Naps - Hampstead,NH

Let you baby nap. Sleep is a time of growth. Children who are tired get cranky. My babies napped several times a day and were happy. They also had set early bedtimes and wake up times.

Mother of 9

Absolutely!!!! (as long as she is sleeping well at night) Enjoy it while it lasts, when it's gone, you'll want it back :-)

My daughter is 19mo old. She is up at 6am. I give her lunch about 11am, and she naps from 11:45 to 1:15ish. She goes to bed at 7pm. She has been on the schedule probally since she was 1yr old.

If she is sleeping well at night I would let her sleep when she is tired. Wouldn't that be great if we could all nap when we are tired? All kids are different-some need hours a day and some get by on 20 minute power naps.

Hi S.,

My son is in daycare and is 15 months old. He will be moving up to the toddler room as soon as an openning becomes available. They've been telling me that around this age he should only be having one nap a day and it really should be in the afternoon. It has been a little tough because to tell you the truth, I loved having that time to relax (somewhat as I also have a 3 month old daughter). But they really should be starting to go to one nap a day. The daycare would play with him when they saw that he was starting to get tired and feed him a little earlier on lunch so that he goes down around 12:15 - 12:30 but then he has a good nap for two hours. Sometimes kids will tell you when they need one or two naps or no naps at all (not looking forward to that day at all!). Oh well...hey we can all use a little rest in the middle of the day! I'm sure she'll let you know when she's tired...Hope this helps!

Hi susan. i would be guided by your little one. if she seems tired then put her own for a nap if not i would leave her. i on't know how she sleeps at night but it may be better if she as less sleeps in the day so she will sleep better at night

I highly recommend Dr. WEisbluth's book Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child - I have used is with both my kids (2 1/2 and 4 mos) and it has never failed me. It's great to help work out a nap schedule and to get an idea of when your child should sleep adn how much they need, etc. Check it out!

Every baby is different with the amount of sleep they require. My daughter who is a little over 18 months now went down to one nap at around 12 months. I just watched for cues - she wasn't tired at her normal nap times and protested more. And, yes, at that point I tried to keep her awake until after she ate lunch and then put her down. Now, she takes about a three hour nap at around 1pm.

I wouldn't worry about getting your child down to only one nap if they are content (unless two naps is difficult for you). Just watch your child and they will tell you when they are ready.

How does your child do at night? If you are one of the fortunate parents who has a sleeper, don't stress the nap times. Also, how does your child do during the day? Is she tired and fussy? Sleep is so individual. As parents we try and provide the right framework for the little ones to train themselves to sleep right but your daughter is so small. My oldest (now fifteen) took a nap until she was five and definitely needed two naps until she was two or so (I was actually afraid to tell her pediatrician!). She is the best sleeper in our family now! Enjoy the down time, Mom! Like everything else, this too shall pass!

My daughter is 25 months and she still takes 2 naps a day..she is just not ready to give that routine up yet...I tried one a day..but she was miserable..I think if your baby still takes 2 naps a day then let her...they let you know when they r ready to give one up...

Hi Susan,
My daughter will be 16 months this month and she is still napping 2 times a day. Actually I should say it all depeds. Her 1st nap is always before lunch around 10AM. She normally naps for about 2 hours. If she does that then chances are she wont nap in the afternoon. But sometimes she naps only an hour in the morning and when that happens she will also take a nap in the afternoon. I don't see anything wrong with 2 naps a day. The only thing is don't let her take her afternoon nap to late b/c then she wont be ready to go to bed at her regular time. Our daughter always gors to bed between 7 and 7:30. If she took a late afternoon nap then she'l go to bed closer to 8. Her pediatrician never todl us that she shouldn't be taking two naps.

Good luck.

With my son I found that it was time for him to move to 1 nap a day when the morning nap was fine, but a big fight was put up for the second nap, becuause he simply wasn't tired. Also, he wasn't really ready to go to bed at night if he had taken two naps a day. When it was time to move to 1 nap, I simply kept him up until about 12-12:30 and made sure that he was awake by 3pm so bedtime wouldn't be an issue. It's the same schedule they follow at daycare for his age group. Eventually, his regular nap time became 1-3pm every day (until recently, he's now 3 and no longer takes them regularly :( )

Hi,

I think all kids are different, so it's up to you. The most important thing is that your daughter is getting enough total hours of sleep. I am a stay at home mom, and my son is three. I switched from two naps to one around 18 months, but only because he started being resistant to the morning nap. He used to take 2 one hour naps, now he takes one 2 hour nap. If you feel like your daughter is ready, try moving lunch up a little sooner at first. Then after a week move it back a little later. That way she gets used to staying up a little longer without getting TOO tired and cranky.

