Transition from two to one nap... Help!

Tracy - posted on 01/30/2011

Well they have separate bedrooms so waking the other is not an issue. However it can be tricky putting one down while the other is still awake. Our bedtime/naptime routine takes 5 to 10 min and often in the middle of it I will hear crying outside the door. When they were younger they just hung out in the swing, then it was the exersaucer, but now that they are mobile I have resorted to DVDs and sometimes snacks (i.e. cheerios or crackers) as a distraction. Most of the DVDs are Baby Einstein but I also have a few Baby Signing DVDs too. Try to avoid TV if I can.

(I do this solo 75% of the time as hubby works of course!)

Vicki - posted on 01/30/2011

wow! you must be exhausted! how do you manage to successfully put one down while the other is sleeping?

Tracy - posted on 01/29/2011

A quick update on how naps are going. My girls are now just over 15 months. One of my daughters is on one nap a day (usually 10:30-noon) but the other is still taking two naps (9:30-11:00 and 2:00-3:00). Bedtime and wake up time is pretty consistent- 7:30 PM bedtime and 6:30 to 7:00 wake up time. The two napper is just rebounding from being sick so in a week or two I will start to see if I can delay her morning nap. Would be nice to have both twins napping at the same time again so I can actually have time to leave the house before 3:30-4:00.

Amanda - posted on 01/14/2011

My girls were taking a morning nap around 10 am and then an afternoon nap around 2 pm. Around 14 months or so when I would put them down for the morning nap they wouldn't sleep. So I cut out the morning nap and moved their afternoon nap up to 1pm (if they are really tired then I put them down around 12 or 12:30 pm) and they sleep for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. They transitioned really easily. I kept both of my twin girls on the same schedule - its easier in the long run - this is your quiet time. Good luck!!

Vicki - posted on 01/08/2011

ah...I got it. makes sense.

Crysta - posted on 01/08/2011

Vicki, They only sleep for 15-20 min in the morning and the afternoon because they are in daycare and that is how long the drive is. They used to fight me for their morning nap when I would try and put them down and even then once I got them to sleep it was only for about 30-45 minutes max. They were 8 months when I stopped giving them the one in the morning and they have been without it for 1.5 months and seem to be doing fine. They might fuss for their main nap, but it is is only for a couple of minutes.

Penelope - posted on 01/08/2011

Vicki don't feel badly. One or both of mine wake up crumbly from naps or even in the morning sometimes. As you said above, I usually just cuddle with them on the couch until they wake up properly. It probably just depends on where they wake up in their sleep cycle. I wouldn't worry!

Vicki - posted on 01/08/2011

am sooo jealous. I've got criers when waking up. used to worry me...but everything does when comes to them so gotta get over that :) !

Anna - posted on 01/08/2011

Vicki- when I wake them from the morning nap they don't cry. One of them tries to roll over in his crib and go back to sleep,so they are still pretty sleepy. I usually snuggle them on the couch and read a few books until they completely wake up. It takes about 15 minutes of cuddling before they hop down and start running and playing again.

Vicki - posted on 01/08/2011

arvo?

Natalie - posted on 01/08/2011

My girls now 2 1/2 get up around 7-8am, they have lunch around 12 then to bed for arvo nap, they can still sleep for around 2hrs in the arvo. Then bed in the evenings around 8pm.

Vicki - posted on 01/07/2011

what I wouldn't do for a 2,5 hr nap! why are you giving them the morning nap if tehy fight you for it? do they go down without a fuss for the other ones? just curious because it amazes me how everyone can be so different. would kill for the long nap but the short ones would drive me bonkers. or do you find it to be a nice mini-break?

Crysta - posted on 01/07/2011

After reading other responses on here, I feel my 9.5 month old twins schedule is very different. They are both up at 6:30 to have a bottle and get ready for the day. At 8:15 they both will sleep for about 15-20 min. They have their lunch at 11 and are down for a nap at 12. They will sleep for 2-2.5 hours. They might also have a 15 min nap around 4:30 as well. They are in bed by 8 nightly. They seemed to fight me for their morning nap around 8 months, and didn't seem to need it. I have always let them set their own schedule until they starting eating.

Vicki - posted on 01/07/2011

Anna when they wake from the morning one are they cranky/crying? I'm still trying to figure this out.

Anna - posted on 01/07/2011

My 14 month old twins are early risers (5:30 or so) They still need that morning nap, but they also started fighting the afternoon one. I started waking them from their morning nap after 30 to 40 minutes. Since I started this they haven't fought the afternoon nap. They go down anytime from 1:30 to 2:30 and rest until 3 or 4.

Heidi - posted on 01/07/2011

It was hard....but I started pushing their morning naps off later and encouraging them to sleep longer and tried to minimize the time on the second nap. I also put them to bed a little earlier at that time.

Penelope - posted on 01/07/2011

My girls have always had different sleeping needs, so I just try to flex with it. To accomodate the loss of one nap, we put them down a bit later until the morning nap just eventualy faded away. Trust your instincts, sounds like you're on the right track. To this day, one sleeps more than the other, so if Emma wakes up from nap I scurry up and get her out of the room in case Abby wants to sleep for a few more minutes (or another hour!). Just follow their lead, and employ routines so they can count on consistency. Good luck! p.s.-ALWAYS keep them on the same schedule...if you change that you will lose what little precious down time (or nap time) for yourself that you get...and it will cripple you when you try to schedule activities for them or yourself.

