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Of all the nap transitions that take place, transitioning from 2 naps to 1 nap can be the most daunting. And that’s what I’m here for! The age range when this transition occurs can vary widely. In some cases is can occur as early as 12 months of age. And in other cases not occurring until 20 months of age. (For what it’s worth, these were the ages of my two kids when they transitioned!) For affordable hands-on support directly from me while nap sleep training, make sure to check out The Baby Sleep Trainer Program + Support.
Photo Credit: The Honest Company
How do you know when your baby is ready to drop to one nap?
Starting as early as 10 months of age, some parents believe their child is ready for the 2 to 1 transition. Babies will often go through periods where they fight a nap (usually nap two) for a while before they fall asleep. Or, they start to intermittently skip their second nap. This is a common occurrence especially around the 10th month of life. You’ll want to wait until your child is around the 13th month of age or older, AND 100% skips their second nap for two straight weeks. Even if your child is 16 months old and occasionally skips their second nap, or even does so frequently, they are not ready to transition to one nap. Wait until your toddler skips their second nap for two straight weeks.
When this occurs, you need to mentally be ready for about a one-month transition period. During this time, it’s important you do not go back and forth from two naps to one nap. Once you make the commitment to go to one nap, you need to stick to it indefinitely. (Yes, even if their single nap each day is short.)
How long should a toddler nap?
Let’s assume that before you transition, your child is napping twice a day. The first nap is around 9 or 10 am, and the second around 2 pm. When you move to one nap, keep your child up until as close as possible to 11 am. If you are not able to keep your child up until 11 am, that’s fine, just get as close as possible. When they fall asleep, around that time, count it as their single nap of the day and keep them up until bedtime. Bedtime can be moved slightly earlier if needed (ie. 6:30pm).
It is very important that through the first several weeks of the transition you avoid being in the car from 2 pm on as much as is reasonably possible. You want to avoid your child falling asleep in the car in the afternoon. Once your child is easily and quickly falling asleep at 11 am each morning, begin to incrementally move their nap 5–10 minutes later every 2–3 days until they are napping closer to noon. Your child’s single daily nap can start any time between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm and last up to 2.5 or 3 hours.
It is typical for kids to take short naps at first when going from 2 to 1 naps. Even if your child only sleeps for a short period of time, do NOT give them a second nap. This will preclude their body’s ability to consolidate sleep into a single, longer nap each day.
Adjusting your toddler’s nap time
If your child is struggling to make it until 11:00 am for their single nap, keep them up until as close to that time as possible, then put them down each afternoon for a “rest” period. Put them down around 2:30 pm (close enough to whenever their first nap occurs so that you know they won’t be able to fall asleep) and leave them down for about 30 minutes. Even though they won’t sleep, this rest period in the dark should be enough to recharge their batteries, and keep them awake more comfortably until bedtime.
Remember, the transition from 2 to 1 nap can take about a month. So be prepared for some ups and downs and bumps along the way. The name of the game is first waiting for the right time to transition. (Remember, your child should be older than 13 months, and skipping their second nap every day for two weeks in a row.) And then, be hyper consistent in following the directions above for 30 days.
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Natalie – Thank you so much for taking the time to write out this helpful blog post! In this past week, have have transitioned our 18 month old daughter from 2 naps to 1 nap. She is definitely ready for 1 nap, and in about a month, she will begin attending daycare outside of the home where she will take 1 nap a day as well. We were told nap time occurs from 11am-1pm. That being said, we thought we would mirror the same schedule as the daycare in anticipation of whats to come. You said the nap will gradually extend… Currently we put her down at 11am and for the past 4 days, she has napped for 1.5 hours. Should we keep her nap time at 11am rather than aim for something like 12pm?
Keep her at 11 am since that’s what they’ll be doing at daycare 🙂
Hello Natalie, this article is so helpful! Our 14.5 month old has been having a combination of short naps (morning and afternoon) for about 25-30 min each, also some night wakings along with early 5-5:30am wake ups. We thought because she was taking short naps consistently it meant she was ready to transition to 1 nap. We tried for 1 day offering 1 nap and she was so cranky and upset all day. The next coupe days back to 2 naps but again short 25-30 min naps. Is this a regression? Should we just wait til she is skipping naps completely rather than just short naps for two weeks before attempting a one nap transition?
Hi Susan,
Definitely not ready for just one nap. This is pretty normal for this age, and will resolve with time. I’d follow the guide above for when to transition to just one nap.
My husband and I are both guilty of assisting our son to sleep. But we rarely have run into issues. We always did the drowsy but awake for bed and naps. But all the sudden that’s not working and he seems to be going through a bit of separation anxiety because he’ll get through our bed and nap routines fine but when we lay him down he pops back up and cries and screams with arms reaching up for us. We started trying Ferber two nights ago and nights are already seeming to improve. But naps are a disaster!!! For example, today he was up at 5, so I tried his nap at 10 and he screamed for an hour (with check ins), took him out for an hour, tried again, screamed another hour (with check ins). I eventually put him in the car so he would nap for at least an hour. I can’t just let him NOT have a nap at all right?? I’m so frustrated, and so upset that he’s so hysterical. And I get such anxiety that he needs the sleep and isn’t getting it. HELP!
I wouldn’t feel too guilty – you’ve done what worked best for your family until it didn’t work well any longer. It sounds like the sleep training guidelines you’re following aren’t producing the best results :/ I’d check out my online courses as I’m sure those would get you moving in the right direction quite quickly <3 https://www.babysleeptrainer.com/purchase/
Thank you for responding! It’s only been 2 days so I’m not quite ready to abandon the training we are trying as I know you’ve said it can take up to 2 weeks to see results. Will feel like years I’m sure. I guess my question is more, is if he fights his naps this hard is it healthy for him just not to take a nap? Or is it ok to do a car nap after all that in order to get him SOME daytime rest? Or does that defeat the whole point of letting him cry for hours in his crib? Also, if the interval check ins work at night, do we do that naps too? It seems to make it worse during the day.
Our daughter starts daycare at 13 months and from what I understand, they take 1 nap from 11-1. Should I work to transition her to that when she hits 12 months, even if she doesn’t seem ready?
Hii Natalie,
Sorry I’m reading this post on transitioning to 1 nap and couldn’t figure out where to comment but I am desperate need of some guidance with our 14 month old. She’s been having early wakings – 6-6:30am for about 1 month now and she used to always wake up closer to 7. She’s also been waking 1-2x a night for the last month which is new bc she’ has been sleeping all night since she was 4 months old. In addition, she’s been striking her 2nd nap. I’m not 100% she’s ready to transition to 1 nap bc although she’s not taking it most days, she’ll randomly take it here and there so she’s not protested it daily for 2 weeks. I’m afraid to drop to 1 nap too early but also I’m going crazy all of the wakings . I’m not sure I know what to do. I usually start the 1st nap 3 hours after she wakes up in the morning and the 2nd nap I was doing 3 hours as well. She seems to be tired & lays still for 20 minutes and then it’s like she catches a second wind and doesn’t fall asleep.
I appreciate any help in advance and so sorry for the lengthy comment.
Hi Marbell,
I think there’s a handful of things going on. You may want to check out the online course available above in the Programs and Products tab and explore joining the online course. I think that will address what are you trying to work through.
Thank you for this article! My 18 month old son is currently transitioning to 1, been going ok except for he’s back to early waking, starting at 4-5:30a. I usually get him up at 6:30am, and follow your early waking protocol, I let him work it out as long as possible. Is early waking part of the transition? He’s napping at 11a, and has had varying lengths of naps, anywhere from 1 hour to 2.5. Thank you!
Yep!! And it should resolve in the next few weeks. Early morning seems to pop up a lot when there are transitions like this. I’m confident he’ll go back to normal soon.
I am having the same issue with my 19 month old. He adjusted so well to 1 nap at first, but then the naps got shorter and shorter (45mins) and he woke up earlier and earlier and I’m worried if I stay consistent with the schedule he will just become overtired. Advice??
Hi Karen! It can take up to a month for toddlers to consolidate all of their daytime sleep into one nap, so what you’re experiencing is typical. As long as you know baby is safe, I would give him more time to try falling back to sleep after he wakes up from his first sleep cycle (at 45 mins).
My baby just turned 20 months and shows the signs of being ready to transition from 2-1 (refusing pm naps), except she has yet to sleep through the night. She is still nursing and when she wakes crying for whatever the reason, she only calms down if I nurse her. My husband is deployed so unfortunately I have been the only one to go in at nights for many months. She has done one nap some days and seems to wake up less in the night (typically only once, sometimes twice) then is up for the day’s early. I assume the early wakings will correct itself once she transitions, but what about the night issues? Is it ok to transition if she isn’t sleeping soundly at night?
Hello, I have a 12 month old who has been refusing her second nap pretty consistently for a month and the month before that she would take her second nap but it would take forever for her to fall asleep and it would push bedtime until 9-10 at night. She takes her first nap about 2.5 hours after wake up, and I put her down for second nap between 2.45-3.15 hours after wake up from first nap. I’ve been trying different awake times for the second nap to see if I’m just off on the timing but still no luck. She seems happy, but is only getting 1.5 hours of daytime sleep. She does sleep about 13 hours at night. I know it’s too early to transition but I’m not sure what else to do because it seems as though she’s transitioning herself. Any suggestions?!
Hi Sydney,
It sounds like she’s ready to transition to one nap. It’s not too early since (it sounds like) she skipped one of her two naps for 14 straight days. Congrats on making the switch!
Natalie
Hi Natalie! Thank you so much for all the info you share. I have 16 month twins. They sleep in the same room. What yo you mean by skipping their afternoon nap? Just refusing to sleep at that time? I think we might be there. It’s been 2 days. No idea how I can survive this for a month!
Yep! Straight up refusing to fall asleep for about an hour or longer.
