What are the 'signs' that kiddos are ready to drop down to 1 nap? While my boys still 'usually' go down for their morning nap just fine, it's getting much shorter than it used to be. They sometimes then fight their afternoon nap, but usually sleep 1 1/2 hrs once they do go down (and around 45-90 mins in the morning). We've recently adjusted their bedtime to an hour later, so they now go down at 7:30 & are usually asleep between 7:45-8 Pm. Their wake up ranges from 5:15-6:30am now (we don't let them sleep past 6:30 since they need to be up by that time to get ready for daycare on their daycare days, which are 2-3 days per week). This morning we WOKE Aiden up at 6:30am & he was NOT ready for a morning nap at the same time as Conner was. I ended up getting him down about 10 mins before Conner got up & then having to WAKE Aiden to ensure he went down for his afternoon nap. We start a new daycare next week that encourages only 1 nap per day, but will work with us if we are adamant about 2 (which I have been). Do you think I should just let them try 1 nap a day & see how it goes? Or do you think they're too young? I can't really adjust their nap schedule much since their daycare room naps around noon & I pick up at 3pm, so pushing their afternoon back (if I pushed their morning nap back) won't work for the room or my pick up time. I just can't imagine they're ready for 1 nap, although it'd be SOOOO nice for us if they were! The endless possibilities to leave the house ! But, I don't want 2 crabby, over tired kiddos either! If they wake around 6am (which is average), isn't noon pushing it a bit for their first nap? Hopefully they'd nap 2.5-3 hrs since that's usually what they get total during naps during the day now. What if they don't? I don't want to affect bedtime since we JUST finally got them staying up later (they used to go down at 6) & we like it a lot. If they're asleep much past 3:30pm it effects bedtime/dinnertime/etc. And do I go cold turkey? Go from a 9am nap to one after lunch around noon (daycare feeds lunch at 11:30)? I don't have a whole lot of time to 'push it back', KWIM? What do you think? Any BTDT moms with good advice for us?
OOPs, just saw the other thread on how many naps per day by age. I guess this is kinda a double thread. I am still wondering what made parents decide their kids should switch to 1 nap though....what did their kids do that made them think they were ready? Or is it a parents' decision? I've always let my boys decide their nap/feeding schedules (for the most part, I'd tweak them a little but they'd easily conform to what I had done). I don't want to mess with them if they're happy how they are. Maybe our bad spell is teething related? Or the fact that they're learning to walk? They still sleep fine at night tho. I'm scared to see what happens with a new daycare next week....
At about 13 months for us the morning nap got shorter just like you mentioned and while that was working fine for awhile then they just refused to sleep in the morning. I would do the same routine and then they would just "talk" to each other when they should be sleeping and then they might fall asleep finally when their nap should be ending in the first place. So at about 14 months, I took the 1pm nap and moved it to about 11:15 or as soon as we were done with our 11am lunch and gradually moved it back to where it is now at 12:30 most days sometimes 1pm. Good luck.
One of my girls screamed all day. She refused to nap for either nap. I was on the edge of a nervous breakdown. It was before their 1st bday and everyone told me it was too soon for 1 nap. I tried everything and finally put them on 1 nap. It was awsome and I LOVED it. It lasted for over a year..... sadly, they are now trying to give up naps, but are sleeping longer/better at night. good luck!
We switched ours to one nap when they consistently did not take their second nap. They went for a month straight with no afternoon nap and then I gave in. They were between 11 and 12 months when we actually switched. If they are still taking two naps (even small ones) I don't think they are ready. Ours took no second nap, that's why we switched.
Mine took two naps until they were around 16 mos. I decided to move to one nap because they were falling asleep later for the morning nap and again later for the afternoon nap. It was starting to mess up bedtime. They would wake up close to 5pm in the afternoon and bedtime was at 7:30pm. They would play around in their cribs until almost 9pm some nights cause they just weren't tired yet. It was a little tough in the beginning to move to one nap, we had a few times that one would just conk out on the floor while playing.
I'm switching Elizabeth over now. As long as she wakes up after 7 am I can do one nap. Any earlier and she still has to take 2. If she only takes one I have to feed her lunch a bit early and get her down around 12:30. I noticed that she was fighting the afternoon nap or wanting to take a long morning nap and no afternoon nap. She was also taking a long time to fall asleep at bedtime on 2 naps. 1 nap is easier for us b/c the big kids aren't trapped in the house as much!
Mine are 19 months and just today we went to 1 nap. When they turned 1 they were still taking 3 naps and I had to move them to 2 so I could free up our day. They have been fighting thier afternoon nap for weeks now, so I gave in and dropped it. I put them down later for thier morning nap and they slept over 3 hours and went to bed just fine at 7pm. I guess they were ready for it, but I'm not.
Mine switched at daycare(around their first birthday) and I kept two naps at home for another month or so. It got to where they weren't taking either nap at home but would nap great during the one nap at daycare so I just went with that. It's worked great since then.
I know mine are not ready. They take 2 - 2 hour naps still. My PED said they are not really ready until between 15 and 18 months and to do everything in our power not to do it until then.
