Naps - Draper, UT

L.,

It varies per child, but if he is doing a self-imposed single nap per day I would try to delay the morning nap by a little at a time until you have a nap more in the middle of the day. Just pay attention to how he responds and you should find the perfect nap time. It has always been trial and error with my son.

BTW, my son stopped taking two naps a day right around his first birthday, so I don't know if that was early or not, but that's when it happened for us. So 16 months sounds perfectly normal to me.

my daughter dropped her morning nap just after 12 mos. My son lasted until about 18 mos. it's sad lose the second nap, but it, but most likely he just doesn't need it anymore.

It definitely varies by child. My children have given naps up very early. Both were down to one nap a day by 12 months of age. We fought and fought and fought with my daughter, who is now 4, to keep her taking one nap a day for quite a long time, and finally gave up on trying when she was not yet quite 3. Both of them sleep great at night, go to bed between 7:30 and 8 and sleep until between 6 and 8 in the morning, so they get plenty of rest, but they just are not nappers. Their mother isn't either, so I can understand! :)

M.

It's my experience that they do one nap at about your son's age. Try keeping him up until 11 am, then put him down for a nap, then after a few days try noon, then 1pm if he can make it. It may take some transitioning, but it'll go fast once you have it stabilized. My 19 month old is sleeping 2+ hours a day now for her nap (usually from noon to 2). And she used to be a 2-napper too.

I think your son is definitely telling you he is ready for one nap a day. My daughter started doing the same thing around that age. A lot of moms I have talked to in the past said that their kids did that around 1, so you got a few more months out of your son! :) I noticed my daughter takes one long nap now..like 2 1/2 to 3 hours long. I put her down around 2. She is 20 months old.

My first stopped 2 naps at around 14 months and my second is just 12 months and going strong with 2 naps. I don't know that there is a specific age where they must go to a single nap. My oldest did the same thing as your little boy. She stopped going to sleep at one or the other nap times. I got frustrated. I have a great book that helped me through it "Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child". In the book the doctor suggest moving the morning nap a little bit at a time until it is more in the middle of the day. This may mean you need to put them to bed earlier. I think I just switched immediately to a midday nap and had it rough for a couple of days but it worked out just fine.
If you aren't ready to go to 1 nap a day you can try adjusting your morning nap time to be a little earlier. I know I was ready for 1 nap a day with my first. My second I am not ready to give it up yet.

At 16 mos he should be down to one nap. You need to figure out the best time for him to nap so he isn't cranky around dinner and before bedtime. I typically would put my kids down for a nap around 11:00am/11:30am and let them nap until 1:00/2:00. They slowly started taking less of a nap, like an hour or so around 2 1/2. They both gave them up right after they turned three and a half. But at 16 mos he doesn't need two naps.

Both my kids switched to one nap at about 12 months, but I have a few friends who had their kids do two naps for longer. I think if your son is weaning himself off the two naps, then he is ready for one. I always like the one nap thing better, because it is easier to plan your day.

L., you are so lucky to have had two naps clear up to 16 months! My kids all lost their 2 nap schedule about 10 months to 1 yr. old. Just figure where you want your one longer nap to be (probably right after lunch to break up the day evenly) and reschedule your life. Good luck!

HI L.,

By 12-14 months all three of my girls were doing the same thing. That is about the age that they go down for 1 nap a day. If they aren't going to bed well at night then it's time. At first it is tough to keep them up, but get him to stay up until 12:30 or so, just after lunch. Then put him to bed. He will take a 2-3 hour nap and you will just love that "quiet time". When school is out, we do "quiet time" every day so my 2 1/2 year old can have her nap. My 10 and 7 year old just watch a movie, color or play quietly.

Good luck.
M. B

Most kids start to go away from two naps a day around 14-16 months. At that point you need to figure out what time is best for him to nap, he's probably ready to go to one nap a day now.

I have three children, and it's been a little different with each one. But, mostly you need to go off the child's cues. Sounds to me like your litte guy is ready for one nap. I would start putting him down for a nap in the morning "late" (30 min. at a time) and get him to a good one nap. good luck.

It can be about anytime for your son. He's about the right age. Some kids go to one nap earllier than 16 mo, and some don't give up that second nap until well after, but I have heard that the average age of kids going to one nap is around 18 months.

My daughter was telling me she was wanting to go to only one nap by staying awake in her crib for 45 min - hour when I'd put her down for her afternoon nap. After an hour of her not sleeping (but not crying either), I decided one nap was the schedule now.