I love This post and your site! Thank you SO much for typing this out. Why is sleep such a stressful thing? I have a question about my 15 month old (just turned that age today). He’s been fighting second nap, OR pooped during “naptime” and nap has failed. I started to transition to 1 nap, but I’m only on day 2 and am going to go back to 2 naps until he refuses for 2 weeks like you said. He is a VERY difficult sleeper, extremely stubborn. My question is, he was going down for 2 naps at 9-10ish (depending on 6-7 wake) and sleeping for 1 hour, nap 2 about 4 hours later. He’s not seemingly tired before that. However, yesterday and today I’m doing one nap have been terrible and he has been falling apart the entire day so I would like to try to go back to naps, but wonder what times you recommend. I wonder if he was starting to refuse the second nap because I had the timing a little bit messed up ? Thank you so much! I wish I had been able to ask you the question on your video yesterday, I’m worried I will do damage in a week !
Is it possible for them to start to drop the first nap instead? My daughter (15 months) has been refusing her first nap for about a week. She’ll usually wake at 7, nap at 10 and again at 2, bed at 8. This week she’s woken up at around 7:30/8, cried for an hour at 10 and then finally napped at 2.
Fighting the 10am nap is most likely due to the later wake time (she’s probably not tired at 10am if she’s sleeping in longer). Also, if you haven’t already, come join my bi-monthly Facebook lives (1st and 3rd Tuesday nights at 7pm PST) – this is a great type of question to ask! Thank you!
Hi! Thanks for the article. I’m really trying to figure out whether to switch my 14-month-old to one nap. he usually goes down okay for naps during the day but then takes a really really long time to go to bed at night and I have to wake him up every morning from deep sleep. He takes two naps a day for around 1.5hours each, from which we often have to wake him up. But then he won’t go to bed until around midnight, often 6:00 to 7:00 hours after his second nap. He falls asleep by himself in the crib, although waits for me to come in and feed him so I don’t know if he’s hungry or what. We try to wake up the same time everyday but then that means he’s only getting about 8 to 9 hours of sleep at night and then I think he has to make it up with his naps the next day. I tried to switch to one nap to help him go to bed earlier keeping him up for 5 hours after one nap of an hour and 45 minutes, but then he just treated bedtime as a nap and woke up in the middle of the night for 3 hours crying his head off as I tried to leave him alone in his crib. I’m at my wit’s end and don’t know if I should go back to two naps or stick with the one nap and just let him cry it out during the night for a while until he adjusts. I worry that he’s very overtired but can’t figure out how to get him sleeping more at night with an earlier bedtime, rather than sleeping so much for naps and And then having a really late bedtime with not enough nighttime sleep. Any help is greatly appreciated
If midnight is 6-7 hours after the end of his second nap, that means nap two is ending way too late. Sleep after 3:30 or 4 pm is treated by the brain as nighttime sleep in older infants. I’d make sure he’s awake by 7 am each morning, with naps starting no later than 10 am and 2:30 pm, with last nap ending no later than 3:30 pm. That should help ensure a bedtime of 7 or 8 pm.
My 12 mo old has really long wake windows. If he wakes up at 7 he isn’t ready for a nap until 10:30 or so. Ideally i wake him up after an hour to hour and a half after that first nap. Then for the afternoon he usually isn’t ready until 3:30 and sometimes he won’t even take the nap. This has been going on since he was like 10.5 months old.
Can I switch him to one nap?
Hi Kristen!! This is the best resource I have on knowing if a child is ready to switch to one nap: https://www.babysleeptrainer.com/nap-transitioning-made-easy-part-two-2-naps-to-1/
It sounds like he might be ready, but that blog post should help you know for sure.
Haha just now reading this response! He hadn’t “officially “ refused the 2nd nap for two weeks before I started putting him down for one nap. So, I guess I messed up. He just kept refusing his first nap and nap 1&2 merged into a single nap for the day. So far he has only slept for 1.5 hours for that one single nap. He is now almost 13 mo old. His nights are awful waking up 3 times at night. Is this because he is not getting adequate day time sleep? Should I try to get him back to two naps a day for the next two weeks to see if he refuses the 2nd nap so I will truly know for sure that he is ready for just one nap?? I’m so scared to mess his little sleep system up!!
Are you helping him to fall asleep when he wakes up overnight? P.S. – This is a great question to ask for my upcoming Facebook Live Q&A’s (1st and 3rd Tuesday every month at 7pm Pacific – http://www.facebook.com/babysleeptrainer). I hope to see you at the next one! <3
Hi Natalie,
This is a great post on 2-1 nap transition. I have a similar issue here with Kristen except that my 13mth old is skipping his afternoon nap. He has always been good for his morning nap. But just 1-2 weeks before turning 13mths, he start to reject his 2nd nap in the afternoon. In fact, prior to that, he has been taking his 2nd nap later and later from 3pm+ to 4pm+ and sometimes even at 5pm. Even if that is the case, we still try to keep his bedtime around the same time as the 2nd nap had became less than 1hr to 30mins. And with that, he had been clocking less than 11hrs of night sleep (about 9hrs+ to 10hrs+) though on average he still get about 13hrs of sleep in a day. Hence we decided to transit him to 1 nap which has happened for a week now. We started off with his single nap from 11am onwards. You mentioned that during transition, it is typical that nap can be shorter. My question is, during the beginning of the 2-1 nap transition, usually how long will they or should they be napping? Because my boy initially nap for 1.5hrs for a few days. Then subsequently he nap for 1hr and he woke up and then fall back to sleep. I am concern if I made the wrong decision to transit him to 1 nap. Really appreciate your reply and advice. Thanks!
Hi Sherina! During the 2-1 nap transition, there is no set amount of time they will or should be napping. They could nap as short as 45 minutes or as long as three hours. Over time this nap should lengthen back out! <3
Hi Natalie,
This post had given me great comfort in knowing that I was doing the right thing when keeping his naps consistently at 1 even when the naps were running short in the very beginning and early wakings were popping up on and off. I would like to know, however, if his bedtime is good to keep as is or it should be move up earlier or pushed back later. After pushing the naps slowly by 15m at a time, we’re finally at anywhere between 11-11:45 put down for his nap. He usually does 1.75-2.5hrs. If he wakes around 1pm, his bedtime is at 6:30pm, if he wakes around 2pm, bedtime is 7-7:15pm. Do you think I should keep the bedtime the same regardless of when he wakes up from his nap or does this seem okay? Thank you so much!!
Hi Priscilla! I would stick to 7pm as much as you possibly can <3
Ohhh thank you so much for your response!!! Shall do!!!
You’re so welcome! <3
Hi Natalie,
When does baby’s lunch fit in if the baby is sleeping from 11-2:30 ish? We haven’t transitioned my 18 mth son to 1 nap yet (he takes a nap at 10 and 2, but has been fighting both naps, so have deferred to driving him during his morning nap). I’m just curious since he normally eats lunch right at 11:30/12. I feel like if he eats at 2:30 after his nap, then his 5 pm dinner for 6:30 bedtime will be too soon. Thanks so much!
Hi! Did your receive an answer to this question, I’m wondering the same! Thanks!
Oops! I missed it. If nap starts before 12:30 pm, do a snack before nap (1-2 hrs), then lunch after. If nap starts after 12:30, do lunch before.
Hi there,
Thank you for the article it is very very helpful. Quick question. My 14 Mo. old has been transitioning to 1 nap for the past two weeks. She is having a hard time getting a decent nap in. About 40 mins – 1.5 hours (unless we go and pick her up which I am torn on if we should be doing). And sometimes that doesn’t help. She use to sleep until about 7:30am but is now waking at about 5:45am with night wakings. We hold off for the nap until 11:00am but then she is up for a long time in the afternoon so we put her to bed at 6:00pm. I am worried she is getting caught in a circle of over tiredness and we are having a very tough time getting out of it. Help 🙂
Hi Courtney,
Short naps are the norm for the first 30 days after transitioning to one nap. Stick with nap attempt starting no earlier than 11:30 am or 12 pm, and make sure bedtime is no earlier than 7 pm. Moving bedtime so early (6 pm) is what’s prompting the early morning waking. Don’t assist her back to sleep after short naps.
Hi Natalie, we have the same issue, and I am thinking if this is not too much awake time for a young toddler? If a nap ends at 12:30 and bedtime is just at 6:30, 7 pm? Would this be ok, or would this mess them up? 🙂
Thank you,
Hi Natalie,
Thanks to you, my son has slept through the night since 3 months old and everyone always comments on how amazing it is that he goes right to sleep! I always refer to your book and blog He’s 17 months old and I just transitioned him to 1 nap a couple of weeks ago and everything was going well- his nap got longer too. But all of a sudden he started waking up at 4:30am (we still leave him in his crib until 6:30) and his nap is so short (30-45min). He still has no problem staying up til bedtime (6:30pm) but he has started crying when I put him down and it lasts about 15 min. He never used to cry! My sister says it’s just the start of terrible 2s and his sleep will probably go downhill from here. I’m hoping that’s not true. Please give me some advice on how to proceed!
Hi Jolie! Yay! I’m so glad my book has worked for you! I think your LO could probably use a later bedtime – especially if he doesn’t seem to be tired at 6:30. I would try 7 or 7:30 for a few weeks and see if that solves it. <3
I read that this can start happening when there is a sleep defecit that builds up over a couple of weeks… my big question is do babies just power through a cycle of overtiredness eventually?
We’ve been on 5am wake, 11.30 nap (60-90 mins) and 6.30 bed for a month. He’s only getting 12 hours sleep overall and he’s got dark circles 🙁 the days I have given him two naps or he’s taken a long lunch nap he’s slept 11.5-12 hours so I can’t help but feeling he’s overtired.
Hi Cassia,
Yes, they do power through and adjust to their new schedule, as long as parents are consistent. That’s why it’s vital not to go back and forth once you’ve determined a new schedule is appropriate.
