Transitioning from two naps to one nap a day?

Doris - posted on 01/14/2010

how old?

Kayla - posted on 01/13/2010

When Ethan transitioned from 2 naps to one. I could tell it was time because it was nearly a fight to get him down for his second nap. So he would want to take his usual morning nap and stay up the rest of the evening but go to bed earlier. I would let him got to bed early, he would wak up earlier but take a longer nap during the day and eventually he got in that habbit and now he goes to bed about 9pm and wakes up about 7:45-8 am and takes his nap from 11ish 12ish till 1 or 2.

Carolee - posted on 01/13/2010

When my son was transitioning from 2 to 1 naps, we would take it one day at a time. Some days he took 2 naps, other days he just took 1. I let him "tell" me when he was sleepy, and went from there. You might also try having her take one nap in between the times that she usually goes down for her naps. Just do a little tiral-and-error, and you'll figure it out soon. Good luck.

Caitlin - posted on 01/13/2010

My son took two naps a day until he turned one. Now he gets up at 7:00am, eats lunch at 11:30, takes a nap from 12-2:30 and is until 8pm. He starts get fussy around 10:00 so that is when I take him for walks up and down our street or I have an activity set up for him to keep him entertained. If you daughter is fighting the morning nap try going a day with just taking one nap and see how she does. But I do agree that spending maybe 30 minutes in their crib is good. This gives them a chance to calm down and relax.

Alicia - posted on 01/13/2010

With my son, who I swore would take 2 naps forever, the transition was slow. It got to the point where he was fighting the morning nap, so I slowly pushed it later and later, and once it got later, he then no longer wanted to go down in the afternoon. So he went from napping 9-11 and 2-4 to napping at about 10:30 for a couple of hours. Now at 20 months, I see that he is getting later with the one nap. It is now more like a 12:30 start and goes about 2 hours. I was scared about life with just one nap, b/c I had 4 hours all to myself with 2 naps, but it hasn't been that bad! I think for the most part, the transition happened without me really seeing what was happening! I will say that one trick to keep in mind is avoiding letting her get over-tired. If I pushed the time out too long, he'd be too tired to nap and that was just messy! Good luck. Like everything, just try and read her signs and wing it!!!

Holly - posted on 01/13/2010

I lay my 20 month old twins down twice a day yet. They don't always sleep, sometimes just play in their cribs, but they have two set times to be in their cribs. It's good for them to have the independent playtime and helps me keep up with the mountain of housework they create! : )

Cheryl - posted on 01/13/2010

If she gets cranky she probally isn't ready. I say try and keep the 2 naps as long as possible, that way you get sometime to yourself. My son took 2 naps till he was 3. I wish he still did. Good luck.