13 mos. too early to move to one nap?

Sorry, I know this topic comes up a lot, but.....I'm considering moving to 1 nap at (GULP) not quite 13 months due to the following issues:

*Gma/Gpa ("daycare" 3 days a week) keep letting them nap until 5pm (yes, I've talked to them about it several times).
*The boys are wanting so much awake time between naps/bed that we're running out of daytime.
*We've been putting them to bed as late as 8 or 8:30
*Nick is waking up between 1:30 and 4:30AM every night.

Here's our current schedule ( have to wake them up from all naps to protect the next nap/bedtime):
6/6:30 wake up
9/9:30-11 nap
3:00-4:00 nap (Gma usually doesn't get them down until 3:30 or 4:00)
8/8:30 bed

Please Advise:
*Too young to transition? Am I rushing them out of their 2 naps? Will I be sorry?
*Recommendations on stretching it out?
*What to do about lunch...before or after?
*How long did the transition take for you?

 

We didn't transition until about 16 months. I would suggest moving the afternoon nap earlier to maybe around 2 or 2:30. That way they will wake early enough so that it doesn't affect bed time. I would do lunch after they wake from their morning nap and then maybe offer a snack before the afternoon nap. But you have to have grandma's compliance. Bottom line is she isn't dealing with them at bed time, so it doesn't really affect her. She needs to follow whatever schedule you set forth, even if that means you call her everyday at nap time to remind her to put them down.

Personally, I think 13 months is too early to give up naps. But every kid is different, so you can always try it and go back to 2 naps if it doesn't work out.

 

My boys transitioned to one nap shortly after their first birthday. One of my boys was ready to go to one nap shortly before they turned one. I started having a really hard time getting him to take an afternoon nap (got 20 minutes if I was lucky and that usually involved a car ride). I was actually very happy when they went to one nap. It allowed us to get out more and do more things without having to worry about getting back for a second nap.

When we transitioned, we started moving the morning nap back little by little. We had a very smooth transition going to one nap from two (I do not think it took us very long). At first we started doing lunch after they got up, but after a while we started doing lunch right before nap time.

Good luck,
Laurie

mom to 3 year old twin boys

 

i'd say if you think they are ready then go ahead, I personally dont think my girls are quite ready yet and they are 15 months. i would like to move to one nap a day but i dont think i could just yet.

 

Mine are 14 months and our schedule is similar. The only differences are afternoon nap starts about 2 or 2:30 and bedtime is 8:30 to 9. This works well for us. Hope you figure it out. I thought about transitioning but mine are unbearable to deal with if they don't get both naps. Constant fighting and whining! I want the naps over that.

 

QUOTE(SweetpeaG @ Apr 12 2007, 01:43 AM) [snapback]216026[/snapback]
Here's our current schedule ( have to wake them up from all naps to protect the next nap/bedtime):
6/6:30 wake up
9/9:30-11 nap
3:00-4:00 nap (Gma usually doesn't get them down until 3:30 or 4:00)
8/8:30 bed



It all depends on the child. I know at that age we had a nap at 230-4pm as well. Worked like crud. Bedtime was still the same but it caused us issues. Maybe try moving it. Babies sometimes are ready for one nap then but like I said it all depends on the child. Maybe move the first nap back...to maybe 8:30 if 6am wake. Or wake them from that last nap after only 1 hour. They need so much sleep at that age. Harder to fix this when the sitter forgets to wake them.

 

I am going to let my girls drop to 1 nap when they want to. There have been some days where they didnt take a second nap and oh boy! was that a fussy day! Here is our nap schedule

6am wake up
9:30 nap
11:30-12-wake up
3-nap
3:30-we wake them up
7:30-8-bed

I dont wake them from their 1st nap but I do not let them sleep past 3:30 b/c if I do, they wont sleep through the nite. They dont get much of a 2nd nap but I guess it helps them make it through until bed time.

 

QUOTE(angie7 @ Apr 12 2007, 12:06 PM) [snapback]216123[/snapback]
I am going to let my girls drop to 1 nap when they want to. There have been some days where they didnt take a second nap and oh boy! was that a fussy day! Here is our nap schedule

6am wake up
9:30 nap
11:30-12-wake up
3-nap
3:30-we wake them up
7:30-8-bed

I dont wake them from their 1st nap but I do not let them sleep past 3:30 b/c if I do, they wont sleep through the nite. They dont get much of a 2nd nap but I guess it helps them make it through until bed time.



My 2 boys are on about the same schedule as your girls. I have tried to get rid of that afternoon nap but they become so unruly that its hard to handle them. Even if they dont really act that tired, i put them in their room so they can wind down and possibly take a nap, sometimes it works and some times it doesnt. When they are for sure ready to give it up ill try and be ready.