Based on what you’re describing, it’s possible you moved to two naps too early. I’d make sure he’s skipped one of his two naps consistently for 2 straight weeks before you permanently move to just one nap.
Hi Natalie,
This article has given me some reassurance with my current situation. I started transitioning my 14 month old to one nap about 4days ago. The problem is that he tone nap has been soooo short! She’s done 40 mins 3 times and 1.30 once. When you say be prepared for short naps, does this sound typical? Do you think this will last a while month?? Is there anything I can do to help her increase her nap length??
Thanks!
Hi Kate! Yes, sounds totally normal. It really can take up to a month for your kiddo to learn how to consolidate all of their daytime sleep into one longer chunk. There’s not much you can do to help either besides giving her some time when she wakes up at the 40 minute mark to try and fall back asleep. Some kids can take 10-30 minutes to fall back asleep (assuming they already know how to fall asleep on their own).
I have 14 month old twins who are as different as can be. BUT, we do have a great 2 nap routine going, with 1 or both protesting their afternoon nap intermittently but eventually falling asleep after 45 min/1hr. When will I know you change to 1 nap for both?
As soon as you switch one baby to one nap, switch the other as well. It won’t be ideal, but it is a little bit easier to force a child to one nap than any other nap transition. But I would delay it as long as possible.
Hi there, thank you for all the great information. I transitioned my daughter to 1 nap just after her first birthday because consistently she was protesting her 2nd nap (if I remember correctly at least 3 weeks!) for the most part she did ok transitioning. She goes her her nap at 11:30 (haven’t been able to push it later yet) and sleeps anywhere from 1.5-3 hours. This is all great! BUT by dinner time she is usually super tired and grumpy I’m worried it’s affecting her food intake and it is just not easy to deal with. Her bedtime is 6:30 and then she has a hard time with her bedtime bottle because she is exhausted. Sorry for the long story, really I’m worried I transitioned her too early….should I go back to trying 2 naps? Can transitioning too early negatively affect their sleep habits/ patterns as they grow? Thank you
Hi Ren,
Just move her nap time 1-2 minutes later every days until you get to 12 or 12;30, then make sure to move her bedtime later as well by the same 1-2 minutes. I don’t think it’s a matter of moving to two naps too early – I think it’s it’s just needing to push that nap start time later.
Natalie
This post is really useful thank you. My little girl is about to turn 18 months next week and have been trying to transition to 1 nap for the past week.
When she was having two naps they would usually be 9am for 30mins and then 12:30/1ish for 1.5/2hrs (wake time 7am ish / bedtime 7pm ish)
We are giving her lunch and laying her down 12-12:30ish but has only been having 30mins and waking up crying. Have tried everything and can’t get her to go back to sleep.
Should I be trying something different?
With such little day time sleep she’s so tired and hyper in the afternoon.
I miss the rest of her longer lunchtime nap. Help!!
Hi Jenna! I don’t think so!! Just keep on keeping on and give it a few more weeks. You may want to push her nap closer to 1 or 1:30, so the afternoon before bedtime isn’t as tough.
Thanks Natalie. I am noticing she is getting tired about 11ish. Should I be bringing forward her lunchtime nap (only one of the day) to around this time.
I wonder if she’s gettjng so overtired going from 7am – 12:30ish that this is stopping her having a restful arvo nap?
Hi Natalie – thanks so much for this helpful post! Because of this awesome info, we kept our now 14 month old on two naps through six weeks of protesting his afternoon nap (sometimes but not always) when he was 10 months old. Everyone said he looked like he was ready to go down to one nap, but we held out and followed your two straight weeks advice and now he’s back to taking two great naps a day again – so first off, THANK YOU!! Secondly – I was curious if you had a potential schedule for once we drop the second nap and are down to one? I’m struggling to figure out how to fit in lunch with his two snacks if he’s napping in the middle of the day? Thanks so much!!
That’s great to hear! I wouldn’t look at it as meals vs snacks. Instead, just make sure he has some form of calories every 2-3 hours. So whenever he’s doing his one nap, just make sure there is snacks or meals every couple of hours.
Hi Natalie,
thank you so much for your post!
My 16 month old twins have always been very different in their sleep needs. Currently twin A is happily doing two naps (between 1h15 and 1h45) whereas twin B seems to want to transition for quite some time now. He does not particularly fight the afternoon nap, but his naps have shortened from originally 1.5 hours to only 30-45 min. He wakes up pretty cranky from those short naps, so I assume he is not tired enough to sleep longer but would clearly benefit from more daytime sleep/longer naps. Do you think the transition would solve this issue? I don’t want to push it, especially since it will be hard on twin A who barely makes it from 7-10am right now. But the catnaps twin B takes become more and more of an issue, and in the rare cases he sleeps longer he is way happier.
Thank you so much for your opinion!
Nela
Twin B also isn’t ready to transition to one nap, seeing as how he still falls asleep for two naps each day. Wait until one twin skips one of their two daily naps each day for 2 straight weeks, then transition both to one nap. I’d put it off as long as possible, because Twin A in particularly will have a really hard time prematurely transitioning to just one nap.
Hi Natalie! Thanks for all your help with our sleep training last summer! Our little one is 16 months now and taking a 30 minute morning nap and an hour afternoon nap. Morning nap has been getting later and she has been struggling falling asleep for the second nap and sometimes we have to wake her up so she won’t sleep past 4. Starting to struggle falling asleep at bedtime too. Starting to think it’s time to move to one nap???
Sounds like she’s almost there!! Here’s a guide on how and when to make the transition.
https://www.babysleeptrainer.com/nap-transitioning-made-easy-part-two-2-naps-to-1
Hi Natalie,
My daughter has been sleep trained from 5 months old and slept through the night since 6 months. She is now 15months old and until recently she has been a great sleeper. For some time now she has been showing all the signs of needing to transition to 1 nap a day. And she has been night waking multi times throughout the night. In the last 5 days I have transitioned her to 1 nap which in the first couple of days seemed to really help her night waking and she was going down for naps and sleep really easily but in the last few nights she has woken up after about 1 hour sleep after bed time (which we bought forward to 6:30pm). If i leave her to try and put herself back to sleep she eventually gets hystrical. So I have been getting her up and letting her have quiet time for 30-60mins until she settles down and gets tired again. Then she will wake usually around 2am and again 5am again. morning wake time is has always been about 8am.
Do you have any advice? We are going on almost 5 weeks of poor night sleep.
Thanks,
Michelle
If you keep interacting with her, she’ll keep waking. Ask the doc if you can leave her be for 3-5 nights in this situation, and just go to her when it’s time to start her day. It should resolve quite quickly.
What is the significance of waiting for your baby to consecutively miss their second nap for 2 weeks before transitioning? I feel like my baby is ready but she goes a few days (like 3-4) refusing her 2nd nap but then one day falls asleep for about 30-45 mins. Hmmm just hit me, she does take over an hour those days to fall asleep so does that count as a refusing nap day?
We want to wait the 2 consecutive weeks because starting around 10-12 months and continuing for sometimes a few months, most kiddos will start missing, protesting, or taking a long time to fall asleep for their naps. However, they’re still not ready to go to just 1 nap. The transition from 2 naps to 1 nap can be quite tedious so having your kiddo be ready is important.
I also wanted to add – if your child is still falling asleep twice a day, even occasionally, and is still able to sleep well overnight, that means they still need two naps a day. If a child who still needs two naps a day is prematurely put to one nap, then the process an be quite awful (on the child, and on the parent). As it is, the transition to one nap can be challenging as a child adjusts to only one nap a day, hence why it’s important you only make the change once you’re confident a child truly doesn’t need two naps each day.
Hi there,
I’m really in need of some guidance please!
My son is 16 months on March 12th and has been a great sleeper. He did the 3.25/3.75/4 routine for a while and would self sooth and fall asleep within minutes like clockwork.
He then skipped the odd 2nd nap and resisted bedtime at the start of February so I waited a week but nothing resolved. He then began waking up at 5am.
This is where I think I could have messed up and made a change too quickly however, after giving it a chance and seeing no results, I decided to give 1 nap a go.
The problem here was that his wake up was so early that a 5/5, 5.5/5 or 4/6 meant his bedtime would be in the afternoon. Even if I added 5 onto a desired wake up time of 6.30am and laid him down at 12 it meant he was actually up for 7 hours. He’s only ever napped for between 1.5 and 1.75 hours despite my efforts. His bedtime has been about 6.30 after, usually a 6 hour wake window. Strangely, he does seem to be managing the longer wake time well and goes down with no fuss and sleeps through (mostly). Occasionally, he’s woken in the early hours but as soon as he is laid back down he goes back to sleep (he sleeps in a sleeping bag so struggles to lay down himself as his room is pitch black and he becomes tangled).
I have been so tempted to transition back to 2 naps but I know that this isnt encouraged. I just can’t seem to shake the 4.30/ 5am wake up. We even keep him in his cot until 6 but he never gies bqck to sleep. Thank you in advance!
I put my comment in the wrong place earlier 🙂 With the 20 month old still waking up at night, how do I know whether to keep pursuing the nap transition or take her back down to 2 naps? I don’t want her to be overtired by taking away sleep since she doesn’t sleep at night, but she either takes a great nap early (by 10) or a short nap later (11). We haven’t made it past 11:00 yet. She actually just woke up after only 50 minutes again and it’s only noon. Is this supposed to sustain her the rest of the day when she doesn’t sleep at night? Help! And with regard to the nighttime, my husband is deployed and she refuses to settle down unless I nurse her. I don’t nurse her back to sleep, she falls asleep on her own.