Enjoy it while you can! If she is still successfully taking 2 naps a day that is great. She probablly still needs it. My son took 2- 2hour naps a day until he was two years old, and on occassion he still takes 2 naps. He plays hard and crashes hard. Every Doctor will say something different, but as I mom of 2 boys, I think if they are tired they will sleep. No sense pushing them to stay awake,it will just cause crankiness and bad behavior! your daughter will definately will cut down to 1 nap a day when she is ready. Good luck!

I've read that they trasition themselves around 18 months. But for my 15 month old, she started resisting the afternoon nap at 11 months. I was trying to still get her to take two naps because I thought she was too young to switch, but there was no use resisting. She would cry in her crib for a full hour during the afternoon nap, even if she seemed tired! Her morning nap she was happy to take. So I gave in and had a month or so when it was difficult because she wanted to nap around 11:00 still but then she had trouble staying up until 7:00 for bed. We made it through and now she is solidaly on a 1:00 nap shedule and sleeps well at night. So I think whatever age they are ready to do it, they will let you know and you have to be in transition for a while before getting into a new routine.

Naps are such a personal thing. Some little ones do wonderfully with one nap, such as my son did. He was a one hour napper! My daughter was a completely different story. She took two naps a day until she went to kindergarten and then came home in the afternoon and slept for 2 hours!! She is now 23yrs old and goes to bed at 9pm and gets up at 7am! She would still take a nap if she had the time!! My sister is the same exact way at 49yrs old!! She does lay down each afternoon for about one hour to rest!
Everyone is so different, so do not let others orchestrate her life's needs for her.

Hi Susan-
You didn't say whether she is going down to bed easily with 2 naps. I found that when bedtime started to become a problem, I dropped the second nap and put my son to bed a half hour earlier. He is now 3 and bedtime is 7:30pm. This is great for me because I get the evening off to socialize with my husband. Also, we are transitioning from naps all together because he will go right to sleep at night between 7-7:30pm.

Hi Susan: I have found in my experience, I have raised 5 children and have 4 grandchildren one of who I care for,it is to let the child sleep. Even when they go to one nap, I think it important for you both, if the child goes for a 2nd nap or call it a rest period.

My son decreased to one nap per day around 15 months - but this was more because of the schedule at daycare. Your daughter will let you know when she is ready to change. I saw my son start napping later and later in the morning, then one day he didn't go down at all in the morning - was just wide awake until after lunchtime, then took a nap.
Don't worry too much about what the doctor says - all kids are different and your daughter will let you know what she needs and when. Good luck :)

Susan:

My children(ages 3,5) have always been in daycare full-time. At 15 months they were transitioned from the Infant Room into the Toddler room and was put on a feeding, playing and napping schedule. All the toddler children did the same things at the same time, on a specific schedule and not their own schedules. In general, they had breakfast, dropped off at the daycare around 7:30 am, they had snack there at 9:30 am, diaper change, playtime (in or out, weather permitting), lunch at 11:30 am, diaper change, nap from about 12:30-2:30 pm, diaper change, afternoon snack at about 3 pm and I would pick them up at 5:00 pm. Things went very well with this schedule Monday-Friday. My children did not have problems transitioning to a schedule. It was probably harder for my husband and I on the weekends, since we are usually out and about with them on the weekends and thus they did not take their naps at the same time each day. However, once Monday started again, they did have problems falling right back into the routine. Good luck.

I am a toddler teacher and the ages of the children in my room are between 15 months and 2 years old. They all take one nap a day and start doing so around 12 months old (the teacherss in the infant room start getting them use to 1 nap a day. At first they are very tired and have a hard time making it until nap (but we keep them awake). In a short time they get use to it. They start their nap around 12:oo or 12:30 and most nap about 2 hours some a little less and some a little more. I hope this helps. : )