My thirteen month old is showing the signs that he is ready for one nap. I am able to keep him up until around noon, but when I lay him down for a nap, he sleeps under 2 hours. He is not ready to be up yet, because he is very tired and crabby. When I lay him back down to continue his nap, he screams and refuses to sleep. How do I make this transition easier for both of us?
I think at 13mos most babies still do need 2. On occasions my daughter when 13mos would get one she was still too tired and crabby. She just moved to 2 naps and is 16mos now. On occasion she still takes 2 naps though. I don't think the transition should be hard just wait till he is ready.
Both of my kids gave up their afternoon naps instead of the morning one. I would put them down at the normal morning time, in our case at 10:30 and then let them wake up on their own. Then they would breeze through the afternoon and be ready to sleep again at bed time. I know most kids give up their morning nap, but not so in my case and it might be the same with your little one.
What I did was just take a couple of weeks and not plan a whole lot. Once I knew for sure how much sleep my kids needed, it was easier to know, for example that an appt could be scheduled after 12:30 since they would be waking up from their nap around then. Just be patient. Your child will let you know what is working and what isn't.
Good luck.
It sounds like he's not ready for one nap yet if the one he takes isn't enough. I didn't transition my kids to one nap until they were 18 months od. I'd keep him at the two naps for another 6 months and then try again for one again and see if he wakes up happier after a few hours. Good luck.
My 14 month old son is going through the same thing. I have 3 older kids and they all went through this stage...not fun until you work it out just right for your little one. The days that I have let him only take one nap have not gone very well...he's just too cranky. What I have been doing instead, is putting my son down for his morning nap (he wakes up at 6 so he goes down for his first nap at 8:30a.m.) and only letting him sleep for about 45 min until I wake him up. That way, he will be tired again for his afternoon nap around 1 and will (hopefully) sleep about 2 hours until 3. I would much rather he take his longer nap in the afternoon. Then bedtime at 7. I think I will wait until he is about 18 months until I take him down to one nap...we'll see. Good luck!
My daughter is in the exact same boat. I have a book...healthy sleep habits happy child, and it says that btw 13-16 mos most (not all) kids transition to one nap and that it can be rough. What I have found works for us, is that most days she does ok with the one aft. nap, but some days she needs two. So just play it by ear. It makes it hard to plan things for you though.