I wouldn’t worry about overtiredness (it’s not really a thing, kind of a myth). I’d suggest moving to one nap permanently regardless of lenght, but the bigger issue here is assisting her to sleep for nighttime wake ups. If you continue to do so, regardless of what happens with naps she won’t stop waking at night <3
https://www.babysleeptrainer.com/what-is-baby-sleep-training/
Moving forward as planned! Fingers crossed. I hear you on the night time, however, there are plenty of times she wakes and puts herself back to sleep no problem. My thought process is that when she does wake crying (my husband says it sounds like she got bit by a ghost) she is upset about something (teething, hungry, bad dreams, really was bitten by a ghost) and I don’t wish to leave her hysterical. What are your thoughts when the baby is capable of putting herself back to sleep, but other times needs comfort? Thanks so much!
You can always check on her and do anything you need to do comfort and treat her, then always put her down awake and allow her to fall back to sleep on her own.
In sleep hell over here. 1.5 weeks ago she needed a 9:30 nap for two days because she was hysterical (lower canines started coming) and here we are with canines still slowly breaking through and short one naps, early wakings, and twice a night wakings. Past two days naps were over at 1.5 hours due to poop, today 40 minutes because idk why. Just tears. Any advice? Oh, and the husband is still deployed and we have to travel next weekend.
We’ve been transitioning our 15 month old for the last 6 weeks and he still is having a terrible time lengthening naps. On the very rare occasion we have gotten 2 hrs or even 1 hr 30 mins, more often than not, it’s been 60 or 70 minutes. We have tried everything (different wake times for before and after, lunch before and after, etc). He has been sleep trained since 7 months and sleeps between 11-12 at night, but this has proven to be much more difficult than night sleep training for us! Should I be concerned that it is taking so long for him to lengthen his naps? Any advice/guidance would be appreciated. I’m losing my mind a bit!
I don’t think so! Lot’s of babies don’t need a lot more than an hour or so at first. I think with time that nap will lengthen. However, try making sure it doesn’t start before 12 or 12:30.
Thank Natalie. I was really starting to worry. I was reading everywhere that when you switch to 1 nap, the overall amount of sleep shouldn’t change and that if the nap is short, they should be making it up at night, which my son is not doing. My son was napping betweeb 2-2.5 hours on 2 naps just a few weeks ago. So are you saying it’s normal to drop to half of that because he might not need that much? Just trying to understand because that seems like a huge drop. We always put him down between 12-12:30. Thank you!
I mean one of the reasons kids go from 2 naps to 1 is precisely because they don’t NEED as much sleep. I would assume that if your child is healthy, happy, and thriving that he is getting the amount of sleep he needs. You’re giving him the chance to nap as much as he wants – it’s not your job to get him to sleep a certain amount of time. If his body needs more sleep, it’ll get it when given the chance.
Hi Natalie. I have read post and all the comments and it’s a little reassuring. My almost 18 month old is on week 3 of transition from 2 naps to 1. Since we started, she only did two days of 2 hour naps. Now she’s back to 1 hour and 10 minutes. She’s waking up around 7am and we put her down at 12pm. Is this ok? I am really hoping she will start taking these longer 2-3 hour naps. What are your thoughts? I am due with my second baby soon and I really need some hope. Thank you!
Yep! It’s got to be OK, because you can’t really force her to sleep longer. She may lengthen her naps over time, assuming she needs more sleep during the day <3 Most kids eventually nap for at least 90 mins.
Hi Natalie! Thank you for this post. I have a 20 month old who we transitioned to one nap almost 2 months ago. She is taking an hour twenty minute nap on most days, but is also now waking up at 530AM since we transitioned. We do not get her out of her crib until 6 AM, but she cries and does not fall back asleep. Nap time is 1215 and bedtime is 645, to make up for short nap. Should we just give it time, or should we try something differently? Thank you!
It’s precisely the early bedtime making up for the short nap that’s the problem. In reality, her nap is a great length.. She’s getting as much sleep as she currently needs with her overnight sleep and nap sleep combined. I’d gradually move bedtime later (3-5 mins every other night) until you get to 7 pm.
Hi Natalie. We have been in the 1 nap transition for over a month now with my 18 month old. She naps everyday for an hour and 10 minutes. She wakes up at 6am/630am, her nap time is 12pm and she goes to bed at 6pm. Is there anything I should do differently to elongate her nap? Thank you!
It sounds like she’s doing quite well to me!! Anything longer than 45-60 mins is considered a good length nap. I think naps will likely get longer with time.
Natalie, our 14.5 month old is now taking short 30 minute morning naps and 30 min afternoon naps. This has been happening about two weeks. She skipped the afternoon nap only once. Does this mean she’s not ready for one nap? We tried one nap one day and she was so cranky and so angry. Is this a sleep regression? Since she’s sleeping so poorly during the day, we’ve been giving her super early bed time around 6-6:30 and she wakes around 5-5:30. Unsure what to do as she’s been sleeping very poorly during the day.
HI Susan,
Not ready just yet. I’d follow the guide above for when to know when/how to go to one nap.
Hi,
Thanks so much for this article! At 15 mo I thought my little one was ready because she was taking a while to fall asleep at her 2nd nap, It went horribly and I am sad to say I went Back to 2 naps for 2 more months. At 17 mo she started to fight the 2nd nap and not take it and when she did it would be for 30 min because it would take her so long to fall asleep that I would Have to wake her because it was getting too close to bed time. Now I’m not sure if I should Have transitioned her this time either since I have Read your post and that she should have 100% refused a nap for 2 weeks. Now I shouldn’t go back to 2 naps right? I am also experiencing a 1 hour nap and early morning wakings as well. I feel like a screwed this up and may have transitioned when she wasn’t ready. What do I do on the early morning waking days too?
At this age, I would stick with just one nap. Give her about a 3-4 weeks and things will settle out.
Thanks so much for your response. I am Putting her down at 11 and will stick with this for a few weeks before pushing back. Now if she only sleeps till 12/1230 how do I make The wake time before bed tolerable for her? Do I give her a rest in the crib around 230/3 to help her make it to 7?
You can’t really do a whole besides your best <3 You could give her a rest and see if that helps.
Thanks so much for your response. I am Sticking with 11am as suggested for a few weeks before I start Moving back. In the meantime, if she sleeps 11-1230 how do I help her make it to bed time? Do I do a rest in the crib at about 230 for a re charge?
I think I was able to answer above <3
Thanks for this useful blog! I Think I’m transitioning my 15 month old too early… She started skipping a few afternoon naps and bedtimes were taking a lot longer so I thought it was time. We’ve been at it around two weeks and whilst bedtime is now super quick (moved to 630), overnight is now awful, she’s waking much more frequently. Should I go back to two naps and wait until she refuses two naps more frequently or just continue with what I’m doing?
Hi Ruth,
You are so welcome!! I would go back to two naps until she skips one of her two naps for about 2 weeks..
Hi Natalie. My 19 month wakes up at 6am, nap is at 12pm and bedtime is 6pm. However, she is only napping for 1 hour. She seems so tired in the morning, but I keep her up and active until 12pm for her nap. Is there anything I can do to elongate this nap? She is also very tired when she wakes up. I don’t know what to do so she naps longer. Please help! Thank you!
Not that you’re not already doing. I’d just wait it out – over time if she needs more sleep during the day, her nap will get longer.
Hi Natalie,
Thanks so much for this blog. In need of some guidance. Our 13 month old daughter has been waking up at 5:30 am for the last two months, totally happy, totally well rested, just up. We’ve been staying on a two nap schedule, first nap around 9/9:30 and capping it at 1.5 hours and second nap around 2:30/3 making sure she is up by 4 so she has enough of a wake window before bed. But without fail, she’s up at 5:30 am, sometimes earlier whether she’s had 3 hours of daytime sleep, or 2 or 2.5. Then, in the last week or so, she’s begun fighting second nap and ultimately completely skipping it. We had two days of her being up from first nap at 11 and not sleeping at all till bedtime at 6. Today I pushed her to 10 am and she woke at 12:15, I still offered her an afternoon nap, but she seemed to just rest and play and then went to bed at 6:30. I know this is a TON of info, but does this mean she’s ready for one nap? And, should I ultimately cap that long nap because she doesn’t seem to sleep more than 10 (maybe 10.5 hours a night?) Thanks for reading this insanity and I appreciate you!
I’d wait til she skips one of her two naps for 2 straight weeks. And try moving bedtime later if you can to combat early morning waking.
Nope! Once she skips one of her two naps for two straight weeks, then she’s ready for just one nap. Kids will often go back and forth with skipping naps then taking both. Wait her out and see what happens.
Thanks! So a quick follow up on that. Should I still be trying to push morning wake up a bit and capping her first nap time? Or just put her down around 9/9:30 still and et her go as long as she wants (max 2 hours) because that may be her only sleep of that day? Thank you so so so much for your help.
I’d not push morning nap time until you’re officially switching to one nap.
Hi Dina, we are in the exact same situation right now, right down to the wake up and nap start and end times . How did your LO turn out with respect to naps? Mine is 13.5 months and has been waking up 6am, first nap by 9.30am, sleeps until 11am but will NOT fall asleep at 2.30 or 3pm for 2nd nap so we let her “rest” (she just rolls around in her bed) until 3.30pm and we do early bed time around 5.45/6pm. Wondering if I should stick it out for another week. She’s done this for 8 straight days now.
Hi Natalie, my LO is 15mths and not napping for both naps, but falling asleep why sitting up. We are almost at a week of missing one of the 2 naps. Should I just transition her now to 1 nap?
Hi Chelle. Believe it or not, falling asleep sitting up still counts as a nap!! With time your little one will likely go back to laying down for both naps. Hang in there and don’t give up on two naps.
