Transition from 2 to 1 nap advice please

Re: Transition from 2 to 1 nap advice please

• =Lee=B member

  May 2014

  What I do is start to shorten the morning nap until there is no morning nap, while making afternoon nap earlier.  Eventually they end up napping once big nap a day that starts between 11am and 12noon.

  With what you explain for your daughters schedule I would wake her by 10:30 for a while...then 10:15.  Keep shortening that nap until it is no longer a nap.  With the earlier morning wake up start afternoon nap a bit earlier with each adjustment.

  It will greatly vary by child but this has worked for me with many children (years of nannying and running a home daycare).

   

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• honeydew01 member

  May 2014

  =Lee=B said:

  What I do is start to shorten the morning nap until there is no morning nap, while making afternoon nap earlier.  Eventually they end up napping once big nap a day that starts between 11am and 12noon.

  With what you explain for your daughters schedule I would wake her by 10:30 for a while...then 10:15.  Keep shortening that nap until it is no longer a nap.  With the earlier morning wake up start afternoon nap a bit earlier with each adjustment.

  It will greatly vary by child but this has worked for me with many children (years of nannying and running a home daycare).

  Thank you so much for your help! Very helpful. I have actually been limiting her morning nap to 11 am (instead of cutting the nap short I was going by the 11 am cut off) to keep the afternoon nap (before when I let her take longer naps she'd struggle to take her afternoon nap). 

  
  

  So when I put her down at 9:15 and it takes her 30-45 minutes should I then wake her up at 10:30 still? or should I wake her up AN HOUR after she falls sleep? and still make the second nap happen earlier.. Thanks so much!

  
  

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• =Lee=B member

  May 2014

  I would wake at the 10:30 mark, unless they just fell asleep I usually let them sleep 45min which is a typical sleep cycle.  Anything less at this age and they wake miserable!

  After a few days of being woken at 10:30 she should start to go down easier in the afternoon and then will go down easier in the morning.  It all works itself out.  If you find she takes a long time to put herself down (and she is not screaming in the crib) then you might want to try putting her down earlier.  As backwards as that sounds she may just NEED to chat, play, lie around for that 30-45min to unwind and it may not matter so much as to what time you put her down.  So, if you put her down at 8:45 she will go to sleep earlier, get more sleep but wake up earlier.  By putting her down later you just delay the nap because she still takes that same amount of time!

   

   

   

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• =Lee=B member

  May 2014

  Another tip, when you are almost at the point of doing just one nap.  Take a short car ride or stroller ride and let her sleep (if she will).  Usually they wake happier after a short 10-20min nap if it's on route somewhere than if you try waking her at home.  This will be just a small nap to hold them over.

  Then when ready for that one nap have some big activities or outings planned to keep them going until 11am.  If you are just lounging at home they will show that they are tired much more than if they are busy and distracted.  After getting in that routine of one big (2+ hr nap) around 11am they won't need the distractions as much.  They will also be tried in the evening...do your best to keep them distracted and busy so they don't notice it as much. 

  I've known many children that will do a good solid 3-4hr nap when following this routine and when given the chance to be physically active in the morning.

  Once they get settled in that then slowly start pushing that one nap later until it starts around 1pm. 

   

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• stgn01 member

  May 2014

  My DS transitioned at 10 months and it was all at once.  There was no easing into it.  It was a rough week and after that it sort of clicked.  I know that's way different than your situation but it sounds like your LO is ready to go down to 1 nap.  Good luck!

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  

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• jnnfrrose6 member

  May 2014

  DS transitioned at 12 months when he moved up to the next room at DC. weekends still had a morning nap until he dropped it. Our bedtime/morning wake up time is very similar to yours, as was our schedule when we had 2 naps. Now that we're at 1 nap, he naps in the afternoon after lunch. Lunch is around 12 and he's put down for his nap by 1. At DC they are up at 3. On the weekends he usually takes longer to settle so he can nap as late as 3:30-4. I'd work on shortening the morning nap, maybe even see how she does without it at all, and try the afternoon a little earlier.

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• honeydew01 member

  May 2014

  Thank you so much everyone. So it seems that her taking so long to settle and fall sleep is indeed a sign that she is wanting to transition to one nap?
  
  I'll go ahead and work on shortening the morning nap and making the afternoon one happen earlier and see how it goes..thanks!

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• honeydew01 member

  May 2014

  
  

  =Lee=B said:

  Another tip, when you are almost at the point of doing just one nap.  Take a short car ride or stroller ride and let her sleep (if she will).  Usually they wake happier after a short 10-20min nap if it's on route somewhere than if you try waking her at home.  This will be just a small nap to hold them over.

  Then when ready for that one nap have some big activities or outings planned to keep them going until 11am.  If you are just lounging at home they will show that they are tired much more than if they are busy and distracted.  After getting in that routine of one big (2+ hr nap) around 11am they won't need the distractions as much.  They will also be tried in the evening...do your best to keep them distracted and busy so they don't notice it as much. 

  I've known many children that will do a good solid 3-4hr nap when following this routine and when given the chance to be physically active in the morning.

  Once they get settled in that then slowly start pushing that one nap later until it starts around 1pm. 

  Thanks for this information! I can totally work with this. I'm thinking I'll have to shift her lunch and snack times a bit as we go through these changes. Right now she is having lunch at 12:30 or 12:45 and going down at 2 for her nap. 3-4 hour nap would be out of this world, I don't think that has EVER happened here so I'll look forward to that. Again, thanks so much!

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• LisaLisa1980 member

  May 2014

  If she's sleeping, I would not drop to one nap. It is on the early side. It is normal for them to resist/ fuss. DS (12 months) tends to fight his first nap but he is not ready to give it up

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• LisaLisa1980 member

  May 2014

  Maybe this will help
  
  https://www.thealphaparent.com/2013/01/timeline-of-baby-and-toddler-sleep.html?m=1

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• divajackie67 member

  May 2014

  My son loved his morning nap and did not want to give it up.

  
  

  To transition we did every other day, but at first we shortened the morning nap to 45 minutes; then every other day 45 minutes; now he only takes a morning nap if he wakes up really really early for some reason. 

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• LisaLisa1980 member

  May 2014

  I'm curious why ppl don't allow their kids to transition on their own??

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• honeydew01 member

  May 2014 edited May 2014

  LisaLisa1980 said:

  I'm curious why ppl don't allow their kids to transition on their own??

  I am in no rush to transition her to one nap. I enjoy the two nap deal trust me. As nicb said you'll understand when you get there. DD is a fantastic sleeper but she has been having a hard time going to sleep and is generally crankier so obviously she needs something changed to help her be able to get the sleep she needs. You have to help them along with this transition. 

  
  

  nicb, yes, I intend to do it as slowly as possible. DD doesn't do well with changes so go very very slowly. 

  
  

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• Jbunny100 member

  May 2014

  DS transitioned himself at 13 months. He fought and fought the second nap (he had a similar schedule to your LO). I finally gave up on the second nap. Now he gets a nap in the morning and then he gets "quiet time" (really just plays in his crib) for about 45min-1 hr. That quiet time is really needed because otherwise he is full on for too many hours in a row.  This gives him some downtime in the afternoon.

   

   

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