Naps - Auburn, CA

Hi C.,
A great book to read for info on age appropriate sleep needs is Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. I think he is amazing and has TONS of experience to back up his info. My daughter went to one naps at about 15 months old and the transition was rough. She isn't the average child when it comes to sleep though. Dr. Weissbluth's book give you averages and percentages for sleep needs, plus the cues to look for. When we transitioned to a single nap we moved her bedtime earlier to compensate and it worked well. Email me if you want more info on Dr. Weissbluth.
Sincerely,
L.

I do not remember with my daughter-with my twin boys they were down to one long nap per day by about 9 months-and then some small cat naps in the car.

Every kid is differnt-and 2nd kids I think get schlepped around more, and so they have to adjust.

Anywhere from 12 months to 18 months. Just depends on the child. My twins were ready to transition at around 15 monhts. My last daughter was closer to 17 months. In my case the morning nap starting getting shorter. Also, realize when this happens, you will need to make the one nap start much earlier then the usual afternoon nap and then work towards a later nap. When my kids first transistioned, their nap would start around 11:00...then over about 6 months to a year I worked it up to about 1:00 where it stayed until they stopped napping a little after they turned 4.

Good luck and happy napping...I miss those days!!!

J.

My daughter is 19 mos, and just in the past month or so she has started to do just one nap. For the past 6 mos though, it has really depended on our day. If we were at home all day, she would take 2 shorter naps, if we were busy, she would take one long nap after lunchtime.

It really depends on your chid and your lifestyle!!

Good luck!
A.

My son transitioned to one nap a day between 16-18 months. My experience was similar to the post whose child would take 2 shorter and shorter naps. It got to the point where my son would go down for a nap at around 10am and sleep for maybe a half hour and then play in his crib and he would do the same in the afternoon. Once I finally realized what was going on, I started moving lunchtime up to 11-11:30am and then naptime right after. He would sleep from 12:30-4 and then I just went with the flow. Once I could tell that he could last longer in the morning, I would then get lunch ready for 12pm and his nap would follow at 1pm. You've gotten great advice from everyone already, so go with the flow and just observe how your child handles the morning and try to help her adjust. At 19months we are in a set routine of naptime after lunch at 1pm and he sleeps until around 3:30 or 4. I agree with the mom who said the change from 2 naps to 1 was harder on her than the child.....that was definitely my case too. My son napped great with 2 long naps a day and now I really have to cram in being more productive during his one nap.
All the best to you.

My son was about 16 months, and my daughter was 13 months, but I "pushed" it on her a little because I was tired of having to coordinate my day around a 2 nap schedule. I think any time between 1 year and 18 months is pretty normal.

My guy older guy was about 2 and gave up napping altogether (WAAAAAA!) around 3. My little guy (2) shifted around 17 months.

For us it was at 15mon.

If I remember right my oldest stopped his am nap at 18 months old and my youngest was about 16 months old. I transitioned their am nap to room time (so I could shower and get ready). I'd put up the baby gate and put on a kid's CD and they'd play in there for about 1/2 hour or so (make sure their room is truly kid-proofed and safe to leave them in there with out constant supervision.

My son did it somewhere between the age of 1 1/2 and 2. Sorry I can't remember exactely when. The one nap usually is longer than the individual naps though so it gives you a bigger chunck of time to get stuff done.

My now 3 yr old took 2 naps until about 16 months. My 16 month old transitioned around 14 months mostly because I needed him to! I would say anywhere between 14-18 months depending on the kid.

I read the average child does this around 18 months. I know each child is different, so yours might do this earlier or later.

my son transitioned to 1 nap around 11-12months old, during the transition, one day he would take a short morning nap and an afternoon nap, and the next day just take a long morning or afternoon nap, so I tried to go with the flow, now at 14 months he takes 1 hour and half nap in the afternoon

Hi C.,

At 1 our daycare transitioned to 1 nap. Our daughter seems to be doing fine the 3 days she is there but at home usually still takes 2 naps to get a little more sleep. I think she will be fully transitioned to 1 nap in another month or so (14 mo old). I think it depends on your baby. Hope this helps.

Hi C.,
My daughters, 26 months and 13 months, are both different on this issue. My 26 month old decided at 10 months she would only take one nap after lunch. My 13 month old is still between two and one nap. We try to push for one nap because she sleeps better but some days she falls asleep in the car as we are going places or heading home. We do nap after lunch and get anywhere between 2 to 4 hours of napping.
Good luck in the transistion.

My son switched to one nap a day just before 12 months. You will start to see signs when your daughter is ready. For us, it became increasingly difficult to put my son down for his afternoon nap. He always goes to sleep by himself in his crib and usually doesn't cry during the process. However, we got to the point where he was screaming and crying as soon as you tried to put him in the crib for the second nap. We pushed his one nap a little later each day until we found a good time around the middle of the day. It's hard on me because we can't make plans for lunch but it is nice to have a break so that I can eat my lunch in peace and quiet after he goes to sleep.

My little girl did that the week of her first birthday. And now she just turned three and doesn't nap at all anymore. 12 hours up and 12 hours down!

Hi C.,
I am a mom of two beautiful girls, ages 4 months and 21 months. My 21 month old started taking only 1 nap a day when she was between 15 and 16 months. She would sleep for a very short time for the morning nap, playing in her crib the rest of the time, and then the same for the afternoon nap. She had always been a good napper before that, and slept around 2- 2 1/2 hours for each nap. So I tried giving her only the afternoon nap after about a month of this, and she slept around 3 hours for it. By around 16 months she was completely down to 1 nap a day, around 3- 3 1/2 hours long. Having it right after lunch has helped.
It was probably tougher on me that she gave up the morning nap then it was on her! Good luck!

My son didn't switch to one nap until 22 mo. My daughter, on the other hand, did it at 12 mo.

You don't mention the age of your child, or whether you have a job outside the home.
I think the change is quite different for different children and different circumstances. If you are working outside the home, or plan to in the near future, you need to help your daughter make the transition by age one, because daycares do try to put the children down immediately after lunch (this means nap starts somewhere between 11:30 and 1 p.m. depending on the center.) and limit it to one nap a day. That is because they can't do all the other activities planned with all the children if they have accomodate each child's personal nap time routine.
Other than that (if you are a stay-at-home mom and don't have a scheduling problem) ... I would let the child decide when to make the transition.

My daughter transitioned right around her 2nd birthday. She used to take two 45-min naps and then switched to one 1.5-2hr nap.