I just bumped her morning nap back a half an hour every two weeks until she started going for her one nap around 11 am. It's been that way for quite a few months. Now that she is almost 22 months, it starts closer to 11:30 or 11:45. For some reason, she's just more apt to take a nap in the late morning than the afternoon. Some kids really prefer their one nap to be after lunch (around 12:30 or 1pm). You'll have to figure out what your son prefers.

Good luck - I miss the two naps a day - but it does free up my schedule a little bit more now that she takes only the one.

My kids dropped their morning naps around 18-months. Just move the afternoon nap time up to compensate.

Sleep specialists say that the "normal" time to switch over to 1 nap is a process. The best book I have ever found on sleep for children is Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child. There is a section in there on transitioning from 2 naps to one. Your son is at the age where he is naturally making that transition. Good luck! Remember that there may be days when he will take only one, but be flexible with him taking 2 naps on other days...

When my son started changing his normal nap routine, I decided to lay him down for a nap just after lunch. That worked well for us. We would play, run errands, or whatever during the morning, have lunch, and then lay down. My daughter got into this routine as she got older, and they did great. They knew after lunch they would take a nap, and then would get to go outside. That way they burned their lunch and energy off before dinner and bedtime. They have never had problems going to sleep at night at their scheduled time. You may just have to see what works best for your son. All kids are different, you just have to be in tune to what keeps your son from being too grumpy. My son is now in Kindergarten, and my daughter, who is 3 1/2, has trickled off from naps, unless we are in the car, and it is almost certain she will fall asleep right before we get to where we are going. Good luck!

Both of my childeren were transitioned at 1 year and it makes life so much easier. I would start working on making the change. It is hard at first, but much worth it. Just keep him up later and later each day, till he is able to handle staying up till at least 11:30. My youngest is 18 months, and they put them down around 11:30 at daycare, with lunch at 11:00.

It varies for every child...but mine went down to one at about 14 months. Her doctor said that generally by about 15 months most babies are ready to go down to one. Sounds as though your son is ready to drop his second nap. That is exactly how I knew my daughter was ready (she quit taking afternoon naps). Sounds like you can start transitioning him to taking his nap after lunch now! My daughter goes down at about 12-1 everyday and sleeps anywhere from 2-3 1/2 hours. Hope this helps.

Sounds like your son is transitioning to one nap a day. It's a process. Just pay attention to his cues. My youngest son turns 18 months old this month. We have started doing one nap a day --- after lunch, about 1:00.

It really depends on your child. My oldest child went to 1 nap pretty early around 10-12 months old and that was hard, but I just made his bedtime earlier to compensate. My middle child was around 15 months old when she was done with two naps. That girl loves to sleep! When they are ready they will let you know. Try to keep them awake a bit longer in the morning, feed him lunch and then put him down for a nap. Of course if you son needs sleep in the morning you can do that too.

I talked to the pediatrician about this topic and every child is different. I say you are the best one to decide. A lot of moms were telling me that my son should be having one nap at 12 months old. I switched my son to one nap when he was about one and a half years old and he couldn't do it. I would always end up with a sleeping child in the car seat before I get home from the store and I'd always try to keep him up in time to get into bed, but he was too exhausted to stay up. And then he'd crash again very early in the evening. I did this last summer and by the end of the summer, I just went back to two naps after I saw that he wasn't adjusting well at all. It's almost a year later from when I first tried the one nap with him and he only recently returned to the one nap schedule. I would say that he went back to one nap around 2 years old.

I would suggest trying the one nap if your son really doesn't want to have two and see how he adjusts. If he is super tired or can't stay awake for his new nap time, go back to two naps. My son's problem with the one nap is that he never slept longer. He only slept the same amount of time he did when he had two naps and really missed out on sleep he needed. If your son adjusts well, I would think he would naturally sleep longer with one nap. Hope this helps. Good luck!

My little girl will be 18-months soon and she is down to one nap daily. She started this just about a month ago. I have stretched out her morning routine, feed her lunch and make her nap soon after. When I put her down she objects for a little, but I have learned to leave her in her crib. She will either play for a little or will soon be snoozing. Her afternoon naps average about 2 solid hours. So far she has adjusted well with the new routine. I too was letting her nap in the morning before I noticed that she would then skip her afternoon nap, then I started adjusting her schedule. For my sanity, I NEED her to take an afternoon nap, and not the morning one! LOL :-) Try stretching the morning hours and enforce the afternoon naps. This has worked great for me thus far. Good luck.

