10 months old dropping their second nap?

There is one phrase that I hear on a fairly consistent basis.

"I don't know how you do it" or a variation of that..."How do you do it?"

I have one word for them. Naps. Consistent, daily naps. (well, that and the escape a.k.a my 30 hr a wk job)

It's my 1-3 hours of the day I can count on to be predictable. Some time to throw in laundry, clean up a bit, maybe eat lunch, take a shower, etc.
Well, the twins have decided that they are going to drop their second nap.

As my daughter didn't drop the second nap until she was 20 months old, I am ill prepared for my dynamic duo to drop down to one nap per day.
Despite my best attempts (have tried to separate them, rock them, talk some sense into them) they are still refusing to do it.

Couple that with a 2 year and 9 month old who is also fighting/getting close to dropping her one nap and/or making mucho noise throughout our teeny house, waking the twins and you've got a harried, cranky mom.

Part of me thinks it is maybe due to developmental milestones, teething, etc. and I should stay the course. The other part of me is thinking I should stop fighting it, let them stay awake until 11 a.m. and take one nap, even earlier bedtime.

Any feedback? We are big believers in HSHHC, but he doesn't say a lot about the 9-10 month phase. I am assuming the period of wakefulness is now 3-4 hours or so.

 

No advice, but anxious to hear any comments. My grandsons are around the same age as your twins, and they too have abandoned their morning nap in favor of a one time midday nap. Unfortunately with the drop of the morning nap, they have also shortened their one nap from a 2 hour nap to sometimes as short as 30 minutes, no longer than an hour, and then they are wired for sound. I'm not sure whether I think they still need that second nap or I know that I need them to need it.

 

I'm having the same problem w/ my 10 month olds....They will take a good 2-3 hour nap in the mornings (usually about 9 am) and then nothing in the afternoon, but be cranky as heck from about dinner til bedtime. DH has been letting them stay up til like 10 in teh a.m., but then they only get the one 2 hour nap, and nothing in the afternoon.

Yesterday I put them down about 9 a.m. and they slept til 11:30-ish...At about two, I put them down again, and my little girl went to sleep faster, but my son had to be soothed and rocked (spoiled little guy!!!)...They slept about another 1.5-2 hours....but they are fighting a little cold, too. I've read that they sleep better at night when they get good naps during the day....

I'm wondering if my problem is the DH and babysitter! I love DH, but he just doesn't know the little subtle cues like I do...and the babysitter I think has had a hard time getting them to nap on the same schedule because they fall asleep in the car on the way over there and it kinda throws things off.

I'm not sure what the answer is, but am in the same boat with you!!!

 

I think most of hte moms in my playgroup (all twin moms) had similar nap issues at 10 mos. it was a fluke and they didn't give hp a second nap. This is a big developmental time and a high separation anxiety time so it goes that sleeping gets disrupted. I'd keep your routine the same and maybe start pushing nap time a little earlier than you have been doing (maybe start watching for sleepy cues and move to nap immediately upon seeing those) I'd be ina few weeks all will be back to normal.

My kids did this and we got through it. They kept two naps until 15 mos old and now we're on 1 nap at 11:45a or so.

Keep the faith

Teri D

 

My two went through a phase at about 11 months where it almost looked like they wanted to drop their second nap! :fool: But, lucky for me, it was a phase {teething, growth spurt, just playing around with me ardon: who knows} and they did go back to two naps until 18 months. Good luck!! You could try one nap and if they don't adjust well, go back to two.

 

Melissa- Starting last week, mine seem to be wanting to do the same thing! :nea: I'm NOT thrilled with this. They used to go down at 915- sleep till around 11 then go down around 1. Now they're going down around 930, but will sleep till1130-1200, but I fight and fight and they'll usually fall asleep around 3 and only be down for about 30 min! ARG! I'm really hoping this is a phase- I NEED them to take two naps! Maybe I'll try putting them down earlier? Or maybe not putting them down at all until 3? But I'm with ya... this is not fun!

 

My girls went through that at 9.5 months and then again at 12. It's enough to make you go :wacko:. I decided to stick with my routine (HSHHC follower here too) and still put them down at 9:30 and 1:30 and left them in there an hour whether they slept or not. My girls are almost always very good in their cribs, even if they don't want to nap. Seldom do they cry and if they do, I know they are tired. If you aren't ready to give it up, stick it out for a week or two (I KNOW it's hard) and see if they go back to old habits.

 

Thanks so much for all the replies. I have to admit, I have come pretty close to just dropping the second nap, but after reading your replies, I have decided to stick it out a bit longer. They just seem so young to go to one nap and even though they fight the two naps, they are a mess late in the afternoon, so I know it's not enough.

We went walking this morning and one twin fell asleep in the stroller, one was wide awake. Then we came home and they both slept in the afternoon, then early bedtime.

 

I posted the same thing here when my boys were 10 months old. I was worried! I thought it was too early to go down to one nap, but they were resisting that afternoon nap with so much fury...

Now we're coming up to 11 months and I am very, very pleased to say that we're back on track, with 2 naps a day. I think it was just a phase (phew!). I make a special effort to tire them out after their morning nap - I always take them on a walk. That seems to help somewhat. Also, because they are so alert now, I have made their rooms pitch dark to avoid distractions. I used tin foil on the windows (looks terrible, works like a charm). I have them in different rooms for naps.

I hope your situation is just a phase too.

 

Around 10 months, my girls were a nightmare napping situation. Everyone told me it was too young to put them on 1 nap. After trying everything else, I went to one nap. It took about 1 wk to adjust. They typically nap from 12-3. I LOVE 1 nap a day. Longer time in the AM to play, park, stroll, errands, etc. Nice long nap in the afternoon for me to get some down time. Then a few hours in the evening for quick outing or play, then bedtime routine.

I'm actually kinda glad Syd forced us onto 1 nap in hindsight. It was the right thing for our family. Everybodys different