When did your DC go from 2 naps to 1?

[Anonymous]

Baby boy is almost 14 months and it's taking a lot longer to get him to go down for his first nap and then he doesn't sleep for very long. But it still seems like a long time for him not to nap from 7am to the afternoon! What age did this happen for you, how did you know and how did you transition from 2 to 1? Thank you!!

[Anonymous]

My son transitioned down to one nap between 13 and 14 months. It started like you describe-- he was going down later and later in the morning, thus pushing his afternoon nap later and later, thus making him less tired at bedtime, etc. Finally one day soon after he turned 13 months, he woke up in the morning particularly late for him, and I tried putting him down around 10 am, and he just laid in his crib talking. So at 10:30 i got him out, and though he was pretty tired by 11/11:30 or so, I managed to keep him entertained and awake through lunch and down for a nap around 12:15/12:30. Over the next month, I alternated between one-nap and two-nap days depending on how late he woke that morning, his mood, our planned activities that day, etc.

By his 14-month birthday, the morning nap was totally gone and he was taking his nap right around 12:30 pm and would sleep usually 2-2.5 hours. The upside is that he sleeps a little later in the morning now too-- former wakeup time was around 7 am, now it's more like 7:30/8 am.

Just beware-- when you start doing this, your DC will be very tired by late morning and if you're out, he/she will want to fall asleep in the carseat. For us, quick car naps can spell disaster (DS won't want to go back to sleep later). I tried to plan my outings in the earlier part of the morning so we'd be sure to be home well before he would be tempted to fall asleep in the car.

[Anonymous]

Marc Weissbluth, "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child," says at 12 months, 17% of babies take only one nap, but by 15 months, 56% take only one nap, by 18 months, 77% have one nap, and by 21 months, 88% have one nap. So yours sounds typical.

His main suggestion: Make bedtime earlier in the evening (he says as early as 5 pm if necessary!). The disappearing morning nap is normal, and I think that's the way you know if your child is gradually getting ready for just one afternoon nap--if your child is no longer falling asleep easily. It's quite normal to switch between days of one nap and days of two naps (and adjust the rest of the day around the sleep that has happened so far!).

It's more problematic when the morning nap stays long or gets longer (and Weissbluth has advice on that, too, basically trying to make the morning nap later and possibly waking the child).

[Anonymous]

By about 15 months, my DS transitioned to one nap. He would be tired by 11am so I would let him sleep then he'd awaken around 2pm and lunch was hard to squeeze in before dinner. So I gave him a small light snack before his nap (applesauce and crackers or something like that). After his nap, he'd have a small lunch like part of a sandwich. Then he'd have dinner around 6pm.

By 18 months, I moved that nap back in 15 to 30 minute increments until I could get him down around 1:30pm. Now he's 2 and he still sleeps from 1:30 until about 4pm for his nap (some days shorter, some days longer).

You just sort of have to work with them until the nap is in place. It's hard when they are sleepy. I just let my little guy lie down if he was tired.

[Anonymous]

10 months...Grrrrr.

[Anonymous]

I'm the 1st PP and I have one thing to say about the Weissbluth book. While I love this book and have followed it since my son was very little, the one thing I don't follow is the earlier bedtime rule. IMO it really depends on your child. If your child is the type who will wake up the same time every morning regardless of when he/she goes to bed the night before then absolutely yes-- an earlier bedtime is appropriate (although 5 pm seems just crazy to me). However in my son's case, his wakeup time is all over the map and just depends on how tired he is... the more tired he is, the later he'll sleep in the morning. Thus he goes to bed around 8 pm (sometimes a bit earlier, sometimes a bit later) and this has not changed even when we transitioned to one nap. Rather than an earlier bedtime to make up the sleep, his morning wakeup got later, which we like better (esp. on weekends :wink and in turn it helped him make it to his 12:30 nap.

So do what works based on your child's sleep habits. An earlier bedtime may or may not be right for you.