Awkward Nap Stage--1 Year Old

D.-

Hi! My son only naps once a day and it is from @10:30-12:30 also. When he first gave up the second nap we had issues around 5ish too. After a couple weeks he adjusted and is fine. If he is happy with the naptime and you are too you shouldn't need to make it later. Good luck as all kids are different!

Try pushing the morning nap back by 10 or 15 min every couple of days until you reach the desired time. So instead of putting him down at 930, try 940 or 945 for a couple of days, then try another 10 or 15 min. This is how I had to get my son to nap in the afternoon instead of the morning. Both of mine (3.5 & 2) will now sleep from about 1 or 130 until 3 (my 2yo will sometimes go earlier). Normal bed time for them is between 730 and 8. My 3.5yo is almost ready to give up the nap altogether...I'm gonna miss those breaks!

The sleep change is your son is going through is normal and right on target. We go though this all of the time at my daycare. What we do is move the morning nap back by a half hour each day until we get till twelve o'clock. This is a process so it may take a few weeks for him to adjust. Tell your sitter to maybe take him outside to the park to keep him busy so you can start moving the nap back each day. He may be cranky for a few weeks while he adjusts but once he does he should do a 12-2 or 3 o'clock nap for you. When my kids were little until they transitioned I moved their dinner and bath time up to get through that cranky 5 o'clock time. He can also go in by 7 if he is really tired to prevent him from becoming overtired. It takes a little creativity to help them though this transition but it's all part of the process. Good luck!!

At this age, one nap a day should be fine and it would be so much easier for you to do it after lunch. For a few days try to have interesting activities (new toy, movie, puzzle etc) for him during his "sleep" time and keep him up. give him earlier lunch (around 11ish) and nap him after. Even if he is cranky for a few days he will probably adjust quickly! Good luck!

How long is his first a.m. nap? If he can't seem to stay awake, maybe just let him nap for a quick 30 minutes, then wake him up, then hopefully he'll still take another afternoon nap. When my son went through this stage, I remember just keeping him really busy every morning until about noon, then putting him down.
Lynsey

D., every child is different. Your friends saying this and that, they shouldn't because they are either going along with their expereince or what they heard not taking in consideration that every child is different and unique. My oldest naps still and he's 4. My second one is less likely taking naps, he's 3 and my youngest 19 months old may take two or sometimes just one nap a day. I notice that if I have my second son out playing in the park or keep very, very active he will take a nap. Some children need naps and other children don't. Those that don't may need to be out being active to take naps. Like with adults...some ned to rest and nap during the day and others don't. I like naps because I am soooo tired from being up and going with three boys. Other women have that many or more and don't nap and they are okay with that. You do what you know is best for your child. If you notice that he is cranky by 5pm because he didn't have a nap, have him do alot of physical activity. If he's walking have him run with you and alot of physical activity, go out walking or whatever. If he's crawling, him crawl and get to you here and there. Have him trying pulling himself up holding on things if he hasn't already th en you can encourage by showing him, literally, put his hands on the end table and push him up on his backend. Whatevery he's capable of doing, have him be active. Go to the park around the time you think he should nap and have him run around or however he gets around. Hope I have helped somewhat. God bless you and your child!! I'll pray for Wisdom from Jesus for you if you ask Him.

Every child is different. My daughter has never had a scheduled nap time. She gets up and goes to bed at the same time. But we do different things each day and some tire her out earlier and sometimes later.
She follows her own rhythm of needs and I believe that she is healthier for it, as she is aware of herself and body. Yes, most nights she gets a bit grumpy an hour or so before bed, that is normal.
She used to take many 30 minute naps when she was very young and has started taking one 2 hour nap at about 1.5 years old. She is 2 now. She tells me when she is tired and asks to take a nap.
Let the little one decide what he needs. That's my humble opinion.

Good luck,
P.

I'm not sure you need more advice...every kid is so different (mine were totally different from each other). We're transitioning our 14 month old to 1 nap now. We put her down at 11 and she sleeps 2-3 hours. But it's not enough, so we have to put her to bed at 6pm to make up for it. The first week was rough! But she's getting better already. My son was not ready for 1 nap until he was 18 months. To keep him up during that fussy morning nap time, we planned an activity out of the house. But beware, if we push our daughter through her fussy morning nap time, she will be extremely resistant to napping at all because she gets too overtired. So we go with her signals (if she needs her nap at 10, that's what she gets - it's better than not napping at all). Good luck!

Hi D.,

I think you might just need to let it happen naturally--sorry I know that is probably not what you wanted to hear. My daughter used to have a VERY similar schedule, until she hit 2 and now she naps from about 1 to 3. It did help that this was the scheduled nap time at the babysitters. Maybe you should talk to the babysitter about pushing things back becasue if he is doing it all week then it will be natural on the weekend. you might just have to put up with the crankiness until he gets used to it. Also-if you are skipping the 2nd nap-try putting him to bed earlier--maybe at 7. My daughter goes to bed at 7 and usually plays in her bed for a little while until she falls asleep--but at least if she is cranky-she is not taking it out on her father and me :) Good luck! And cherrish the time that he plays alone in his room--that is so great and shows that he is secure with himself!!!

