she doesn't want to sleep b/c her crib has lots of stimulating things in it that you mentioned.  Mine gets the same stuffed animal that he loves, 1 blanket with a cute teddy face on it & that's it.  I don't know why people put sippys in cribs, do they get crazy about their drink for that short of a time?  I don't mean that obnoxiously, I just really don't understand.  I ditto pp to start with a really late morning nap & keep moving by 15 minutes or so each time she resists.  She might be overtired by the time you are putting her in.  For us too it went from 11 or so & now we're at almost 1:30 for put down time.

I thought that. The thing is though, she's always had toys in her crib for like the last six months during her morning nap. It's what she likes. She plays a little bit, lays down and sleeps.

My LO is attached to her sippy. Attached like kids are attached to blankets and stuffed animals. She is also not the biggest milk drinker and will only drink it in her crib where it's quieter and less to see and do in the world. She's a BUSY girl. I guess I started that when she wouldn't drink her bottle anywhere else but in the crib and it just continued on. I know it's not the "best" but IMO, meh. whatever it works.

I know it's not because she's overstimulated, because her bedtime routine is alot the same as her nap routine and she goes down no problem every time there. Same with the afternoon nap. That's why I'm positive she's dropping a nap.

I also guess I prefer she naps in the afternoon rather than the morning (too much going on in the mornings around here) so I'm pushing her nap later instead of earlier. This means she goes to bed later as well, which is good so she has more H time.

I guess at this point it is what it is. I'm not pushing anything. LO will work it out sooner or later. She's a pretty easy child otherwise, so I'm not overly concerned.

nital

When Abigail gets crabby,I feed her, let her choose a toy, and throw her in her crib.  The full tummy settles her and helps her sleep.