Transitioning From Two Naps to One

As parents we are always so relieved when our child is in a good routine, naps are happening as they should on schedule, the baby is sleeping through the whole night, and then they start to get older which means it may be time for one of those naps to get dropped. It is normal for children between the ages of 13 and 18 months to drop one nap and be on a one nap a day schedule. They still need about 11-14 hours of sleep in total in a 24 hour period. Which leaves about 10-12 of that time to be night time sleep and 2.5-3 hours for one nap. Two naps a day your child may be napping about 1.5 hours at a time equally 3 hours of total nap sleep in one day. When switching to one nap you have to find a 3 hour chunk of your day for your little one to be able to snooze. This one nap is to be more restorative and more deep sleep to help them make it through their day, when before a shorter nap may be able to happen on the go.

Signs To Watch For

When your child is ready for one nap, their wake windows start to increase. They will be able to stay awake for between 4-6 hours in the morning and in the afternoon. If you notice that your little one isn’t ready for their morning nap, and are still awake and pleasant this may be a sign that they are getting ready to transition to one nap. Another sign is if they are having trouble falling asleep at bedtime or naptime. If your child is just not tired at their normal tired times this could be a huge flag of changing in sleep patterns. Refusing naps. If you are having to push bedtime later to fit in both naps during the day can also be a sign your child may be ready to give up a nap. Or if you find they are naturally taking a longer first nap that you don’t have time to take a second nap. These signs should happen consistently for one or two weeks. Your child can always have a weird off day here or there, or a funny sleep day, we as adults can have those. Consistent fights, or sleep troubles, or refusal of naps are a good first sign your child may be ready to drop a nap.

Your child is not ready to drop a nap if they still are wanting that second nap. If your child cannot make it to bedtime without a second nap then you should not try to change their naps to one a day. If they get too tired, or unpleasant without their afternoon nap it is not time for them to switch to one nap. All children will differ on when they are ready to change their naps. Some children may be closer to 12 months of age when they are ready, while others may be close to the 18 month of age mark.

Tips For Making The Switch To One Nap

Switching to one nap the goal is to have the nap occur in the middle of your child’s day. That’s about 5-6 hours after your child first wakes up when they will be ready to take their one long nap. That will leave about 4-5 hours until bedtime. When starting to transition you will want to gradually push the first nap back by a few minutes each day working up to the preferred time for you and your baby. This will shorten the afternoon nap until it gradually goes away too.

Pushing back the morning nap, means that it is your number one goal in the mornings to keep your child busy, engaged, and wear them out so they are ready for that big nap. This means you can do fun morning adventures since the wake window is bigger now. You can run errands, go to the park, play games, visit family in the mornings before lunch and nap time. Making sure you use up all the morning energy will help encourage the deep restorative sleep that is needed during this one nap.

Finding a new time and rhythm for lunch may also have to occur. Before with two naps lunch would fall in the middle of both the naps normally. Now with one nap you should aim for your little one to eat lunch then fall asleep shortly afterwards. Lunch could be anywhere between 11-12 depending on your child.

Bedtime may need adjusting too. A child that has an afternoon nap may be able to make it until 8pm to go to bed. With only one nap, a bedtime of 7pm may be more realistic and stop the child from going to bed overly tired. When transitioning your child may need to go to bed at 6pm when they are still getting used to the longer awake windows. This can help stop them from going to bed too tired, which can lead to night time sleep that isn’t always as peaceful and restful.

The middle of the day nap needs to be multiple sleep cycles long. If your child wakes up during the long nap, give them time to fuss, and self soothe so they can drift back to sleep and get the good long nap they need. It may take a few days to get the rhythm of it. While transitioning your child may need the occasional two naps a day still.

Takeaway

Transitioning from two naps to one, can feel freeing since it opens up larger chunks of your day, or it can feel overwhelming if your child has trouble with the switch. Some children will switch and transition easily and quickly. Others it may take a good 2-4 weeks for them to get transitioned over. Be patient, allow your child to take an afternoon nap even if it’s an extremely short one if it helps them make it to bedtime. You know your child best and will know from their cues and behavior what they can handle and how to best transition them through this change in their sleep development.