Nap Transitions: Part 2 From 2 to 1 nap per day

November 25, 2015

The transition from 3 down to 2 naps isn’t such a big deal. 2 down to 1 and 1 down to 0 – those transitions are beasts. I always encourage parents to protect those naps for as long as they can and transition only when absolutely necessary. Ensuring you’ve done everything to can to prolong their 2 nap per day schedule will lead to an easier transition. We want to be 100% ready for these transitions.

The transition from 2 to 1 nap per day is likely to be around 15 months of age. Although there’s lots of variation – some showing signs of readiness for transition as early as before their 1^st birthday, while others are willing to hold onto their second nap until closer to 18 months.

Protect Two Naps

Pull out all the stops to preserve that 2 nap per day schedule:

Have you….

capped their morning nap?
nudged the timing apart as much as possible (while still being respectful of circadian rhythms)?
nudged bedtime slightly later?
Ensured your child is having active days, with at least 30 minutes outdoors? (Ontario Day Nurseries Act recommends up to 2 hours of outdoor play for children 6 and under)

Readiness for One Nap

STILL not making this 2 nap per day schedule work? Readiness to transitioning from 2 down to 1 nap per day means:

At least 1 year old – Although I think children can show some signs that make it appear like they’re close to dropping a nap, that’s rarely the case before their 12 months old. It’s likely any disruptions you see around this age are related to developmental milestones (hello standing! walking! running!).
Sleeping well at night – We don’t remove naps hoping to compensate for poor quality and quantity of night sleep. It’s likely that children having disrupted sleep needs MORE, not less sleep.
Walking – Kids become MUCH more physically fatigued when they start walking and running around. You’re going to want to have 2 naps in your routine when those little legs start moving.
Consistently missing one of their naps – In spite of doing everything above, is your child still not napping for both naps consistently? Don’t be too quick to pull it. A missed nap occasionally happens with older babies/almost toddlers. If your child misses it consistently for 10 days in a row, then it’s time to think about dropping it.

One Nap Schedule

You’ve done your homework, aimed to preserve 2 naps and your toddler meets all the criteria? Sigh, you’re moving to one nap per day. This means your child will likely need a nap around midday. For kiddos that LOVED their morning nap, push out the timing (9:30, 10AM, 10:30, etc). Effectively their morning nap becomes their midday nap. For kiddos that were rejecting their morning nap, they should find this transition a bit easier and will nap around midday.

I’ve reminded you of this before (and I’ll probably remind you again): sleep needs DO NOT change, just because of a nap transition. Just the ALLOCATION of the sleep is adjusting. The total quantity of sleep in a 24 hour period should remain similar in either a one nap/day or two nap/day schedule.

How did your nap transition go at this age?

xxoo

Krista

About the author:

Krista is a mother of 3 (+1 dog who believes she’s people), a wife to a wonderful husband, and the owner and founder of Sleeperific. Even though she’s been in the sleep consulting biz for 4 years, she still feels excited and honoured when she’s hired by a sleepy family.

Nap Transitions: Part 1

November 17, 2015

3 naps down to 2 naps per day

Hi Krista,

My baby is having trouble taking his 3^rd nap in the late afternoon. When we’ve tried skipping it, bedtime is a mess. What should we do with this? When can we drop the nap?

-3^rd nap is not the charm

I’m often asked about these nap transitions. When to drop a nap from a schedule is a popular question for infants, toddlers and even preschoolers. This series of blog posts will discuss what signs to look for, approximate ages and some troubleshooting tips for either transitioning or trying to sustain an age appropriate schedule.

Often infants will adopt a schedule of a morning nap, an early afternoon nap and a later afternoon catnap. While I’m willing to fight to keep nap 1 and 2, nap 3, meh. As soon as that third nap dwindles or becomes difficult, I find it’s best to say see ya later.

What are some signs the nap is a problem?

Generally, one of two things will start to happen. Your baby will either resist their nap (and stay awake, or maybe even protest through) their nap. Or your baby will love their last nap so much that it starts to interfere with an early bedtime. If this nap becomes too difficult, it’s not worth it.

When is it age appropriate?

Typically, a third nap can start to dwindle as early as 4 months (it’s early, but it’s not unheard of – this munchkin was the WORST third napper but had a pretty strong nap 1 and 2), but some babies are perfectly happy to keep a 3^rd nap until 8 months old. Some families really like maintaining their 3 nap schedule because a parent doesn’t arrive home until later in the evening. It can be a great way to sustain a slightly later bedtime.

How do I get rid of it?

This is the easiest nap to eliminate, especially if it’s 6 months or later. It’s likely you’ll nudge out nap 1 and 2 a little, spacing them out over the day. It’s also likely that your baby will need an earlier bedtime.

The most important detail to remember in any transition is that a child’s sleep needs DO NOT change, just because they’re transitioning to one less nap in the day. They can’t suddenly remove 30 minutes of sleep from their schedule. This transition is about a child being able to stay awake for longer periods. Sleep minutes that were typically part of nap 3 will need to be allocated somewhere else into the day (maybe other naps [see how to lengthen naps], but most likely, these reallocated minutes will end up in their night sleep).

Stay tuned in coming weeks for the follow up posts on transitioning from 2 down to 1 nap and 1 down to no nap.