My LO is 16 months now. We have started transitioning to one nap two weeks ago. The problem was she was still taking two naps pretty easy not fighting them but so dang grumpy after each nap because she was being woken up to make sure she still had a decent bedtime (7:30). She normally would wake 6:30/7 with an occasional rough night. Then she started having early wake-ups. So we thought she was ready to for one nap, now it’s almost guaranteed that she will
have a split night (up playing at midnight for an hour or more!) then will go back to sleep until 7/7:30. I’ve been keeping her active until 12/12:30 depending on her wake time. She’s been taking 2.5/3 hour naps which have been beautiful. My question is, how do I fix these split nights now? She does not sleep past 3pm and I put her down between 7/7:30. Do I go back to two naps or just keep moving along?
It sounds like her naps are too long and she’s sleeping in too late. It’s up to you how important it is for you to address this overnight waking issue, but if I were you and wanted it to stop, I’d wake her no later than 7 am each morning and limit her nap to no more than 2 hours. Give it two weeks and hopefully that will resolve the overnight waking issue.
Hi Natalie. This blog is so helpful! My 18mo was taking 2-2.5 hours naps starting at 11am a few weeks after switching her to 1 nap, going to bed at 7 pm and waking in the morning at 6-615am. Now she is back to 1-1.5 hour naps bed at 7 pm and waking at 5:30am. I usually Put her in at 11:30-11:45am . Any advice on lengthening naps or eliminating early morning wakings ? Thanks!!
Hi Jenn!!
So glad you found it helpful.
I would try to move her nap time gradually so it starts closer to 12:30 or even 1 pm, and push bedtime as well so it’s closer to 7:30 pm or so. Move everything 3-5 mins later every other day til you get to those later times.
Thanks! So even if she is up that early I should Still push her 3-5 min later every other day? Just nervous she will get over tired and the nap will become even shorter. Thanks so much
Yep!
My 13 month old has consistently been waking at 5am (normally wakes at 6) and fighting bedtime like crazy for 2 weeks. She sleeps all night usually and has been waking after 30-45 min during her naps. Is it time to transition to 1 nap? She starts day care in 2 months so I’m thinking to try transitioning her now so she is used to 1 nap.
Thanks!
Hi Laura!! I’d suggest you check out these two posts. You may find them helpful.
https://www.babysleeptrainer.com/toddler-baby-waking-up-too-early
https://www.babysleeptrainer.com/10-12-month-sleep-regression-and-why-its-not-time-to-transition-to-1-nap
Hi! How long do you usually see it start to lengthen the nap time again? I have my 14 month old. We have done the one nap for about 2/3 weeks at this point. She is staying up to 12 which is fantastic. But only 1.5 hour naps.
1.5 hours is a pretty decent length nap. I’d say it can take about 30+ days for naps to lengthen.
Hi Natalie,
My son is approaching 20 months. We started to transition him to 1 nap for a week now. However we are struggling with early wake times and night awakenings. It doesn’t help that our son’s naps are not very long. He will nap through one sleep cycle and then sit up in his crib and fall asleep again (while sitting up) for maybe another 15-20 mins. By the afternoon he is very hyper and displays a lot of frustration. Even though he wakes up before 6am, his first nap will be at 11:30am. Today, he slept pretty much sitting up for 1 hour. We ended up putting him to bed at 6pm. Throughout the night, he wakes up at least 3 or 4 times, sits up in his crib for 10 mins and falls back to sleep. We are just worried about sleep debt impacting the transition. Please advise.
I’d start to move his nap later, even if he’s tired. Try to get it closer to 12:30 and avoid bedtimes before 7 pm. He’ll likely continue to wake up earlier if early bedtimes continue. Regarding the overnight wake ups, I’m not sure what’s happening there. If they persist, I’d check in with your pediatrician.
This is so helpful! Would you mind expanding on what “protesting” naps looks like? My 17mo seems to protest his naps by walking around in his crib, kicking the walls, laying down, getting back up, etc. But he still usually falls asleep, sometimes just takes an hour to get there. He can do this for both naps and for bedtime. (he gets up at 7:00 am, nap at 9:30, 2:30, and bed at 7:30).
Hi Arielle,
Protesting means not falling asleep for a nap, in whatever form that takes.
Hi Natalie.
15 mo today. Was refusing 2 naps and waking super early in the morning, but kind of tired to start the day, eventually after an hour fall back asleep. Also 2nap was pushing bedtime too late. We started transition to 1 nap. He used to go to bed close to 9 and wake around 8 with two naps. We started the transition and he had 3 nights in a row with perfectly sound sleep from 8 to 8. But naps are short as you mentioned that could happen, 1 hour, 1:15 hours the longest. So we saw how he started to get really tired in the last afternoons. By 6 he starts rubbing his eyes. We moved bedtime an hour earlier (7:30/8) but still had a lot of wakings during the night. Also as he is having poor night sleep he is waking up early and we are moving the nap a little earlier, which makes him even MORE overtired in the afternoon.
Did we start too early? does he still need his two naps? Should we go back to two and see what happens? Could it be that probably he has success during the first days because he was super well rested from the 2 nap period and now he starting having a sleep debt?
Thanks!
It’s hard to say. If you’re interacting with him overnight that may be the cause of the continued wakings. If you are not interacting with him over night and he did not skip one of his two naps every day for 2 straight weeks, it may be that he was not ready to go to just one nap.
.
Thank you for your response! I think he did not skip his nap for two weeks because i rock him to nap (not at night in bedtime), and after a while of rocking he would eventually fall asleep, but for lately for this second nap it was taking forever, sometimes 30 minutes of rocking and him protesting, and in the past he would fall asleep quiet fast and easily. Also I could tell that he could handle more awake time in the morning, so I thought to give it a try.
At night he was waking once, or sometimes no wakings. When he wakes, normally dad goes. This worked when we wean him, he would ask to nurse every two hours and when dad starting going he stopped waking. He reduced the wakings to only once.
Ahhh ok. So I think this is probably more of an issue of him needing to be sleep trained instead of anything else.
https://www.babysleeptrainer.com/what-is-baby-sleep-training/
Thank you for your amazing blog post! This is so helpful!
My 17 month old has been an easy napper and bedtime sleeper with 2 naps. About 2 weeks ago, after he got sick for 5 days, I started rocking him to sleep and tending to him in the middle of the night. Then he started to fight naps and refuse to get in the crib once we tried to return to the normal naptime routine for a whole week. So I thought, maybe he’s ready for 1 nap. He can happily stay awake until 11 or 12.
So we’ve been trying to figure out this 1 nap transition. During the past few days when we implemented 1 nap with 4.5 hours wake window, he wakes up crying after 30 minutes and goes back to sleep and does it again until he reaches an hour. But today he was awake for 5.5 hours (based on a friend’s recommendation) and during his 1st nap, he woke up every 15 mins and cried for 10 minutes until he reached 1 hour and a half mark. Then, we put him down for bedtime 4 hours later and he stayed up for 30 minutes crying on and off and has been waking up every 30 minutes or so.
Is this a sign that he’s overtired and I should return to 2 naps since he always took 2 full hours before and now he hates being placed in the crib (could be because he wants to be held to sleep like he was when he was sick)? What do you think I should do? What wake windows should I follow? Thank you so much!!
Hi Erica,
At this age, I’d stick with one nap. I’d stop using wake windows. Put him down anytime he seems tired after 11:30 am, regardless of nap length don’t do bedtime earlier than 7 or 7:30 pm (later if he keeps crying a lot before bedtime).
Hang in there!! And remember it’ll take a few weeks before things even out and his naps get longer.
My LO is 16 months now. We have started transitioning to one nap two weeks ago. The problem was she was still taking two naps pretty easy not fighting them but so dang grumpy after each nap because she was being woken up to make sure she still had a decent bedtime (7:30). She normally would wake 6:30/7 with an occasional rough night. Then she started having early wake-ups. So we thought she was ready to for one nap, now it’s almost guaranteed that she will
have a split night (up playing at midnight for an hour or more!) then will go back to sleep until 7/7:30. I’ve been keeping her active until 12/12:30 depending on her wake time. She’s been taking 2.5/3 hour naps which have been beautiful. My question is, how do I fix these split nights now? She does not sleep past 3pm and I put her down between 7/7:30. Do I go back to two naps or just keep moving along?
Our 14.5 month old has been consistently waking at 7:00 am, napping at 10:00am and 2:30pm (each nap lasting 1-1.5 hr occasionally longer) and going to bed around 7:00pm (we some early waking to nurse). He was sick recently and slept a lot; going back to three naps when he wasn’t feeling well. Since feeling better he’s been dropping the morning nap and taking a longer afternoon nap. Does the “wait until the 2nd nap is skipped for two weeks straight” rule apply to the morning nap also? Wondering if we are getting close to going down to one nap or if something else likely going on?
Our 16 month baby girl’ has been fighting one of her naps now for two weeks. Sometimes she takes the morning nap but fights the afternoon nap. Sometimes she fights the morning hap but takes the afternoon nap. So I’m not sure it’s time to transition to 1 nap or adjust nap times to a bit later. Bedtime is currently at 7 pm. Nap 1 is 10 am and second nap at 1:30 pm.
She is also waking up at 6 am every single morning but not crying, just plays around in the crib. We just pick her up at 7 am. Should we first adjust bedtime to 7:30 pm to resolve the early waking before transitioning to 1 nap or should we just do the transition to 1 nap and wait to see what happens to early waking? Or would you recommend a later bedtime + 1 nap all at the same time?
Hi Manuela,
I’d follow the guidelines in the post above and wait for her to skip one of her two naps for 2 straight weeks. You can move bedtime later if you wish.
Thank you Natalie. You are amazing at what you do! I’m so glad I followed your advice. She is clearly not ready to transition to 1 nap yet. Today she finally took 2 naps. I had to wake her up from the second nap! Thank you so much for providing exceptional support!
You are so welcome!!! And YAY for two naps!!
Thank you Natalie. You are amazing at what you do! I’m so glad I followed your advice. She is clearly not ready to transition to 1 nap yet. Today she finally took 2 naps. I had to wake her up from the second nap! Thank you so much for providing exceptional support!
