Transition to one nap

Hi!
I was just wondering when the transisiton to one nap happened for you. Was it a smooth transition or just happened one day?

Our boys are starting to waiver on their naps. THey go down wonderfully but are starting to only take 1 hr naps in the morning and 1hr in the afternoon...they are really really tired. It's not consistant yet, some days are better than others.

I'm wondering if it's time to start thinking about one nap a day.

They wake up about 5am and take their first nap by 8am (and they are soooo ready for it!)...

What did it look like for you?

thanks!!
reb

 

The signs were similar for us. They were sleepy, but would often boycott their am nap and then sleep 'so-so' like during their pm nap. This happened for us at around 14 months. It was a surprisingly smooth transition over a few days. I just kept them busy with some sort of activity during what would be their nap - only prolonging it approximetley 15 mins at a time to see how they did. And after about 2 days of that it seemed they didn't even miss that am nap. We were lucky! I'd say the most important thing is to be attentitive to the signs they give and also keep them entertained/busy so they don't realize the change

Good luck, mama!

 

If they're still falling asleep at both times and seem to be really ready for their naps, I would keep them both for now, and try to get them to bed earlier at night to compensate for the shorter naps.

It was a very drawn-out transition for us. They had to give up the morning nap on weekdays when they moved to the toddler room at daycare (13 months), but they only napped 1-1.5 hrs. We tried to get them to bed as soon as possible when we got home, but evenings were still ugly for several months until their naps got longer (around 18 months, I think).

We kept the morning nap on weekends until they were about 16 months, but even after that point, it was a struggle to keep them from falling asleep right before lunch -- especially if we were out in the car or stroller, which we nearly always were. I don't think the whole one-nap schedule really solidified until they were almost 2.

I have to say, it was SO nice when they finally settled on just one nap. If you think you can get through the transition quickly, go for it, because it really opens up your options a lot more.

 

Here are some other stories about transitioning to one nap.
I was in denial about my kids needing to make the transition. I did not do it until they were 15-16 months old and they had been boycotting the AM nap for close to a month when I finally did it.
Mine are usually up around 7:30 and I moved the afternoon nap up to 1pm...the first week they were napping an hour and gradually it stretched to three hours. I would say that they handled the transition pretty well and I do find I can get more done during the day now that they nap for a longer period of time. Good luck!

 

We still have days when we're on 2 naps but they are few and far between. I would say that we switched maybe around 20 months. Mine went down easily for their first nap it was the second one that they fought. SO we just pushed out the first one an hour at a time and then let them sleep till they woke up, usually around 1p.

It's a tough leap but it doesn't hurt to try it for a day or two and see how things go. Good luck!

 

Ours was a slow transition too. They fought that 1st nap as much as they could, but they weren't ready to go to one nap until just in the last few weeks. And even then, since we've switched, there have been days where one or the other has to take a morning nap.

Everyone also told me that once they go to one nap, they'll sleep 2 or 3 hours at a time. But that's so not the case for us! Mine sleep an hour tops!!! So don't be in a hurry to move them to one nap. There are days I definitely miss having those two breaks!

 

My dd was ready sooner then my ds but I switched them both to one nap at 18 months. They were either napping in the morning or afternoon and some days I'd have one nap in the am and the other in the pm. :wacko: I just went straight to one nap in the middle of the day, I didn't slowly move it 15 minutes each day. They would still get tired around their regular first naptime (9:30ish) but for a few weeks we'd do something outside of the house or watch some TV... something to get them over the hump. Snacks at that time worked well too! :good: It took them a couple of weeks to get used to it and sleep for longer periods of time but it was pretty smooth.