Last week I decided to switch the boys to one nap/day! I knew going into it that there would be a transition and they probably wouldn't sleep enough that first week but eventually I'd be getting 2-3hrs in the afternoon. Mon and Tues their naps were from 1-4ish this week, I was so excited and today... 1hr Go figure it's meet the teacher night for my older girls and I'm sure the boys will be grumpy little bears.
How do you tell the signs of wanting to go to one nap? Mine want at least 2 a day, but there are a few days you can tell they rather take one long one mid day
Mine stopped taking an afternoon nap around their first birthday so we just switched them to one nap a day. It was hard at first and took about a month for them to really get it. Now they are so much happier in the evening.
So are they taking just a morning nap? I thought my boys were trying to transition to one nap too. They were boycotting the morning nap for about a week. So I stopped putting them down for a morning nap and then they started boycotting the afternoon nap. They were so exhausted the next day they went back to two naps! It is so hard to know when they are ready. And trying to plan to go anywhere with them is a nightmare!
Yeah, my guys went through a rough transition when they would only sleep for about an hour after dropping down to 1 nap. You knew they were tired, but they either wouldn't go down or they'd wake early. On those days, I'd put them to bed early just to let them catch up a bit. I held out for a long time moving my guys to 1 nap because Nate was ready but Jack wasn't. Nate would babble and play in his crib during the morning nap for at least a month before Jack started fighting it. What I would do is put them both down, and if Nate hadn't dropped off within 1/2 an hour, I'd "ninja" him out of their room and let Jack sleep. I hope the boys aren't too grumpy for you; the change of scenery might actually keep them interested enough that they "forget" to be fussy. It will get better, so hang in there!
Trying to figure out when they were ready to drop to one nap has been one of the biggest challenges for me since they were born!! There were a couple of times I thought they were ready, so we'd try and it would be a nightmare!! Finally at 22 months, we dropped to one nap successfully! I get from 12-2 most of the time, and sometimes as late as 3! Hope you get it figured out!
Mine started dropping their afternoon naps around 13 months. At first, they would only sleep for one hour. Over time it stretched out to 1.5 hours, and now they sleep 2 (rarely 3) hours. It took us about a month to complete the transition. I used to plan our afternoon outings from 2-4. If they were really tired, they would fall asleep in the car for a while. It helped them be less grumpy at dinnertime. After a few months, they wouldn't fall asleep in the car anymore.
:hug: I hope your little ones were in good ones for meet the teacher night. My two went through a transition period like that too. It took a couple of weeks for them to steady take 2-3 hour naps. I did the transition when my two consistently were boycotting their morning nap.
An update: They were good at meet the teacher night BUT had a horrible night last night. Tanner started w a fever (he was the one that woke up first at nap time), it turns out he has an ear infection.. poor bubs. Todays nap was 3hrs again! I could tell they were ready b/c they'd have an morning nap and wake up around 11am from that.. then they didn't want to go back down until 2:30/3pm until 4:30 - 5 for their afternoon nap which I started finding was too late and I wasn't getting a break during the day (selfish but it's then hard on everyone when mommy/Vicki is grumpy lol). They do well in the mornings, I put them down w the daycare kids now at 1pm. After they eat lunch they just lay on the floor and giggle the over tired giggle but it will get better