Tracy - posted on 01/04/2011

Thanks everyone. A quick update...

Both girls did really well the day I gave one daughter two naps and the other one. The following days however it seemed like both needed 2 naps again so that is what I have been doing the rest of the week. Following their lead is probably the best advice I have been given. Thanks! I am sure it will sort itself out... eventually. Just makes it hard to plan for anything when I never know if they will need one or two naps. Oh well... c'est la vie.

CHERYL - posted on 01/03/2011

hi my 2 always slept lots and well then around 15-16m it was hard for the 2nd nap and if i let hem take it they didnt want to go to bed. so i kept them busy in the morn had an earlier lunch then put them to bed around 12.they sleep for 2-3hrs.and bed time is back to normal.and now at 18m they defo manage to stay awake till 12.30-1pm and i let them sleep no more than 2hrs. often my son wakes up earlier as he dosnt need as much sleep.go on their lead it does sort it self out.

Vicki - posted on 01/02/2011

my twins are also 14 months. at around 12 months they were showing signs of early transitioning so I did it. they've never really been the best nappers. then they got sick with typical coughs/colds and sadly my son had a febrile seizure. so they were needing lots more sleep and have gone back to two naps. in this period I let them sleep as much as they needed. my son requires less sleep than my daughter but I let them get whatever they wanted. but I still put them down at the same times.

when they were well and doing the transition I also gave an early lunch (like 11 or 11:30). 12 was too late. when they woke from the nap I'd drag out the bottle/snack time by letting them play around in their room and goof off as long as i could stretch it. yes it sucks but there is a plus to it...you can start getting them into playgroups and programs! we had the problem of never beng able to coordinate it all.

good luck. please keep us posted as I am always looking for nap tips!

oh also forgot. if they can't make it through the day I'd give a mini-catnap (about a 1/2 hr) but not too late in da or bedtime might be effected.

Emily - posted on 01/01/2011

I was lucky as my daycare did a lot of it for me, however we started the transition before they started (at 12 months) and had to really work on it at the beginning on weekends as well when they were in school. Basically what we did was just kept them busy and running until an early lunch (11:00 then stretched it to 11:30) where they would often fall asleep in their highchairs then put them to bed. It took about a month before this really started to kick in and they would make it through lunch awake, and like I said, we were lucky as daycare kept it going and really enforced it plus the kids were easier to keep awake when surrounded by 8 other kids who were playing and having a good time. We started by making the morning nap later and later, and that's probably a good place to start, unless you have endless energy to keep them going through their normal nap! As far as individual schedules, maybe we are just lucky, but we've always followed the "one down, both down, feed one feed both" idea and although one naps longer than the other, we put them down at the same time and always have, and it seems to work. Again, though that could just be our twins. Good luck!

Hilary - posted on 01/01/2011

These are the tough times and they're being individuals. Even though my girls are now 5 one still needs more sleep than the other and we just work with it. Now they're reading we encourage the one who isn't ready to sleep to have some quiet time with a book.

As far as your napping babies go, I would really advise taking their lead, the one thats dropping the nap gets some Mummy time, and the one that needs sleep gets it too. I was lucky that my children have all slept happily in their pushchairs so getting out was never really an issue, I even used to plan my outings when I knew they would sleep in their pushchair and I could get my jobs done.

Hope thats a help, to use a phrase you probably hear a lot..its a phase and it doesn't last long. Good luck x

Tracy - posted on 01/01/2011

Keeping the morning nap as is now and skipping the afternoon nap is not really an option as they cannot make it to bedtime and get really cranky. They already have a really early bedtime so I am not a fan of putting them to bed even earlier. Any suggestions on how to keep them on a similar schedule would be appreciated. Today they woke up 2.5 hours apart and I cannot really leave the house today without one baby skipping a nap unless I give them a late super. Not the ideal situation. Will try to do two naps with the early riser and one nap with the late snoozer and see how it goes.

Sam - posted on 01/01/2011

I have 17 month old boy/girl twins. Pre Christmas (from about 15 months) the transition was going well, I gradually was able to keep them both awake longer in the morning, with lots of supervised play, and they now go down around 11 - 1130 for 1.5 - 2 hours - it took me about a month to get there though, and has just been ruined by Christmas! (one or the other is on 2 sleeps again!!) Baby girl is awake with the birds (although we don't hear her immediately) and baby boy lets us know when he wakes (from 630am) so baby girl usually ready for bed a good hour before, but I just try my best to keep her up and wear him out! I'm lucky most days cos baby girl can cope better with tiredness, but some days they are on split shifts!! I'd definitely try and keep them on same schedule, mine differed by only 10 - 15 mins. It takes a bit of time but gradually works itself out to a nice routine again. Just a few weeks of upheaval. Stay relaxed and it'll be fine!!

Michelle - posted on 12/31/2010

Personally I would keep the morning nap as you are doing it now then when one is sleeping in the afternoon have quiet time like reading a book to the other twin so that she/he is still resting or relaxing.

Tara - posted on 12/31/2010

I don't have any help for you! I am eager to see what other mothers say though. My twin girls are 12 1/2 months old and still on two good naps a day, but I know that by 18 months most babies are on 1 nap a day. I am nervous about making the transition. I really need those little breaks to get things done, like shower, fold laundry, make phone calls, etc. I am not sure what I will do when one of my breaks disappear!