Changing Toddler's Nap Schedule

M.,
That sweet lady before me had great advice. Just to tell you my son went from 2 naps to one also at 14/15 months, by request of the day care he was in, since it made him miss out on the "regular" schedule and certain activities they thought would be good for him. It worked out pretty well as he was 'ínvolved' in something (as you plan for him with your mom's group). Just get him fed for lunch early, 11:15 latest, and in bed by noon for a good 2 to and a half hour afternoon nap. Then to bed not too late at night (7 p.m. latest). Sleep begs for sleep, so the more he sleeps the better he'll sleep and everyone will be better off for this.

Hi M.,
My daughter did exactly the same thing at around that age. First, I HIGHLY recommend reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth for info on age appropriate sleep needs and sleep development. The book gives averages when it comes to naps and bedtimes which is very helpful during the first 3-4 years when sleep needs change so rapidly. It has been my "bible" on sleep issues/questions with my daughter. What I did with Paige was I started moving the morning nap 20-30 minutes later every few days until she was napping around 11 or 12 and also moved her bedtime earlier by 45-60 minutes. My daughter was falling asleep at 6-6:30pm for the night and it took her less than 20 minutes to do so. Not only did she sleep longer at night but was less cranky in the afternoon. An early bedtime is easier to do if you are a stay at home or work from home mom like we are, but not impossible for a working mom as I used to be. Email me if you have questions and hang in there. This transition can take a little while and may require some experimenting to find the "perfect" times.
Sincerely,
L.

Hi M.,
I have a 13 month old and she too is trying to transition to one nap. She cannot do without a morning nap, but like you we have playgroup activities in the morning that up until now we have missed out on. I have recently started going to the morning activites. I make sure we are home by around 10:15 so we can read a few books and then I put her down for a nap. She usually sleeps around an hour and a half.
She has adapted (more or less) to the later time and I think the morning activities tire her out, so by the time we get home she is ready to sleep. The transition took a month or so and she seems to like the new schedule.
She has not been taking an afternoon nap, but on the afternoons she seems really tired, I put her in her crib with a toy or book and let her relax. Sometimes she falls asleep, but usually just plays and starts fussing when she is ready to get up.
Of course there are those days where we don't make it to the playgroup, or leave the house for that matter, and she takes two naps or no naps!! Good luck!

S.

My 12 month-old just started the same thing a couple of weeks ago, and she was on the same schedule as your son. She didn't seem to need the second nap either, so on a day where she fought or skipped the afternoon nap, I started putting her down earlier for bed: 6:30 or 7:00 pm (7:00 works best for her now--her bedtime used to be 8:30). She woke up at her normal 7:00 am time, and each day I tried to delay the morning nap as long as I could. Gradually over two weeks it went from 9:30, to 10:00, to 10:30, and finally to 11:00. To get her to go the distance, I would give her a snack around the time she started getting tired (around 9:30) and maybe go for a walk or do something else that was stimulating but not too tiring for her. She went from your son's routine to having one nap from 11:00 to 1:00 in less than two weeks. In time I'd like to push that nap back to 1:00, but for now 11:00 works well for her. Good luck!

M.,
My 15.5 month old gave up his afternoon nap 2 weeks ago. He has pushed his am nap further so now instead of a snack and nap by 10 then another afternoon nap- he wakes at 6 or 7am and eats lunch at 11:30 and goes down for his nap by 12 or 12:15. He sleeps anywhere from 2 - 3 hours. I am in a couple of moms groups with varied activity times. Which group are you in/where do you live? I always have some play group that would work whether it's morning or afternoon. I would recommend stretching his am nap by 15 minutes for a few days then increase to 1/2 hour etc to see if he is really ready for 1 nap. Some babies aren't. I also read the Weissbluth book and think it's important to protect your baby's sleep. There will be plenty of opportunities for socializing him. :-)