You are so welcome!!! And YAY for two naps!!
Thanks so much for this post! I have an (almost) 17 month old son who is taking the 2 to 1 transition very rough. He was napping very well at 9 and 2/2:30, for an hour and a half each. He started to refuse to take his afternoon nap and I waited about 3 weeks before I decided to make the jump to one nap. I gradually pushed his morning nap later and later until I got to 11. He then was napping from 11-1 for a few days, but was a mess by dinner so he was doing a 6 bedtime. Now he’s napping only from 12-1 and barely making it to a 6:30 bedtime with a very early 5/5:30 wake time. I feel like he’s so overtired now and I have no idea what to do! I don’t feel like I should go back to two naps since he made it very obvious he was done with that. But I’m hating his current schedule and don’t know how to fix it?
Hi Katie,
I think it’s just a matter of time. Keep nap time where it is, In time it will lengthen, and I would try to make sure his bedtime is never before 7 pm (yes, even if he’s tired). It might take a few weeks, but I think things will get better in within the next few weeks.
Hi Natalie,
My daughter will be 13 months in a week. After reading your blog on 2 to 1 nap transition, Ive realized I switched her too soon. Now after almost a month of back and forth from 1 to 2 naps intermittently. I decided to give it a try and do consistently 1 nap for a Week. It is going horribly and she is accumulating sleep debts. She wakes up around 7:30 am, nap around noon (I have tried 4.5h – 5h and 5.5h after wake ), naps are short between 40 min to 1h unless I pull back to her normal 2 naps schedule which is around 10 am then she would sleep 1.5h to 2h. And bedtime is at 7 pm. The problem is she wakes up at night anywhere between 2 am and 5 am crying for 1.5 h to 2h before falling asleep again. She is sleep trained. We practice extinction unless her cries become hysterical and I feel she needs something. Her daily sleep after a week of this now is around 10-11h total (day sleep + night sleep!! ) Which is clearly not enough. She wakes up in am and after naps cranky. Should i just go back to 2 naps? I have try the last 2 days to add a catnap but she has been refusing. I really dont know what to do !
Hi Leah,
I’d go back to two naps, yes, and stick with it until she meets the guidelines for transitioning to one nap.
It may take her several days to get back on track and accept two naps.
Natalie
Hi Natalie,
Your article has great info! I don’t know what to do with my 14 month old. He was taking 2 naps up to 2 weeks ago. 1st nap was an hour and 2nd nap was 30 mins. He started to fight his 1st nap so I thought maybe he’s ready for 1 nap. With 1 nap, he falls asleep quickly but only sleeps 30 mins to 1 hour. Surprisingly he isn’t cranky or fussy with such a short nap. He goes to bed around 7-7:30p and wakes up 6:30-7a.
Should I try and go back to 2 naps or will the 1 nap slowly extend?
Hi Michelle,
I suspect over the next 4 weeks the nap will extend.
Hi Natalie,
My son fell into the 2-1 category about 1 month ago, but he has yet to be able to consolidate his sleep beyond 1 hour 5 minutes for that nap. He is sleeping 6A to roughly 6A (sometimes up at 5:45) but totally well-rested. He has been sleep trained from the get-go and receives no assistance from us to fall asleep or back to sleep, but he has somehow always been short on the nap side. He rarely napped over 2 hours ever with his 2 naps (they totaled 2 hours), and when he began to transition, that morning nap went from 1 hour to 2 hours with nothing in the afternoon. Now, after moving him to 11 gradually, he won’t sleep past that 1 hour 5 minute mark and wakes in such a fury. He is sensitive to night waking, so I have him down at 6 per my previous sleep trainer’s advice, and he typically wakes for only a minute or so if at all with that adjustment. My concern remains that his night sleep is high and his day sleep is low (he has always average 13.5 hours total), and the cycle continues. Any thoughts on this? Should I change any of what I’m doing? Leaving him to cry to fall back asleep in his crib doesn’t work, as he has created a negative association with it and just about goes bonkers when it’s nap time, though he falls asleep within a few minutes by 11 every time. He is an otherwise very active, healthy little man. Although now? Overtired and fussy.
Hi Lindsay,
I would gradually move bedtime later 3-5 minutes every 3-5 days until he’s at 7 pm, but in order to encourage a longer nap you’d still have to make sure he was up around 6 each day (to help his body transfer night sleep to day sleep).
Hi there. Just want to say thanks for offering such great sleeping advice for our little ones!
My little girl will be 15 months on 12/1. She was been sleep trained as an infant and falls asleep on her own for bedtime and naps. She still takes 2 naps but I’m wondering is she is ready to transition to 1 nap? She goes to bed at 7:30pm and wakes up at 6:30am. She naps at 10am for usually an hour. Then we put her down again at 2:30 for her second nap.
For the past couple of weeks she remains awake for about hour before she finally falls asleep. Would you categorize this as ‘fighting’ her nap? She isn’t upset or fussy (not crying) she just wriggles around and plays w her lovie. And her naps usually end up being short about half an hour (sometimes she will nap for a full hour).
Not sure what to make if this? What are your thoughts on this? Should I start the transition or is it not time yet??
Thanks!!
Hi Nancy! You’re so welcome. Once baby does not fall asleep for one of their two naps by the 60 minute mark and they do this for 14 days consecutively, then go to one nap.
Hello! So my son started to show signs of dropping his first nap right around 1 year so I would lay him down after lunch around 1230pm, sleep until 230/3 and keep him up until bedtime. Recently, he has been struggling to stay awake until 1230 and is no longer sleeping through the night. He will be 14 months on Christmas. I fear I dropped to one nap too soon but I dont want to allow him a second nap in fear or regressing. Should I allow him to nap quickly in the morning or how should I handle this?
Hi Michaela,
Since you’ve already made the change, I would simply stick with it.. With time his nap should lengthen out.
We’ve been following you since my son was born and we tell everyone about you! You’ve made transitioning to the crib so smooth and we cannot thank you enough! My son is 13.5 months old now and I think he’s ready for a second nap. Usually he will nap 9am-10:30-11 and his second nap (typically 2:30-4:30). And he sleeps at night 6:00pm-6:00-7am. The past week he’s been fighting his first nap and when he gets home from my mother in laws he will nap from 2:30 until about 3:30 which is his only nap of the day. He goes to the sitters house 2-3 times a week so he’s used to what we do at home then he’s thrown off there because he doesn’t have his crib there so if he does nap, he does on the sofa. So typically he won’t nap until he gets home at around 2:30 anyway when he’s there. But now he won’t take his first nap at home and his second nap is only barley an hour! Which is definitely hard for all of us. I have no doubt I think he’s ready for one nap, but my question is I don’t know how to go about that for when he’s at the sitters. I get done with work at 2 a few days a week so typically he will just nap when we get home then. I’d hate for him to fall asleep at the babysitters and then I’d have to wake him when I get there. He will definitely fall asleep on the way home and I bring him up to his crib and sleeps there when we are home. But they’ve only been an hour nap. Any advice?!
HI Laurel! I’d get the sitter a crib and have her put him in a bedroom to mimic the home environment. If he skips one of his two naps for two straight weeks, go to just one nap.
Hi Natalie,
I’m hoping you can help. My son is 21 months. He’s been on two naps which he takes well when he is with my mother in law. However, at home with me he refuses to nap. From
The moment he was born I’ve had to hold him for every nap. If he does go down it’s for about 1/2 hr at most. I let him cry in his crib for the rest of the hour. I’ve made the decision to move him to 1 nap. Based on his age and that he doesn’t always take his naps anyways. He seems to nap fine for everyone but me. His room is black out with white nose. I put him down around 11::30 (since his other nap was around 10:30-10;45) and he just cries and cries. He refuses to nap when it’s just me and him at home. I do CIO as the other methods just make him more angry. I’m expecting another and hearing him cry all so long when I put him down is breaking me. He has also started waking up earlier. We try putting him down earlier (but he refuses to go) I know he is tired because if I go get him (from naps and morning) he tries to fall alseep on me. I have been doing this nap training for about 2 months no and I have gotten nowhere. He nighttime sleep is still pretty good though. He used to sleep for about 12-13 hrs straight. It now will only do 10-11. Hrs. (I know it’s because he’s not getting his naps). Please help me.
Hi Jackie,
This sounds rough :/ I’m sorry this is happening. I’d love to help, but I think I need to dive a bit deeper in order to be able to do so. If you ever join the BST+Support program I’d love to guide you through this process.
https://www.babysleeptrainer.com/purchase/
Natalie
Hi Natalie
My little one is going to be starting nursery when she turns 1 and they only do 1 nap a day. (11.30am-2pm).
Would you recommend transitioning before she starts or will that cause her to be overtired?
Thanks
Rahee
Hi Rahee,
This blog post may help;
https://www.babysleeptrainer.com/daycare-and-sleep-training/
Hello. Thank you for the useful information, My little girl who is almost 17 months old still has 2 naps. I feel she may not ready to move to 1. I was worried about her age (17months) that it was pressure for me to just drop the morning nap. But can I get some advice from you?
She wakes around 6.30am (on an occasion 7am). She goes down for first morning nap at 10.30am and normally wakes 30-40 minutes afterwards. Then for 2nd nap she goes down at about 2.30pm and sleeps for around 1 hour or 1 hour 15mins on occasion. Bedtime is 7.30pm.
She does not seem to fight any of the naps. Usually asleep 10-15 minutes after I put her in her cot. Should I keep going with that? Or what can I do when she starts refusing the afternoon nap as she only sleeps for 40 minutes maximum for morning nap. I can obviously try and push her over time to going to bed later in the day until we get to around 12 oclock. But what if she only sleeps for the 40 minutes? That is a long time then to wait until a possible early bedtime of around 6.30pm-7pm.