Unless there's a reason you need him to stay awake, until 11 or 12, you shouldn't mess with his inner clock. Continue to let him take a nap at 9:30, since he seems to need that one. As for the 2nd nap, he clearly needs one if he is getting tired at 5pm, but 2pm may be too early for him now. So try putting him down at 3pm, or or even 4pm if that doesn't work. He might only nap about 30 minutes then, but that will be enough to get him through to bedtime.

It sounds like your son is about ready to give up one of his naps. My son started the same thing around 12 months--but don't be fooled, it took nearly three months to get the new routine to stick. And most of my friends reported the same thing between 10-15 months.
There is no hard and fast rule as to how things should happen. My 21 month old son generally sleeps from 12-2 or 1-3 now, but I have a friend whose daughter is the same age and she sleeps from 12-1 and others that are on a completely different time schedule.
If you want to try to keep him up a couple days a week until 11, take him out, to the playground whatever will stimulate him to keep him awake. That would work for my son about 3 days a week and then the other days he would still take 2 naps. Let him call the shots. I also started giving him lunch early, at 11 or 11:30 so that he could sleep on a full tummy and not wake up hungry only a few minutes later. We also have a full time nanny, so we just got daily reports and lived each day different, and eventually we found a schedule that was right for him.
Don't worry, don't have exectations of what will happen when, you guys will be just fine.
Good Luck!

Hi there! I am at that stage w/ my 11 1/2 mo. old. They do need several weeks to adjust to that 1 afternoon nap. You can push back the time for his nap or make sure you wake him up after say, 1 hour and then put him in again later in the day. Try and do something low-key w/ him during that normal nap time. Eventually he will get into a better pattern and will be less-cranky at dinner time. Good luck...remember, your little one WILL figure out what he needs eventually.

Hi D.
I think he is right on time to stop his second nap.
He will probably only nap once a day now.
His times will vary over the next few months also.
I wouldn't try to change his schedule around at all.
He will be a little cranky for the next week or two around 5, but he will get used to it, and he will adjust fine. Why not just put him to bed about 7pm? Perhaps the extra half hour at night will help him be more rested.

If you usually do 9:30 for the first nap then try 10:00 for a couple of days and then push back another 15-30 min every couple of days till you are closer to 12:00. I remember this stage and it was tough, but it will work out. Since you are working with a sitter, keep it simple and let them know that if it's not working than just to go with what does (but give you details, so you know what to expect later in the day).
No matter what I bet he'll be able to make the adjustment little by little on his own. It was closer to 15 months before my daughter was only taking 1 nap. 12-3/3:30. Good luck!

It is the awkward nap stage. It will work itself out.
A couple of months from now he will eat lunch early
around 11:00-11:30 and go down for a good two hour nap.
Just have to roll with it right now. Good luck.

Try pushing it 30 minutes at a time. Do 10:30 for a couple of days then 11, 11:30 etc. But if you have to choose between morning or afternoon you must choose afternoon for his nap times.

Hello,
I had the almost the same thing happening from my 11 month old son. What I found out that by waking him from his first nap after about an hour that preserved his afternoon nap and his bedtime. So keep his morning nap at the normal time,but don't let him sleep until 11am, that is exactly what my son did and his afternoon nap was a joke and he was tired by 5pm.I read it in a book and thought it would be crazy to wake him from his nap, but it worked like a charm. I put him down for his afternoon nap at around 12:30-1pm and he sleeps for 2 to 2 1/2 hours and goes to bed at 6:00pm. Plus he seems to be much happier. Best of luck!

Hi D.,
At some time past a year, babies do go to one nap a day, your son is right on target. Usually it's the morning nap that is eliminated, and they start to eat an early lunch and go in for their nap. You may need to play around with times to see what works best for him, and your daycare should be open to that. At this age, they need to sleep when they're tired, it's different when they're 3 years old and there's a standard "rest hour." I would suggest on days that he is with you, be out somewhere doing an activity (not pushing him around in his stroller or riding in the car) at the time that he normally gets sleepy, to try to push the start of naptime back. You may find that things adjust themselves, that if he naps earlier in the day, he may be ready to go to bed earlier or that he sleeps later in the morning and then is able to cope with the later naptime. And sometimes there is just an awkward stage, where they are done with two naps, but yet not quite ready for one. Your daycare may be able to suggest some good transitioning tips.
Good luck!

D.,
You cannot make a child sleep if he doesn't want to, obviously he doesn't need the second nap so early so let him be. Trust me I know how hard it is to have him cranky at dinner time but the way I see it as long as he is sleeping through the night I would deal with an hour or two of cranky time. Your son is hitting the stage where some toddlers don't require the second nap. I have 5 kids, the first and third didn't require a lot of sleep and never took naps, my second took two 3 hour naps a day and went to bed at 7p.m., and my fourth and fifth children took two short naps. My third one was so bad I was lucky if I got 4 hours sleep a night.