Transitioning from two to one nap usually occurs between 15 - 18 months, sometimes later, rarely earlier.
You will notice your little one showing signs that they are ready to transition to one nap per day when he/she is:
Best to have in place before transitioning to one nap per day:
Tips for transitioning from 2 naps to 1 nap per day:
Good luck. If you need support please feel free to reach out anytime:
[email protected]
415-895-0879
You will notice your little one showing signs that they are ready to transition to one nap per day when he/she is:
- Taking longer and longer to fall asleep for the morning nap.
- Napping longer than 1.5 hours for the morning nap and then protesting the afternoon nap (which makes for an over-tired testy baby by bedtime).
- Falling asleep easily for the morning nap but then waking up much sooner than normal and then fighting the afternoon nap.
Best to have in place before transitioning to one nap per day:
- Consistently sleeping through the night. We want to make sure the little one’s sleep tank is full. Sleep begets sleep. Training an over-tired baby is more challenging than training a rested baby.
Tips for transitioning from 2 naps to 1 nap per day:
- Choose a sensible time to start this transition. Don’t begin the training if you are planning to travel within the next week for example. It will take 7-10 days, sometimes less to transition comfortably from a 2 to 1 nap per day.
- Gradually make small changes each day.
- Push the morning nap a little later each day (Delay it until 11am) for 2 - 3 days, then 11:30am, 12pm, and so on.
- If your baby is waking after 1.5 hours and is still sleepy try to resettle him/her back to sleep for another sleep cycle. If this doesn’t work, use a back up plan - car, stroller, carrier etc to fill their sleep tank so they can make it until bedtime without becoming over-tired.
- Don’t let your little one sleep past 4 - 4:30pm
- If he/she is a bit off or over-tired during this training period put him/her down for a two nap day once in a while. Let’s keep that sleep tank full.
- Depending on the day time sleep you will likely move your bedtime to be sooner than normal. Perhaps bedtime is now 6:30pm instead of 7:30pm. Make the adjustments as needed until your little one is sleeping through the night and having a 2-3 hour nap every day. Watch your little one for the tired signs and adjust accordingly.
Good luck. If you need support please feel free to reach out anytime:
[email protected]
415-895-0879
