Dropping a Nap?? - Pittsburgh,PA

I do not remember when my daughter dropped her 2nd nap. But she's never slept well (naps or bedtime). My son is 15 months old and he'll usually take 2 naps at daycare (rarely three) but at home, he'll usually only take one nap on the weekends. He sleeps from about 1030-1130 and that is it!!!! He moves to an older classroom in January (at 17 months) and they only nap from 12-2 so he'll have to give up a nap anyways so I do not mind him doing this. By the way, he gets up around 7am and I put him down at 7pm.

My DS dropped to 1 nap at 10 months. It was too early, he needed that extra sleep, but as you know, there is no forcing them to sleep when they don't want to!

I would move his nap to mid-day, over lunch time, say 11-1 or however long he'll go down... He'll probably need some quiet time in the late afternoon before dinner. You could read books, or let him sit and watch a show he likes...however you want to handle that. Stall in the morning as much as you can with an activity he likes (maybe something that's usually a treat) just to get him adjusted to the new schedule. I'd say any bit that you can push back the morning nap is making progress.

But if he's done with 2 naps, don't drive yourself crazy trying for force it.

It seems like you are putting the two naps closer together, maybe you could move the afternoon nap between 2:30-3:00 and he would be up in time for dinner. Maybe that would help. My 17 month old cut down to 1 nap a day about 1 month ago, but I know she still needs the morning nap, she just will sit in her crib and play, so I will leave her in there for her quiet time for 30 minutes or so, and when she is ready to get up she will let us know. Now that she is taking 1 nap a day the afternoon nap has went from 1-1/2 hours to 2-3 hours normally. She is up between 7 and 8am and is in bed by 7-730 each night.

My son started on one nap a day right around 13 months. He used to take two short naps, now he takes one three hour nap after lunch. In total, he gets more sleep now than he used to. He's much happier this way!
I knew it was time to switch when he resisted his AM nap to the point of just playing in his crib for an hour in the dark! It took a few weeks of going back and forth between the two different nap schedules before he was fully adjusted. I would try your son on one nap a day and see what happens. (My only hesitation is if he's teething. That is another reason my son resists naps. My son is sleepy and cranky if teething is at fault for a skipped nap, not normal and playful. Ibuprofen makes it easier for him to sleep, and usually the nap returns when the teething subsides.)

We started one nap a few weeks after my son tyurnied one. it was a bit rough at first but he acclamated eventually. Hang in there!

My daughter dropped the morning nap and lengthened her afternoon nap when she was about 13 months. It is a period of transition, so you will get cranky kids until they figure it out. She was a champion sleeper though - 9pm to 9am, and 2-6pm naps until she was 3! Now that we have baby brother, she's a mess (no naps, bedtime is now 8 and if we are lucky, she might go to 7, but up to pee at least 2x a night). He's only 7 months, so I am aiming for 2 naps for him, sometimes he needs 3 short ones. I know there's a rule of thumb out there per age range - google it to see. I know 3-4 year olds need at least 11 hours, and 6-12 months need something like 16. Good luck!

My daughter didn't drop her morning nap till she was about 16 mos old and that is because she was about to go back to daycare and the room she was going to be in was 1 nap room (she would have kept up 2) -- I was home on maternity leave. With my daughter, he quit the morning nap at 12 mos...almost to the day. His morning nap would be OK and the afternoon would be like 30 minutes....I decided that was ridiculous and we started a 12:30 pm 1 nap schedule. I would say 12-18 mos is the norm to drop from 2 to 1. He may seem tired and frustrated at first, but it will help in the long run because you will know you have about 1.5-2 hours to get whatever you need done rather than worrying about him waking after 30 minutes!

My girls both dropped to 1 nap right around their first birthdays (and stopped napped totally by their second...grrr).

I would slowly move his am nap back until it's at about 11am. You may find that he'll sleep way longer then. When my girls dropped their 1-hour am nap, they started taking 3 hour pm naps!! (about 12-3) Happy day ;)

12 solid hours at night is fantastic! But he still probably needs an addition 2-4 hours worth of naps. You could always play around and see what works. Good luck!

My second son switched to one nap around that age & it works well. He is now 20 months. Most days I give him a big snack or early lunch, around 10:30. He usually goes down for a nap around 11am & will sleep until 1 or 2pm. When he gets up I give him another big snack. He goes to bed at 8pm & wakes up between 6:30 & 7:30am. For us this results in a less cranky boy.
I try to do something active with him in the morning to makes sure he is tired out. If we are doing something interesting, he can stay up longer & take an afternoon nap. He will NOT nap before 11am anymore.
Good luck

We're going through the same thing with our 15-month-old. Some days she still takes 2 shorter naps, but we have morning activities several days each week and inevitably then she just takes one longer nap right after lunchtime. She also sleeps about 12 hours overnight. I think each child is different in terms of how much sleep they need. My 7-year-old was never much of a sleeper and stopped taking naps entirely at 2 1/2. These days, it doesn't matter what time she goes to bed, she still wakes up at 6:30 ready for her day. I wish I had her energy! The thing is, you can't make your L. guy go to sleep, you can only create an environment that encourages it. We wound up just having "quiet time" with my oldest for a long time, where she would look at books or color or something like that. Anyway, maybe take a look at your daily schedule and see if you can kind of build in some cycles of lots of activity (playing outside or going on an outing) alternating with more "down time". Good luck!

I'm going through the same thing right now. My daughter will be turning 1 in a week and she's decided that a second nap is overrated. But by dinner time she's so cranky. I've found that putting her in your swing in the late afternoon will give her the relaxing time she needs to wind down. That way we make it to her normal bed time which is 7. If he likes the swing give it a try when he's really cranky but won't go down for a nap.

Well what time do you put him to nap????
Oh sorry, you said between 9:30-10:00am....
well that is what my son did at that age...and he always woke in the morning by 7:00am.
He still napped twice a day at that age... sometimes 3 times....

Actually, an 'over-tired" baby/child... has a harder time falling asleep and staying asleep and sleeping fully.
Your baby IS tired...
what is your pre-nap routine????
Are yo u feeding him/nursing him before naps???

12 months old, was/is also a growth-spurt period... and their intake needs increases and frequency of feedings...

Also, where.. are you putting him down for naps? Meaning, are you out on the road or in a stroller for him to nap? Or is this at home... in his crib and that is the routine? My kids for example, would NOT nap anywhere else, besides at home. They were not 'portable' nappers... and would NOT nap anywhere/in a stroller/in a car... no matter how tired they were.

Here is a link for you: (on how much sleep a baby needs):
http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-much-sleep-does-your-chil...