You’ve probably been on a pretty good 2-nap sleep schedule with your little one since he was 7 or 8 months old. You look forward to those daily breaks when you can get some work done, just do a load of laundry without a little cutie pulling at your pant leg, or just relax a bit. Then, right when you’re in a rhythm with your child’s sleep, he goes and “mixes it up” on you.
Everything You Need to Know About Transitioning a Baby to One Nap.
Toddlers are usually ready to drop the second nap around 14 or 15 months. Some start to show signs as early as 11 or 12 months, while others are happy to stay on a 2-nap schedule until 18 months.
Signs Baby is Ready for the Transition
He takes a longer morning nap and a progressively shorter afternoon nap or vice versa
He refuses to sleep or just plays in his crib for one of his naps
The above happens 4-5 times a week for 2 weeks
How Do You Transition from 2 Naps to 1?
If he’s showing the signs, decide to transition and don’t look back. Just go for it! Some little ones will make the transition in a couple of weeks, while it will take other babies up to 6 weeks for their bodies to adjust. Be patient and consistent as you follow these simple steps:
Days 1, 2, and 3 - Move morning nap 30 minutes later. If his morning nap was at 10:00, move it to 10:30. Put him back in his crib around 2:30 for a short nap or quiet time. If he doesn’t sleep, move bedtime to 6:30 to avoid an overtired baby.
Days 4, 5, and 6 - Move the morning nap back another 30 minutes (11:00). Put him back in his crib around 2:30 or 3:00 for a short nap or quiet time. If he doesn’t sleep, move bedtime to 6:30 to avoid an overtired baby.
Days 7, 8, and 9 - Move the morning nap back another 30 minutes (11:30). No more afternoon nap, but an early bedtime.
Day 10 - Move nap to noon and resume normal bedtime.
You might need to add 3 more days to the process if your child’s nap needs to be a little later, like 12:30. It will depend on their wake-up time and, of course, logistics like an older sibling’s school schedule, etc. Just remember to pay attention to “awake time.” A child between 8 and 13 months should be awake 3 to 4 hours before needing to sleep.
Once he is 14 months old, his awake time moves to 5-6 hours. It’s so important to know how much sleep and awake time your kiddo needs. Needless to say, the benefits of great sleep are HUGE.
Don’t Second Guess
When making a nap transition, it’s easy to second guess your decision because your baby might be struggling to stay awake or to link sleep cycles and naps are short.
This is normal! You are moving nap time, so his body needs time to adjust to a new nap time so that he can now consolidate sleep at an entirely different time of day.
Be patient and know that short naps are normal when transitioning.
What Do You Do About Short Naps?
Just wait. When he wakes up from a short nap, wait at least 10 minutes and allow him to link another sleep cycle and put himself to sleep.
If your baby was on a 2-nap schedule and sleeping 2-3 hours total during the day, most likely they will sleep about the same amount of time when they move to a one-nap schedule.
How You Might Be Feeling About the Change?
When my babies took two naps a day, I looked forward to having more than one break in the day. I wondered how I would get through the day with only one chunk of time to relax or get things done. It scared me.
It can be hard to say goodbye to that second nap of the day, but along with the 1-nap-a-day schedule comes newfound freedom. You now have the entire morning to get out and enjoy fun activities. No more rushing home twice a day to get in a good nap.
And lastly, you are now in the 1-nap zone, where you’ll be for several years. You made it!