13 Month Old Waking from Naps

Hello B.- You are definitely around the time to consider dropping a nap....according to "Happy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child." Wakefulness from naps is definitely a sign. My daughter (now 2.5) switched at about 15 months. Consider that it could be a tooth, and keep trying for 2, but it could be the time. The book says that this is a rough time "2 are too many and 1 is not enough." It was hard to admit, but released us for morning playtimes...WAHOO! Now I have a hard time reeling it in so that we get to afternoon nap early enough. A caution there...gradually shift that morning nap to being the afternoon one so the bedtime is not too late (our big struggle right now). I mean, if morning nap is 9:30 am, gradually keep him up a little longer 10:00, 10:30 and definitely look to put him down early to bed. Another bonus...earlier bedtime.

that is the age my kids switched from 2 to 1 naps a day. Try it, keep him up for an hour or so after his normal morning nap time and see if it helps. He might just be growing and get hungry. Try feeding him a snack before he falls asleep.

that is about the age that one might be ready to switch to one nap...I would start doing a nap a little later in the morning each day and see if he will switch to one!

Hi B.-

We switched our 15 month old to one nap a day, from about 12:30 to 3:00. It was working great until recently. He started to yawn around 11:00am. I knew if I put him to bed that early, he would get tired again later in the afternoon. His one nap a day kept getting shorter and shorter. I think he was just over-tired and it was effecting his sleep. So we went back to two naps. And now he is doing better. He just wasn't quite ready to make the switch yet.

Try it, and if it doesn't work you can always go back to two naps.

Hi B.,

My son is 13 months as well, and he's a really good sleeper. He'll sleep 10-12 hours at night, take a 1 1/2 - 2 hour nap in the morning, and then a 45 minute nap in the afternoon. I have noticed that he's been waking up earlier from his naps, and I just think it's time for him to only have one nap per day. I've found that if he has the one in the afternoon, he goes to bed later but still wakes up at the same time each morning. He gets a little cranky in the evening, but he's easier to get to sleep. Sounds like yours might be ready for just one nap!