I have a 15 month old who has been taking 2 naps per day since he was 9 months old. It's been going fine except that his later nap is getting too late in the day (waking up between 7-8 pm). Then he won't go to bed until 11! That is just getting a bit ridiculous. I am thinking of taking him down to 1 nap per day in hopes he will go to bed earlier and sleep through the night as well. When did your kids go down to 1 nap? I know this probably varies heavily with each child. If you controlled when this happened, how did you do it?
My youngest just turned 1 and started his 1 nap per day. It either falls right before or just after lunch time. I let his clock be his guide. And then he goes to bed anywhere from 730-830p depending on the day's activities.
We just finished the switch to one nap! Took us about two weeks total. I decided what time he was going to lay down for his one nap eventually, and spent a few days stretching out his morning until we made it to that point, at the same time, I woke him up from his second nap a little earlier everyday. His one nap is still very long, 2 and a half hours or so, but I learned he works best with the following schedule. He wakes up about 6:30a, and I don't keep him up more than 5 hrs, which puts him napping between 11-1130. He sleeps till 2ish, and then back down at 730-8. Generally, we have found that as long as we never keep him up more than 5 or 6 hours straight, he stay on track pretty well, and sleeps well at night.
My son switched at about 15 months. He now goes down at 8pm, sleeps till about 8, and naps from 12-2:30/3ish. I did it when he started waking up from naps after less than an hour. He actually started getting more sleep when we switched because we went from 2 45 min naps to 1 2-3 hour nap. For the transition, I just kept him busy in the mornings and he didn't fight it much. So long as we were out and about he'd stay awake. If we were in the house, I didn't have a chance at keeping him up (and happy). Go shopping, play places, etc. Our transition lasted a couple of weeks.
Both of mine went to one nap around 16-17 months. Currently, my 20 month old has a great schedule- she wakes up around 7:30 or 8, naps about 12-2 and bed at 6:30 or 7:00- YES 6:30!! She has gone to bed at this time for as long as I can remember- and she is ready by then. She sometimes still wakes up once in the night for milk- but I will take it for that kind of bedtime. Anyways, I would suggest going to one nap after lunch to get you away from that late bedtime. When we switched to one, I pushed her morning nap back a little each day and in the afternoon, I would lay her in her bed for about 30 minutes or so, just to give her a break. If he falls asleep, wake him up after 45 minutes or so- he should be refreshed enough to still want to go to bed early. Good Luck!
My first son quit the first nap at 16 months. I don't think it's something you control. You just try to make the transition as easy as possible. Like making the afternoon nap a little earlier when you keep him awake all morning.
Good luck!
C.
Mine switched at 10 months. He really fought the 2nd nap at that point, so we just decided to give it up. I realize it happened earlier for us than most, but it worked well for us. Cool too, because the one nap a day can last anywhere from 1.5-3 hrs. You can get alot done in that time, or take a nice long nap yourself.