 

We haven't moved to one nap consistently yet. If they wake up late, I'll put them down for their early nap later than normal and that will be the only nap. They eat lunch a bit late after their nap on those days. I tried giving lunch first but they were already fussy at 11 and lunch didn't go well at all. We've tried to make the switch at least a dozen times and they end up waking at night every time. Oh, and on one nap days, I typically have to put them to bed a little early and they end up waking a little early so it's back to two naps and their regular schedule that next day so that they're not cranky boogers by dinnertime.

They were nowhere near ready to transition at 13 months but babies are individuals and others may be ready.

As for whether you can push it, I know someone who did. She had to transition her boy at 11 months for daycare reasons. He has horrible sleep habits to this day (he's almost 3) and is in a near-constant state of sleep deprivation. Now, whether this was from pushing the nap transition or from inconsistent bedtime or some other factor, I have no idea... but it can't have helped to force a baby to stay awake when he's clearly exhausted.

ETA:
Our current regular schedule
Up 6:30
Nap 9:15-10:45
Lunch 12
Nap 2-3:30 or 4
Bedtime 7-7:30 (depending on uptime from afternoon nap)

 

Here's our current schedule ( have to wake them up from all naps to protect the next nap/bedtime):
6/6:30 wake up
9/9:30-11 nap
3:00-4:00 nap (Gma usually doesn't get them down until 3:30 or 4:00)
8/8:30 bed

My guys definitely needed two naps at that age and our schedule looked like this:

Up by 7am
First nap around 9am
Up by 11am
Second nap around 1pm
Up by 3:30
Bed by 7pm

If you want to keep them on two naps, I would suggest getting them down earlier for that second nap. Then getting them up from that by 3:30, 4:00. Like PP have mentioned, all babies are different, some were ready for one nap at that age.

 

okay, I totally agree that they aren't ready (nor am I) for the transition...but the boys will not go to sleep if I put them down before 3. I don't know how I can move it to 2:30 or 2 without them just screaming for that hour and then falling asleep at 3. Suggestions on getting them "tired" earlier than 3? Should I start our day at 5:30 so that everything is an hour earlier?

The boys used to crack after being awake for 2 hours. Gma & Gpa aren't keeping them up so long on purpose, they are just retired and move slow so they are always behind the schedule. But it is incredibly annoying to me that no matter how many times I tell them it's affecting bedtime it still happens all over again.

 

My oldest was ready a couple weeks before his 1st Birthday but I didn't let him change because we already sent out birthday invites. The twins did the same but we let them (2 weeks before their 1st bithday) The transition wasn't bad because they did it on their own. Its nice to have all 3 of my boys on pretty much the same schedule.
It looks like this

7:30 oldest is up
8:30 twins up breakfast
10ish small snack
12ish lunch
1-2:30 oldest nap
1-4 twins nap snack
6ish dinner
8:30 milk bedtime
read to oldest 9 bedtime

We stay up late so that my husband can play with them

Good Luck
Sometimes once a week my twins tend to take a 10 minute nap in the car on the way home from an outting. But I get them up and continue with our schedule when we get home

Cari

 

Our kids are about the same age. I thought maybe my girls were getting close to wanting just one nap over the last few weeks, but I think they were just trying to mess with me. For the last week or so we've been back on track with two naps a day without any fussing or trouble sleeping. Maybe it's just a phase?

Here's our schedule:

7:00 or 7:30 wake up

9:30-10:30 nap (if they aren't up by 10:45 I wake them up)

12:30 lunch

1:30-3:00 nap (sometimes they're up by 2:30 or 2:45, if they're still asleep at 3:00 I wake them up)

6:45 or 7:00 bedtime

From what I've read most kids switch to one nap some time between 15 and 18 months. But everyone is different! You could always try it and see what happens. If it doesn't work out you can always go back to two naps.

 

For what it's worth, our daycare forced the transition at 12 months and it hasn't been too bad. Mine still got two naps on weekends until 16 months -- we're going through that transition now, but because they're sort of used to it at daycare, it isn't that rough. The change in weekday naps didn't seem to affect their nighttime sleep at all. We have always put them to bed as early as we can (given our work schedules), which is 6:30/7ish. I guess in a sense it "helped" that their naps were inconsistent at daycare even when they were on 2 naps, so going from 2 inconsistent naps to one consistent one might have been an improvement!

I also have a friend (SAHM) who just pushed the transition with her 13-month-old and she says it is working fine. I'm not sure how she accomplished it, though. He does go to bed later than ours (maybe 8:30?) but I think he sleeps through until about 7.

 

they boys kind of moved themselves to 1 nap @ about 11 or 12 months...they eat breakfast then they eat lunch then a nap about 1ish and up about 3 or sometime even til 4...