Hope this makes sense.
Hi Nicola,
Yes, keep doing what you’re doing and stick with two naps. Once she skips nap two for two weeks, switch to one nap. Even if she’s not “sleeping” during that second nap, it will still be restful for her and will help her “make it” til bedtime.
Hi Natalie,
My son is 12 months (11 adjusted but has always seemed to have sleep needs based on his actual age) started refusing some naps, at home and at daycare. Daycare they put him on one nap (I think mostly out of convenience because the other toddlers are on one nap).
Previously he was taking two 1-hr-ish naps, around 2 hrs total, and 10-11 hrs overnight, but often would wake early.
Now, he sleeps 3 hours-ish for his nap and 11+ hours overnight, so more sleep overall. However, the last hour before bedtime he is pretty wrecked.
I’m realizing we probably could have pushed to keep him on 2 naps longer.
Should I try and get daycare to put him back on two naps? Should I just try two naps at home? Is this one of those, “it’s not really a problem” and his crankiness before bed will get better?
Thank you
Hi Lindsay,
No, I’d for sure keep him on just one nap. He sounds like he’s doing well over all, except for that last hour before bedtime. That will improve as he grows older. As long as the crankiness is manageable, I wouldn’t worry.
Natalie
Hi Natalie!
My daughter is 15 months 4 weeks, about to be 16 months on April 3rd. She woke up typically from 7am, was on two naps (totaling 2.5 hours), and typically went to bed around 9 pm. We had tried putting her to bed earlier and it only caused her to wake up earlier in the morning (her schedule was consistent like this for a long time and it seemed to work for her). This past month, she had started refusing her afternoon nap. She has about 3 and half hours in between her naps and will not go to sleep any earlier if you put her down earlier. We can’t push the awake time back further since she is already going to bed so late. When daylight savings happened, it seemed like she started waking earlier (6 am-6:30) and hasn’t gone back to sleeping until 7 am. Basically what started happening was she slept well for the morning nap, put her down for the afternoon and left her in there for an hour and she refused to sleep. Then there were days she only slept 35 minutes the morning nap and still refused the second nap. Now we tried moving to one nap (put her down by 10.:50), and she sleeps for about 1 hour and 45 minutes (no longer than that). She goes to bed by 8/8:30, and now wakes up at 5 -5:30 am. This is the earliest she has woken up since she was very small. Was she not ready to drop the nap? Should we go back to trying to get her to nap a second time? Thank you!
Hi Tara,
I’d just just push that daily nap 3-5 minutes later every 2-3 days until it’s starting late enough that you feel you can keep her up until closer to her original bedtime of 9:00 pm. It also takes several weeks until naps lengthen when you go to just one nap. Hang in there – I think things will improve soon!!
Hi Natalie
So we just decided to go to 1 nap our son is 15.5 months. He’s sleep trained and sleeps through the night 730-7. The last 3-4 weeks it has been back and forth for his second nap. His first nap is 10/1030 and sleeps 1-145 hours. The second nap starts at 3-415 this is the nap that has been inconsistent making us think he ready for just one nap. Hoping the that we aren’t starting too soon he does seem really out of it in the evening going such a long stretch. Is it too soon and if not will the loopiness go any after he adjusts?
Thank you
Monisha
Hi Monisha!!
I think you can just start pushing that first nap later 5-10 mins each day, so that the gap from the end of that nap and bedtime is shorter.
Hang in there!!
Hello!! I have twins boys who are almost 19 months old. Sleep in the same room. They’re chronically up early, 530-6 ish. We decided to go for the one nap transition recently due to various reasons and I can’t find any information on how you know it’s not working and I should bail?! They last OK till 1130 but they’re clearly very tired. Nap is 1-1.5 hours and that’s it! Cranky at night and up the same time as always. Is this a part of the transition or could they be not ready? It’s also clear one of them could sleep longer but the other wakes him. Should I separate them just for the transition? Thank you!
Hi Kelley,
Due to how old they are, there’s no real going back. What you’re describing is super normal for just switching to one nap. Keep pushing start time for nap incrementally later each day and with time it’ll get longer. I’d also consider separating them for naps, with the “easier” twin in a Pack n Play in the master/spare bedroom, and the other in the nursery. Make sure both rooms have white noise, are dark, etc.
Hello Natalie, your blog is very detailed and very informative. I’ll sure to refer it going forward.
Currently my 19 month is on a 1 nap schedule. She does a 5.5-6 hours before bedtime which is usually earliest 6:30 or latest 7:15 pm. She wakes up between 6:15-7 am.
However before nap I’m unable to stretch her awake time more than 4.5 hours. So her nap starts from 11 am. If I try to push her wake window further she wakes up in 40 mins and crying. Though I get her out of her bed after 2 hours. On such days I put her to bed earlier and she sleeps through to her regular morning wake-up time.
Currently she is out within 5 mins of me putting her down for her nap. I was wondering if I should continue with these wake windows till she starts resisting to nap at this hour. Will that be a problem? Since we are at home due to lockdown I don’t mind her current 11am nap schedule. If not, how to push the nap later and ensure she’s sleeping long enough to make it to bedtime without problem.
Thanks,
Sarah
Hi Sarah,
It’s only a problem if it’s a problem for you 🙂 If it works for you, then don’t change anything.
My son (14 mo) skips morning nap at the sitters during the week, and takes 1 nap at her house fine. But he tends to need that first nap on weekends at home (crying/fussy around his regular 1st nap time around 9:30-10). Sleeps about 2 hours. Then naps again at 1:30-2 for another 1.5 hours. Not sure what to do here. Is he really ready to drop the second nap? When he naps for her once/day it’s from 12:45-3:45. Thanks for your guidance!! Have loved your book and programs! Thanks to you he’s a solid night sleeper!!
Just keep two naps on the weekends and let him do just one nap there. What’s happening with your little guy is what’s described in this blog post:
https://www.babysleeptrainer.com/daycare-and-sleep-training/
HI Natalie,
We are 16.5 months and started the 2-1 transition last week because we kept missing Nap 2 and he was awake from 12ish (after we woke him from his first nap in order to keep second nap) until 7 bedtime which is too long. The first week we put him down around 1130-12 and he was sleeping 2-3 hours each day, even having to wake him from that nap some days. This week we had done the same and he is now waking up at the one or 1.5 hour mark and is shooting up from laying down sleeping and is mad and yelling for us, This am, he woke around 515 and was crying and standing up in crib. We left him and he fell back asleep (which we normally do until 7am). He usually wakes around 6 and intermittently goes back to sleep til 7ish when we get him but today he was mad and crying. Do we just stick with it now or go back to 2 Naps? If keep one nap, do we push the nap til 12-1230 and if he takes a short nap do bedtime at 630-7 until he is ready for later? THANK YOU! 🙂
Hi Lauren,
I’d say stick with it. As long as you’re confident he’s totally healthy and safe, this is probably just him adjusting to being on one nap. Yes, you can gradually move it to 12/12:30 and regardless of length of nap or when it starts, keep bedtime no earlier than 7:00 pm.
Natalie
I don’t know what to do. His naps are getting shorter and now he is waking multiple times a night crying and standing in the crib. He wakes from all naps mad and crying. Do I give in and try for two naps temporarily to reset him back? This kid who never sits still was almost falling asleep on Dad yesterday around 1030am but we stuck it out and he took a 50 min nap and woke up mad, Short naps are one thing, but when it messes with night sleep I am now worried that he will just be chronically tired. He was a great sleeper before this, and I am wondering if he just wasn’t ready to fully switch. Do I just continue on? Help!
Hi Lauren,
I’d love to be able to help. I think I need to know more about what’s going on and discuss things with you directly. Please check out the BST+Support online course and decide if you’d like to join so I can work through whatever is going on <3 https://www.babysleeptrainer.com/purchase/
Hi Natalie!
My 11-month-old is still happily on two naps, but I’m thinking ahead… 🙂 We’ve already been capping his morning nap at 90 minutes (he started napping for two hours and then fighting the second nap) and are probably going to start capping it and the second nap a bit more because we’ve been getting some early wakings (and he doesn’t seem to tolerate our moving his bedtime later than 7 PM).
So my question is, given that we already need to cap naps, how do we know when to drop a nap vs. limit naps further? Do we wait until he still refuses the second nap despite limiting the first nap to an hour (say)?
Thanks!
Hi Susanne,
Regardless of capping naps, you keep two naps until baby skips one of her two naps for two straight weeks.
Hello Natalie! I love your site and your recommendations, they seem so reasonable! I have 11 months old twins currently on 2 naps that just got better duration wise. They will be going to daycare at 13 months, where they need to be on 1 nap only, the daycare can’t offer 2 naps unfortunately…they are not ready to transition to 1 nap yet, and I don’t really know how to tackle this with the twins…what will happen if we transition artificially and how long do you think babies in this situations need to adapt?
Hi Jules,
This link will explain how to navigate daycare.
https://www.babysleeptrainer.com/daycare-and-sleep-training/
So, it sounds like I may have moved my daughter to one nap prematurely? She is 13 months old. She was not tired enough for her first nap and it was difficult for her to fall asleep unless I did a good job of tiring her out. Or if she fell asleep for her first nap she would only sleep for half of her second nap. During this time period (about 3 weeks) it became almost impossible to get her to fall asleep at night. (She has been sleeping 7pm-7am since she was about 5 months old. So for weeks, this continued. She has no problem staying up until 11am or 11:15. The first day, she took a 3h nap and we had to wake her up. Day 2, and 3 she only took a 2h nap. I remember a similar thing happening when we changed from 3 to 2 naps. Does it sound like she was actually ready to drop a nap?
Hi Rae,
It’s hard to say if she was “ready” or not, but as you’ve already made the choice to go to one nap, I’d stick with it.
