Moving from 2 Naps to 1

He's almost 1, so it's about that time that he consolidates his naptime's from 2 to 1. My 6 year old had a 2 hour naptime after lunch. Then, bedtime around 8:00-8:30pm. He will have 1 nap until he reaches 2 or if your lucky until 3. Both of my boys, for whatever reason, stopped taking naps days after thier 2nd birthday. I never said anything to them about qutting naps after they turn 2-they just stopped. When they were going through a growth spurt, then they would take a cat nap, maybe.
Naps after lunch suited us fine. We ran errands in the morning, played, ate lunch, and then into the bed. I had to make sure I was quiet until he fell asleep (no dishwasher, washer/dryer, vaccum, etc.) It will take a little while for him to get into the routine (maybe a week), but once he does, it will be great.
This is all part of him growing up. After this change, you will have about a year of little to no changes, with nap/sleep times.

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Sounds like he is definitely ready to move down to 1 nap. My son is 13 months old and recently made the transition. Each time we dropped a nap (he used to take 4), we had a few rough days to transition to the new schedule. I notice that he is not really sleeping fewer total hours than with 2 naps--it's just distributed differently. His one nap can last up to three hours, and he also sleeps longer at night now. What I did was to move the time of his nap up 1 hour (start with 30 minutes if he gets too cranky). This should result in a longer nap and an earlier bedtime. Since we transitioned, naptime has moved from 10-10:30 to 11:30-12. This is a little awkward since he sleeps through lunchtime. I give him a snack before naptime, and then he takes a late lunch when he wakes up. Today he had a bit of a challenge to go to sleep, so I am sensing that soon he should be able to have an after-lunch sleep, more like 12:30 or so. I think the key is to make small changes until you reach your goal. I think by 12 months most babies go to one nap. Ideally it should be an afternoon nap.

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A.-
Oh I remember when my daughter moved from two naps to one, I was so sad! I love nap time! It took her awhile to adjust, but in the beginning we did just what you are doing and started putting her to bed a little earlier. So at first her naps started from about 10-12 and bedtime at 7:30. Now that she's almost 2 her naptime starts around 12 or 1 and lasts a couple hours and we still put her to bed around 7:30-8. It does make for a little earlier morning for us, usually around 7. It took us a few weeks to make the adjustment and figure out the right nap time, you'll get it! Just think though, earlier bedtime means more time for you and your husband in the evening and a baby that probably lays down easier because they're tired. Hope this offers a little support.

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I have had two very different experiences. My first went to one nap at 12 months. My second is 18 months and is still taking two naps. If we have an activity, he will power through in the morning, but if not, he usually gets very tired and needs to go down. I want him to be done, but you can't force it if they aren't ready. So far, it's been a pretty natural transition for both boys.

One thought on your recent experience. A 4:00 nap is very late. He may very well have been overtired by then, which all the experts say means he is going to have a very hard time napping. With my 18 month old, I am waking him after 45 minutes to an hour in the morning so he will continue to have a good afternoon nap. Perhaps you should let Milo have a short morning nap and then make sure his afternoon nap is earlier - I'd say no later than two. I wish I could remember the name of the book I read that really helped, but I can't. It talked about naps, transitions, and natural sleep cycles.

Good luck!

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A.,

My boys (twins) moved quickly to one nap a day...

What I do now is try and keep them busy until nap time (now between 12 & 1).

We get lunch or a large snack depending on what they ate and snacked on already. Then we say "It's time to go upstairs for quiet time".

They go to their room and are put in bed. Sometimes I ask if they want a book. I ask if they want their blanket...etc.

Then I say "love you" and close the door down at least half way.

sometimes they play for a while, but mostly they fall a sleep fast. They stay down between 1.5 & 2.5 hours.

Getting them to the point of staying awake until noon was a chore at first since we all were adjusting to a new routine.

Your son, being so young, may have to nap at around 11am. Maybe even 1030. The long stretch between end of nap and bed will hurt for a few days, but it is worth it to get the new routine.

My boys are almost 2yrs., and we have been working at the new routine for a few months. I kept making the nap time later and later every few days or week...depending on how tired they were.

You will see the signs, and go great!!

Good luck,
T.

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Oh yeah, I always hated this part with my daughter when she was younger. I don't think there's any way to make it easy, but you can make it easier by waiting to put him down for his first nap. Try doing it at 11 instead of 10. Over time you could push it up further so that he's sleeping from 12-2. The bummer is that you're going to have it rough at some point in the day. Right now it's the afternoon, when he's tired, but won't sleep. Pushing the morning nap later might mean that he's cranky from 10-11 when he's tired, but you're not letting him sleep. As you know from before though, it works itself out eventually and then you should be in pretty good shape until he hits about 3 years and wants to give up the only nap left! You're little one has a much better schedule than my little guy, who is 18 months and still has no regular nap schedule to speak of. We just kinda go with the flow. Good luck. You're doing all the right stuff--tweaking until you get it right!

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