Hi L. -

My older son was about 17 months old when we went to one nap a day. I remember it being a tough time of transition for both of us. We just kind of experimented our way through - trying to figure what worked best. Now he's 4 and usually doesn't take a nap. It seems he has boundless energy. Good Luck.

Its pretty normal to transition to one nap sometime around a year or shortly after, so it sounds like he's ready to move to one nap. Good luck! I've never loved that transition, but it all works out!

In my experience - 12-16 months. Your son is showing the classic signs. It's time. With my kids I have always gravitated to one afternoon nap (going down at 1:00-2:00) so that we are freed up to go do things in the morning. Good luck!

My daughter was about your sons age when she went to 1 nap. She was always a very good sleeper so I was suprised when she opted for 1 nap instead of 2. But, she still sleeps about 2 hours for her 1 nap.

My advice is that you need to do what works for your child. That is what is normal. My little girl (2 1/2) stopped taking naps all together at around 2 years, but my niece who is only 4 months younger still takes a least a 2 hour nap. Anyway, the point is that if you child doesn't need the second nap then thats ok. If he goes down ok at night then that is a good sign that he is getting enough sleep. Good luck!

This is one where I started to follow my daughter's lead on. She started outgrowing her need for two naps and I watched her. When she started showing the signs of being cranky-tired, then I'd lay her down for a nap. Sometimes she'd fight it, but most of the time, it was almost a relief for her to be able to sleep.

I also really agree with what Deb K posted about balancing when you lay them down for their nap. If its too late in the day, then they may be cranky for dinner or not want to go to bed on time.

If its too early in the day, you may get to cheat and put him to bed early, but expect him to be up earlier the next day.

It will probably take some trial and error before you find something that really works.

L.,
My son is 9 months old and is so hyper I can only get him to nap 1 time per day...usually for 2 hours. I think it totally depends on the child. I have a step son that went to one nap per day at like 17 months. So if he is ready then I think you can make the switch...

It really varies with each child. Both of my kids took two naps until about 14 or 15 months, then went down to one. The best way to handle that is to put him down for his nap at 10:30 or 11. Then put him to bed just a little bit earlier at night. My daughter, who is 20 months, naps from 11 to 2 and goes to bed at 7. She sleeps till 7:30 or 8 in the morning. But for a while, when she first gave up her second nap, she was sleeping from 10:30 until noon or so, and I was putting her to bed at 6. But now we've gotten into a good routine and she seems to get enough sleep. You just have to watch your son for his cues, when he is tired, and follow them. A good rule of thumb is early to bed. With kids, that doesn't always mean early to rise, tho. The earlier kids go to bed the better they will sleep and longer. That's my advice for you. Hope it helps. :)

Around 14 to 15 months, babies start to move to 1 nap per day, it is generally their morning nap that goes away. Their morning and afternoon naps move closer together for more of a midday nap. My 15 month old used to nap at 9:30 and 2:30 now he naps from 11:30 to 2:30 or 3:00. I feed him an early lunch around 11 and then put him down. He usually has a late lunch when he wakes up. I recommend Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, it explains the sleep habits and needs of your child.

At Daycare they move them to one nap a day at 12 months. It's a rough transition that first week with some crabbiness in the morning, but now (at 19 months) she takes a good 2 hour nap at 12 or 12:30

M.

Between a year and 18 months is usually the normal time to transition forom 2 to 1 nap per day. Play it by ear every day... you'll probably need to make his afternoon nap a little earlier to get a happy baby all morning and all afternoon. Good luck!

He's outgrown the two naps a day! I know! A sad time, but get ready because next around the corner is outgrowing a nap period! Two of my younger kids stopped taking naps all together around 2 1/2-3 years of age! I wasn't ready, and it was hard, but times keeps flying and next thing you know, they are in school!

It's is about time, your son is letting you know this- If it were me I would choose the morning nap to continue with. Unless he seems crabbier later in the day. You just need to choose a time and stick with it so that he stays on routine and doesn't decide to give both naps up.

My son was about that same age when he went to one nap. I wasn't too excited about it at first. I got a lot done during those nap times. I eliminated the morning nap mainly because he wasn't that tired in the morning. It has been nice to get my errands ran and do other fun things with him in the mornings. He now goes down between 1-2 in the afternoon and sleeps 2 to 2 1/2 hours.