Naps

Just as I finished bragging to my MIL and SIL that the girls were still taking 2 two hour naps/day, it blows up in my face. For about the last week, they have been fighting the morning nap and showing less and less signs of sleepiness in the AM. Some days, it's worked out where they don't go down until noon and then sleep for 3 hours. Is 15 months too early to help push them into a 1 nap schedule? I kind of feel like there are days when one girl needs 2 naps and the other would be fine with one, but I cannot have them on 2 different schedules. :gah: I would go insane! :80:

Do I run with 1 nap/day? If so, how did you get over that initial morning slump the first few weeks? Should I try and get them out of the house in the morning?

 

Mine were taking 1 nap a day at that age. It happened about how you described. They kept fighting the morning nap until afternoon and pretty soon it just became obvious that it was time for one nap a day. I found that they still needed quiet activity time during the morning to replace that rest period. So we would play like normal, but I made a point of having quiet time between 10 and 11 when they previously took their morning nap. We would color, read books, go on a walk (in the stroller), anything that was them being more restful. Within a few weeks they were completely transitioned. GL!

 

Mine transitioned to one nap between 15 and 16 months. They started boycotting the morning nap. What I did was try to keep them active and busy in the morning and pushed up the afternoon nap an hour. While the transition was going on, they were only taking hour naps and those days, I put them to bed early...eventually they were able to push their nap to 2.5- 3 hours a day...Good luck with the transition!

 

mine were pretty flexible at that age... weekends seemed to be better for 1 nap a day, but weekdays 2 naps a day. they did start playing A LOT in their cribs before zonking out too! like 30-40 min. and sometimes they'd had a bowel movement so I'd have to change them then they'd take their nap. At about 15 months I thought we were going to have to switch to 1 nap a day, but within a couple of weeks we were back to 2 - 2hr naps a day. but, they kept starting the naps later... eventually they started taking their 9a nap closer to 10a-noon. then afternoon 2:30p or 3p to 4:30p or 5p. Mine would still pretty much get in bed between 7 and 8p, never really could stay up for 4 hrs in the afternoon.

In December when they were 19mo going on 20mo I realized they were waking during the night... and then when I attempted the 1 nap a day, it cut the daytime sleep from 4 hrs to 3 hrs and they started sttn again. so, ours were closer to 19 mo. when we switched. And they are finally in a good routine of napping from 1p to 4p most days.

good luck figuring it out for your babes!

 

Mine are 16 months tomorrow and I've been wondering about transitioning to 1 nap but it's only been a couple days here and there that it really is bad. I thought about going ahead with the transition before the baby comes (which is really soon!) but I so need their 2 naps!! LOL I figure as long as I can get them to go to sleep for both and sleep for at least an hour each one then I'm going to stick to it. There are some days where they play for 30 minutes at the morning nap but then sleep for an hour. The problem I'm running into is now they are wanting to wake up early from their afternoon nap (still sleeping an hour but just barely...normally that one is 1.5-2 hrs). I think it will happen soon but I'm in no rush. LOL I think every child is different but with twins it is hard when one is ready and the other is not. I think once they start to really get to the point of not sleeping I'll transition both and they'll adjust even if one is not quite ready. Good luck!

 

I had this problem a couple of months ago, and posted on this forum. Mine were around 13 months and fighting the afternoon nap actually.
It was craziness for weeks. They had one nap days/two nap days/crappy nap days, it was nuts and I never had a break as they were both doing their own thing. Then suddenly it settled, so the whole thing took around 6 weeks or so I think. Now they sleep 7:15ish to 7:30, lunch around 11:30/11:45 and nap at 12:30 for 1.5 to 2.5 hours.
Just work with them and be consistent about putting them down at the same time every day for several days so they can adjust. And, I started taking them for walks in the morning after breakfast, or running short errands with them, to keep them alert and not sleepy in the mornings before the nap. I also had to do lunch around 11:00 for a while until they got used to staying up later.
The day will come! And you will love it!
Good luck

 

Around 14 months we dropped the morning nap. I remember because we were on holidays and we wanted to get out in the mornings and go check out the zoo/musuems etc. We were going through the same things as you describe and decided to just cut it out. It worked great and we were able to get out in the morning and do activities, come home have lunch and then a nice long afternoon nap. We are still on this schedule and I love it! I would try and maybe push back the morning nap as late as you can until it becomes the afternoon nap. Try and get out in the morning and keep them busy and you should be fine! Good luck!

 

I had one boy (Nate) who boycotted the am nap at about 15 months. We'd try to put him down with his brother, but he'd chatter and squawk the entire time and we'd have to go get him so he wouldn't wake up Jack. For almost a month he was on 1 nap while Jack still needed 2, then Jack started fighting the am nap as well, and we're now on one.

So it's entirely possible that your girls are ready for 1 nap per day. My advice is to stay flexible, and read their tired signs. Some days they might act tired but not want to nap, and other days they may need those 2 naps. And be prepared for them to fall asleep in their highchairs at lunch! Just this past weekend (after being on 1 nap for about 2 months), Jack fell asleep in his highchair at 11:45 before he'd even had 1 bite to eat! :wacko:

For us, getting out of the house during the morning didn't work because they'd always fall asleep in the car. Keeping them busy with new toys/activities and moving lunch earlier really helped.

Good luck!

 

They could definitely be ready for one nap at that age. Mine switched to one nap at daycare at 13 months (which was too early) and at home at 16 months. It's a transition, not something that just happens one day. It can be tricky for a few weeks at least. We tried to always get out of the house for the morning -- then the trick was keeping them from falling asleep on the way home!

They didn't sleep nearly as much during the day during the transition -- only one 1-hr nap instead of 45 min in the morning and 1-1.5 in the afternoon. So they went to bed early for awhile. It was really ugly in the evenings after daycare, but by age 2 they were sleeping 2-3 hours in the afternoon.

 

Same here! I went cold turkey (when I was forced too becasue of a dr's appt) at 15 months. They were sleeping from 9-10 and then again from 12-2. So I dropped the morning nap. One DD was certainly ready, but the other was not. It was at least a week or so for them and YOU to get used to all that awake time. I thought what am I going to do with them for 5 hours straight! We took a lot of trips to the coffee shop and the mall! GL

 

Ours transitioned between 15-16 months. They were fighting the morning nap and then overtired for the afternoon nap and it was all just unpleasant. So, we moved up their afternoon nap by an hour and let them skip the morning nap and it is working out great (they nap now from 12:00 - 3:00) and bedtime is at 7:30 to sleep until 7:00). It was the hardest transition that I think we have been through, but I like having time to do things in the morning and they seem well-rested and happy with the schedule. At first we did have to keep them entertained in the mornings to avoid meltdowns, but now it seems like it is time for lunch really soon because they are happy and playing even if we don't do much. Good luck, I do think they may be ready!