My 11 month old seems to be just on the cusp. Some days he really needs that extra nap and other times, he seems fine with just one (although it's a struggle to keep him engaged until his bedtime with only one nap. Totally exhausting for my husband and me!)
So is it time? Should we be pushing the one nap all the time to get his schedule on track, or should we just let his wake time determine his naps?
And any advice on keeping him engaged until his bedtime?
Thanks so much for your help, ladies!
We went to one nap at 16 months. And let me tell you the first couple of weeks was rough. Keeping her engaged was a big problem at first but she adjusted very well, it just took some time. Anyhow the one a day nap is nicer because she tends to sleep longer than just an hour. GOOD LUCK!!
My son is 16 months and is just now in-between wanting/needing one nap vs two naps. It just depends on whether he sleeps in or not. When he sleeps in, he has one nap. If he gets up early, he still needs two naps.
I went through the same thing with my boy. He is 13 months now. He started thinking he wanted to only take 1 nap around 11 months too. Finally, with it being summer, and our other child being in summer camps and such, we were forced to just make 1 nap a day happen for him.
It has worked out fine. He gets up at around 7:30 AM, and he takes 1 nap in the afternoon...So, in the morning we stay super busy, playing outside, going places, etc. We try to do the same in the evening. He naps from about 1-4 PM. One thing that really helps is that he has a set bedtime of 8:30, and has had one since early on. So, when he gets up at 4, we only have about 4 hours to deal with him. :) Also, in the evening bath time is great. It takes up time, and he LOVES the bath. Taking walks in the stroller is great. Anything outside really destracts him. Hope my rambling has helped. :)
The nice thing is, going down to 1 nap gives you a bigger chunk of time to do things as a family. Good luck!
My daughter is 15mos, and on the days that we get up at 6am my mom usually puts her down for 2 naps and she really seems to need them on those days. On the other days when she gets up later I keep her up until 2 then put her down with the other two.
I personally don't think there is a timeline to get them off of two naps. But I am also a person that doesn't believe in putting my children on schedules!!! I never wanted to be strapped to a certin nap or bed time.
I think if your son shows sign of needing 2 naps in a day then let him take them and if he seems fine let him stay up. Eventually you will notice that he only needs one nap a day more often then he needs two.
Hope this helps you a little
A.
I know that you will probably get very mixed responses to this question. And I am sure there will be plenty of people who don't agree with me. I started the one nap a day at about 1 year. I do at home daycare and all of the kids that I watch are on the same schedule. They go down for a nap at 1:00. It was really hard to transition some of them and try to keep them awake until then, but in the end it was well worth it. My kids sleep for at least 2 1/2 to 3 hours and then go to bed for their parents around 8 or 8:30. Some days it is really hard for them to stay awake. I have been known to turn on music pretty loud and we dance around just to keep them up. I would much rather they take 1 good long nap than to have them take 2 short ones. That's just what I did.
When they start having trouble falling asleep for either one of their naps or bedtime. Then, once you're down to one nap, when they start having trouble falling asleep at bedtime. Get ready, because my little boy grew out of all naps at just over 2!!!!!!!!! It was crazy!
My daughter started to switch around 15 months. I let her show me what she needed. By 16 months, she was set on her one nap a day. Now that it is nice outside, we can take her outside if we want her to stay up a little later and she is almost always happy when she is outside. But if she looks extra tired or starts to get cranky at night, I just put her to bed 30-45 minutes early and she usually doesn't wake up earlier than normal. I try not to be very rigid on a schedule, but she naturally gets tired around the same time each night and I just watch her and look for signs that she's tired and we never have to argue about bedtime. I tell her to kiss her Daddy good-night and it is time to read books. She does it and then takes me by the hand and leads the way to her room.