 

Mine switched to one nap around 13-14 months I think. I did the switch because they were no longer sleeping at the morning nap. When we started, we had those days of sometimes two naps, sometimes one, just depended on how they were doing.
Our day has pretty much been 7:00am wake, 7:00pm bed for about a year now. When they first went to one nap, they couldn't make it past 10:30 so they took one nap then, it was about 10:30-1:00. Then it slowly moved back to a 12:30-2:30 or 3:00ish nap where it is presently. However, Ainsley has nap issues and is currently starting her nap at 1:30.

I haven't read all the posts, but IMHO they should be going to bed earlier if they are waking at 6:00ish. Do they need to get up at that time for you to get to work, or is that just when they wake up? If you would like them to sleep in a bit, then an earlier bedtime should help that too, and then you can gradually adjust the bedtime so they are on a twelve hour day/night schedule. When Ainsley wasn't napping at all, she would wake at night, so I know naps do affect night time sleep. I know it's hard to do these things when you are relying on someone else to abide by your wishes. It might be better to go ahead and do the switch so that the grandparents only have to deal with one nap. Good luck!

 

My guys have been fighting the second nap for over a month now...and it was affecting their sleep at night and they would only sleep about 30 minutes for both their morning and afternoon nap. Now I get them out of the house every morning, and they cat nap for about 10 -15 minutes around 9:45 while we're driving to wherever we're going - and then take their real nap from about 12:30/1:00 to 3:00/3:30. I put them down around 7:30 and they are up between 6:30 and 7 in the morning. Thankfully, they are back to sleeping through the night again - and actually sleeping more than 30 minutes during their nap. It worked for us.

 

Mostly by boys nap for 2 hours in the morning from about 9 / 9h30 to 11 / 11h30. Then they dont nap again although they start getting tired about 16h30. On days like this they normally go down between 18h30 & \19h00. If there nap is shorter in the morning then they have another nap at about 1 for no more than 45min's. I dont let them sleep after 14h00 or I struggle to get them down.
They are not the best sleepers, they do wake up a few times through the night but I cant seem to find a way to stop that.

 

QUOTE(Snittens @ Apr 13 2007, 01:15 AM) [snapback]217351[/snapback]
I haven't read all the posts, but IMHO they should be going to bed earlier if they are waking at 6:00ish. Do they need to get up at that time for you to get to work, or is that just when they wake up? If you would like them to sleep in a bit, then an earlier bedtime should help that too, and then you can gradually adjust the bedtime so they are on a twelve hour day/night schedule. When Ainsley wasn't napping at all, she would wake at night, so I know naps do affect night time sleep. I know it's hard to do these things when you are relying on someone else to abide by your wishes. It might be better to go ahead and do the switch so that the grandparents only have to deal with one nap. Good luck!


I agree that day sleep (or lack there of) affects night sleep and vice versa...here's our situation:

*Joe will sleep from 8/8:30 until 6/6:30
*Nick can only make it to sometime between 1am and 4am...he used to go back to sleep after a quick bottle, but now (sep. anxiety?) he just screams and screams. We tried CIO, but after a week with no improvement, he's now sleeping with us. It wasn't our first choice...but frankly even if we have him in our bed for the next 3 years we'll all be getting more sleep than we were getting.
*MTW I have to wake them at 6AM to get to work on time. But, even if I don't, 95% of the time they are up at 6/6:30 anyway.
*My biggest problem is the afternoon nap....it rules the whole day. They have to be up by 6:30 to be tired by 9:30. Then, I have to wake them up by 11am for them to be tired by 3pm (which is too late to START a nap IMO, but it's the staus quo and I don't know how to reverse it and make them tired before that). Then, I have to wake them at 4:30 so their tired at 8/8:30.

Ugh, sometimes I just over analyze it to death...maybe if I just give up and let things be it would work itself out.

 

After this very long morning, I know my babies NEED 2 naps. They played around during AM nap today and we are waiting for big sis to get home form preschool so they will all nap at once. They are soooo cranky. This is our normal schedule:
6:00 am - wake up
8:00-9:00- nap
12:00-2:00 nap
6:30- bed
I didn't mean for today to be an experiment, but I know for sure now, we are not ready for just 1 nap!

 

When things aren't working, that's when I go ahead and make a change. I figure, what I'm doing isn't working, so this new thing can't possibly be any worse.

Is it possible to get them to bed earlier, even just 30 min or so? What I would do is try getting them to bed earlier, go ahead and start the one nap transition. Try doing it at maybe 10:30, and don't wake them, just let them sleep. It might make for a long afternoon, but that's when the early bedtime helps. When we did the transition, they took the one nap at 10:30 for approx a month, then we switched to early lunch at 10:30, then nap at 11:30, then kept moving it back over a few weeks.

Hopefully, with naps being better, that might help your situation with one waking at night.