talk to me about transitioning to 1 nap

redshoegirl · August 2011

So my dudes are about 15.5 months old now, and still on 2 naps per day. Currently they nap at around 9.30/10am for about 1.5 hours and then 1.30/2pm for another 1.5 hours (sometimes a bit longer). Do you think it's worth pushing for a single 12pm nap of ~3hrs at this point?

I know that some babies don't drop the second nap until 18 months, so they're not freaks of nature or anything lol - but it's something I keep thinking about because although they've always been pretty good sleepers in terms of STTN, we've always had to push them a bit to get them to extend their day waking times. (If we let them, they'd probably still be enjoying their 3 hour sleep/awake cycle from when they were a few months old lol!)

Should I continue with the current nap schedule and not worry about pushing them for another couple of months? Or do you think it's worth a try now (if so, how many days should I try for before declaring success or deciding to let it go for now)?

eacerna · August 2011

Personally, I would take their lead and continue with their current nap schedule. I believe they will drop their naps when they are ready. I dread the day when LO drops all her naps which means I need to keep her entertained all day :-).

sanae78 · August 2011

I'd say leave it as is if it works for them. Because there is no guarantee they will nap 3 hrs if you go to one nap. Kaya took two 45 min naps and now that she's down to one she doesn't always sleep 1.5 hrs. That's if we're lucky. Sometimes it's as short as 50 min still.

MrsNJSwimmer · August 2011

I agree with pp - if it works for them now, leave it be. We followed LO's cues about naps and he finally went down to one around 15 months or so. But yesterday I thought he was going to take 2!

lola808 · August 2011

sanae78:
I'd say leave it as is if it works for them. Because there is no guarantee they will nap 3 hrs if you go to one nap. Kaya took two 45 min naps and now that she's down to one she doesn't always sleep 1.5 hrs. That's if we're lucky. Sometimes it's as short as 50 min still.

A's about the same age as your boys and most days he seems to prefer 1 nap a day now. It's only been 1.5 hours at most though.:( Before he'd nap 45 minutes in the morning and 45 minutes to 1.5 hours in the afternoon. We were happy to let him switch to one nap, even though it's shorter, because his nighttime sleeps started being cut short (i.e., he was going to bed WAY late) when he got that second nap. I was hoping the wakefulness might be related to a surge in language development since he's suddenly very chatty. Not sure, though....

mrspresley · August 2011

sanae78:
I'd say leave it as is if it works for them. Because there is no guarantee they will nap 3 hrs if you go to one nap. Kaya took two 45 min naps and now that she's down to one she doesn't always sleep 1.5 hrs. That's if we're lucky. Sometimes it's as short as 50 min still.

agreed. wait til they start fighting that morning nap. Miss A used to nap 2 hrs in the AM and 2 hrs in the PM....when she went down to 1 nap/day I thought it'd be 3-4 hrs.... on average I'd say it's 2.5 hours but some days she naps 2 hrs, other days 3 hrs, then some days 3.5 hrs!

so I wouldn't rush it and I'd follow their lead. I knew A was ready to transition when I put her down in the AM (when she was acting tired) but then she'd lay in the crib for an hour before falling asleep. the day I tried switching to 1 nap she didn't get cranky or fussy and went right to sleep in the afternoon. so it was natural and there was no "transition" really. some mornings, now, she'll still yawn or rub her eyes and if she's in the car while we are out she'll nap but she does fine with one nap/day.

Married2MrWright · August 2011

eacerna:
Personally, I would take their lead and continue with their current nap schedule. I believe they will drop their naps when they are ready. I dread the day when LO drops all her naps which means I need to keep her entertained all day :-).

This, exactly. They'll let you know when they're ready to drop the morning nap, I promise! For now, enjoy the TWO breaks in the day that you get!

sanae78 · August 2011

Married2MrWright:
eacerna:
Personally, I would take their lead and continue with their current nap schedule. I believe they will drop their naps when they are ready. I dread the day when LO drops all her naps which means I need to keep her entertained all day :-).

This, exactly. They'll let you know when they're ready to drop the morning nap, I promise! For now, enjoy the TWO breaks in the day that you get!

Totally ENJOY the 2 breaks. You need it more than they do, I'm sure! It's pretty tough for us only getting at most 1.5 hours and having to entertain her the rest of the day. She doesn't do too well playing by herself for long. (Guess it's good to have 2 sometimes so they can play together!)

inamra · August 2011

sanae78:
I'd say leave it as is if it works for them. Because there is no guarantee they will nap 3 hrs if you go to one nap. Kaya took two 45 min naps and now that she's down to one she doesn't always sleep 1.5 hrs. That's if we're lucky. Sometimes it's as short as 50 min still.

This exactly for us. Now that we're down to one nap (he dropped it on his own), he only naps 1hr a day now =/

redshoegirl · August 2011

Thanks all! I'd been planning on letting them continue on, but lately at daycare the carers kept mentioning trying to transition them to 1 nap (they've never napped well there and only have 30-45 min each time, so they were hoping that with 1 nap they'd sleep longer). But I think since they're still napping so well at home - and will be here all the time now anyway - that there's no point in pushing it.

mrs.winter · August 2011

We just went with Ashton's lead. He now naps from around 12:30 - 3:30 pm every day. I can't remember when he dropped down to one nap, but it has been a while now.

I think you should just go with the flow if it dosen't mess up your schedule. Sometimes Ashton does take a morning cap nap (if we're driving).

HulaLove · August 2011

I say go with their lead, just like everyone else. Elyse transitioned to one nap a day late as well (probably not until 18 months). Now she naps from about 12-2.

If she's had a really stimulating day she naps twice still.

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