Hi Natalie,
I really found this very helpful! Our twins are now 12.5 months old and for them past month or so, I had to push bedtime later and later, as they wouldn‘t fall asleep for their naps, so bedtime got pushed from 7 pm normally to sometimes even 21 pm. They haven‘t skipped the 2nd nap, it#s just hat they take forever to fall asleep. I would think they are ready to transition to 1 nap, what do you think?
Thanks!!!
Hi!
I would work on limiting each nap to no more than an hour and make sure sure they know how to go down completely awake and fall asleep on their own for naps and bedtime with no help. That may help them get to sleep faster at bedtime.
my daughter Ines is 19 months, showing no signs of transition. she gets up at 9am, clockwork naps at 10am (1 hour) and 2.30pm (1.5 hours) for most days.
should we keep her naps as they are until she start showing the signs of skipping one of her naps?
Keep her on 2 naps! Sounds like it’s working well for her.
Hi Natalie,
How do you suggest we deal with the 2 weeks of nap-skipping? My son is 14 months old and for the last several days has been boycotting his second nap. He normally sleeps 7 PM-6 AM and lately has been napping from 9:45-11:45 and 3:30-4:00 (with the long first nap he won’t fall asleep any earlier or sleep any longer than 30 minutes), but when he skips that second nap he’s exhausted by 6 PM. Do you recommend an earlier bedtime? Thanks!
Hi Lily,
I’d just keep him up as close as possible to his scheduled. Just do your best.
Thanks Natalie!
Follow-up question: the pattern of extra-long first nap and skipped second nap only seems to be happening at daycare. At home his nap lengths are unpredictable (which is unusual because usually his naps are like clockwork) but he’s consistently taking two shorter naps (around 1-1.25 hours). But we’ve gone two weeks with no second nap at daycare. Does it make sense to transition him just at daycare and try to keep two naps at home? Or transition at daycare and be flexible at home? The 2-nap schedule clearly doesn’t match his sleep pattern at daycare, but I don’t know if it will mess him up to only transition partway.
Hi Lily,
One nap at daycare and two naps at home is just fine.
Hi Natalie, my son just turned 17 months today. Have been transitioning him to one nap for a couple of weeks now. He would normally wake up normally half 7 sometimes a bit earlier or later. His morning nap was around 11ish and he’d often sleep until half 1, and his second nap was getting later and later. And he’ also did start fighting the second nap as well. His normal bedtime was 8pm but he’d started to take a while to fall asleep in his crib probably because of the late nap ending. Since transition, we moved bedtime to half 7. The main problem recently is early morning waking, he is up at 6 or half 5 and isn’t falling back to sleep. Hasn’t really woken before 7 since he was a lot younger. Or if he does he settles himself back to sleep. Also often see on the monitor that he wakes and goes back to sleep during the night, sometimes being awake for a while. He is usually very good at settling himself back to sleep. With early morning wakes, his naps are being pushed earlier and earlier! I’m aiming for 4 and a half hrs wake before nap and once that seems to be ok, I’ll stretch him out for longer. He seems to sleep for 2-3 hrs normally for the one nap. But then has the long afternoon stretch, I’m always unsure about whether to put him down for a catnap or not, he doesn’t normally get tooo tired until about 5/half 5 which is too late. But then by half 6 or so he’s super tired or crying even. So for last few days, have been putting him down at about quarter to 7 or so and he’s fallen asleep by 7. I read that early morning wakes will resolve if you put them to bed earlier. But how early is too early?? Too early will only make the early wakes worse right? I would prefer an early bedtime than offer a catnap, but because this is all coming down to being overtired, I’m not opposed to letting him have a second nap here and there so as not to stretch him too much. But it just seems a bit too early or later to offer it. He is teething as well which might come into the wakings. What would the right bedtime be? Are we doing anything wrong? Feel we’re in a cycle of bing overtired and early waking.
Hello Naila,
I wouldn’t use wake time to determine when to nap him. Keep nap at 11 am (and keep him alert prior to that) and move bedtime back to his original 8 pm bedtime. Hey may be fussy, but stay consistent, and I think his morning wake time will eventually move later again.
You say to way until 13 months of age… but my daughter is 11 months tomorrow and has consistently skipped her second nap for nearly a month now (with me putting off transitioning her because I keep reading that she’s too young, that it’s just a sleep regression, etc.). When I try to force two naps she naps late, goes to bed late, and wakes up early (5am or sooner). When I try shorter naps she’s just cranky because she doesn’t want to be woken up. Yesterday we did one nap and she only slept 1.5 hours during it (I was hoping she’d sleep 2-2.5, but she’s used to me getting her up after 1.5 hours so it’s going to take some time…), but she made it until almost bedtime before getting tired (she had woken up at 6am so I wasn’t really surprised). She was kind of dazed-looking around the time for her second nap though so we took her for a walk (she sometimes passes out during walks when she’s extremely overtired), but she didn’t fall asleep again. So… despite only being 11 months… do I keep letting her take only one nap?
Hi Rylin,
Given the info you’ve shared with me, if she’s skipped one of her two naps each day for 14 straight days, yes you can transition to one nap.
Hi Natalie, my 15th mth old is going on a week of fighting the morning or afternoon nap. Do I need to wait the 2 weeks or could I just transition now?
Hi Chelle,
I would wait for baby to stay awake through one of their two naps for two straight weeks before transitioning to just one nap.
Hi! My 14-month-old son has been sleeping trained since 3 months (early, I know! whoops). And basically has slept through the night ever since, apart from a night here and there. I bought your book and used your method to nap train him this summer and now he naps no problem. He protested his morning nap for a week and then his afternoon nap the week later. Since then, we have transitioned him to one nap. It has been a month and his nap is still on;y an hour/hour 15 max. Does it sometimes take longer than a month to continue lengthening out… Also, he cries waking up from every nap.. is that normal? Thank you!
Hello Sarah,
It may just be that his body only needs 60-90 minutes of daytime sleep, and that’s totally ok. Yes, crying upon waking for naps is normal, and also yes, it’s possible (likely even) that his nap length will extend with time.
Hi Natalie,
a simple question – what does skipping naps mean? e.g. my baby 11 months (sleep-trained and great) is now screaming bloody murder for its naps for 2 weeks now (he has two naps) but eventually after 10 minutes, he falls asleep for about 60 minutes. Should I wait for this phase to simply pass or is he ready to try to transition to one nap
?
Hi Mina,
Skipping naps mean you put baby down for a nap, leave them alone as long as they’re safe, and they’re not asleep within 60 mins.
This blog post may help you:
https://www.babysleeptrainer.com/10-12-month-sleep-regression-and-why-its-not-time-to-transition-to-1-nap
Natalie
BST graduate here and a wonderful sleeper (no night wakings since BST at 4 months!)!! Newly 15-month-old started showing signs of wanting to go to 1 nap 2 months ago. We followed instructions in this post but she never stopped doing her second nap for more than a few days in a row. And now she’s doing a long late nap in the day! She was fighting her second nap (playing in her crib, sucking her thumb, etc.) which pushed her to falling asleep around 3:30, then 4, and now 4:30! (I know, I shouldn’t do naps after 4pm!) Her previously short afternoon naps have become long 2 hours naps and we have to wake her at 6:30p! We then put her down at 8:30p and she sleeps until 6:45am. So now at just turning 15 months old, her first nap is 11-12:30, second is 4:30-6:30, and bed is 8:30-6:45 with zero night waking nor crying falling asleep.
We don’t want to rock the boat because she’s happy, getting her zzzs, I actually like the schedule, and she’s sleeping through the night (just a bit groggy from 6:30-8:30pm), but now I simply don’t know what to do going forward. Do I push her into a single nap by not putting her down in the afternoon? Do I push back her morning nap and not offer a second? Do I let her keep up this schedule until she changes it? Is an 8:30 bedtime re-wiring her sleep brain for good? What happens when the time changes in a month?
Thanks!
to clarify, she just turned 15 months recently. She showed signs of wanting to drop a nap a couple of months earlier (around 13 months) but have been sticking to two naps since.
Hi Natalie!
I am so thankful for your blog and this post. I have a 13 month old who typically skips his second nap(it’s been har d to track consistently since we’ve been traveling/shots/teething. He has really long wake times so he doesn’t go down until 11amish but only sleeps about 1hr and 15 minutes. He is suuuuper grumpy after waking up. The problem with the second nap is he wouldn’t be tired maybe until after 5pm and by that point it’s just too late. Does this sound like a good time to start transitioning him to one nap? I’m trying not to push him too early but I can’t really have him going to bed at 10pm. I’ve been putting him down at 4pm for “rest” which is really just crying.Thank you in advance!
Hi Natalie, I have 15 months old who is transitioning to 1 nap. Its been one week we’re doing this. My questions is how if my child nap only for 30 or 45 minutes, should I offer second nap to avoid overtired? Or should I move bed time earlier? Really appreciate your reply. Thank you.
Hi Natalie,
This blog has been so helpful! My little one is 19 mo and been on one nap for about one month. Naps use to be a bit longer but lately have been about 1-1.5 hrs. She has been waking very early as well (5:00am-5:45am). She naps around 12 usually. Bed usually by 6:00-6:30 in order to not keep her up too long. I would love to get her wake time back to a more reasonable hours. Tips? Thanks in advance!
Courtney
Hello! Baby is 15 months old, wakes up at around 8.30 am, we have days when he wakes up at 9-9.30. The problem is that he naps once at 11.30 to 12.30(13.00) and he wants to nap a second time at 16.00-16.30. The second nap is often around 2 hours and his last wake window is exactly 4 hours because that’s his maximum which leads to a bedtime at around 22.30.
We were thinking that probably a schedule that looks like this will help:
8.30 -wake up
13.00-14.30 – nap
20.00(20.30) -bedtime
Do you have any suggestions as how we should transition to 1 nap in this case?