Anyone want to talk about the 3-2 Nap transition?

[ZacsMumme]

The purpose of this thread is to offer support and discuss strategies for managing the transition from three naps to two for little ones who are ~6 months and older.

Happy chatting 

[amayzie]

I'll get the ball rolling! Just a couple of questions to see other's experiences- If your little one does a sort nap and wakes up at 3:30 in the afternoon do you let them have a CN later or bring BT earlier? Also- if you do let your LO have a CN how long do you let them sleep? My LO is 6 months next week and sometimes has 2 big nice naps in the day, but other days (like today) does a short nap in the arvo and makes things a bit tricky!

[ZacsMumme]

Hi Katy, we are past the 3-2 now but until other ladies get on here to chat with you I'll give you our experience once I found Zac was close to 2 naps I would try for a 30 min CN if I could fit it in without BT being too late. If he refused it, or it would be within 1hr of BT I would do an EBT. Both the 3-2 and 2-1 ETB was king, but your LO needs to tack on lost day sleep onto their nights for it to work well IYKWIM - you don't want to be up and hour and a half early in the morning if it means 4.30am

[amayzie]

Thanks- yeah he usually is ok with an early bed time... So do people wake their LO early from the CN? My Lo will do 40 minutes if not woken... he rarely does less- sometimes does an hour!!

How many feeds are people doing when they get down to the 2 naps? I've been doing (as an example) 6:30, 11:30, 4:30 (ideal) then 6:00, and then a dream feed at 11:00. What feed do people leave out if they do 4?

[londonlady]

What's the average age they start dropping the CN?  

I think our A times are too short to get through the day without a CN at the mo, but she has refused it a few times and we've had an uber long afternoon (even if we bring in an EBT.) Like your LO Katie - sofia wakes up about 3pm from her pm nap. She is only just 5m and her A times are just hitting 2 hrs so to end up with 3+ hrs at the end of the day is hideous. A few times I've persevered and managed to get her down, but more often than not I don't have the time to do this because it's that crazy time of the day where my son needs dinner, homework has to be looked at etc...


R. x

[amayzie]

I think hamish started to move to 2 naps at possibly 5.5 or just over 5 months... i think... basically he was doing 2hr 45 up time and was fighting the CN until 5:30- which was then making him hopeless to get to bed!! We then pushed out his up time over the last 2 weeks to 3 hours (because his naps have been shortening) and on SOME days he does nice big naps, and we can now manage to get him from 3:30-7:pm without TOOO much trouble- and BT is MUCH MUCH better....

I gave him a nap at 5 tonight and BT as crappy again... that as because he as up at 3...

[londonlady]

All these transitions require a lot of juggling til the A times and naps straighten out!! Think we're on that road, just need her A times to come up a bit... we're a long way off 2hr 45!

[amayzie]

yeah... my guy is pretty chilled so i think he sort of reserves his energy and so can stay up longer... other babies probably burn energy up faster!

[eshea]

I'm jumping in as I think it's time for us to drop the cat nap, too.  My boy is 6.5 mths and a frequent NW.  We got started this morning pushing his A times a bit and same for the afternoon.  He woke early from the afternoon nap upset so I got him back down.  I think my plan now will be to just not do the cat nap and stick with the new routine for a few days.  I'm just so worried he'll get OT!!

I'm always behind on the routine changes...I don't remember I'm supposed to keep up with my LO until he gets all wonky and then I feel like we're both fighting each other. 

Early bedtimes are hard with managing the 3.5 yr old too and being the only one home some nights. 


Ok, he just woke up now at 3:30 and sounds pretty happy.  I''m thinking 6:30 for bedtime and then crossing my fingers until the morning?!

[amayzie]

Sounds like a plan to me!! 3.30 isn't too bad a time as a 6.30 BT is ok- i'll sometimes stretch my man to 7:00 or close to it if he's up at 3:30 now... i've decided that cat naps are no longer worth it- unless e want him up late.. that is usually NOT what we want!!

[londonlady]

We are dancing back and forth. Yesterday she only took a short 2nd nap (can't figure out if it was OT, reflux related or teething) so ended up putting her back down to sleep at 3pm and she slept til 4.15pm leaving just a reasonable 2.5hrs to bedtime which was doable.

Problem is, that when I go back to doing the school run (will be driving again after recovering from that broken ankle) a short 2nd nap just won't fly as we have to leave the house at 3pm, so she needs to do a text book 1-3pm nap to make our day work! Some chance.... lol.

[eshea]

The 3:30 and 6:30 bedtime seemed to work out ok yesterday - I had him in bed by 6:15 and he talked and mantra'd until 6:45.  He still had some NW and I nursed him once more than I would have liked, but I knew if I didn't I'd just be up at 5:00 and then  he'd over sleep.

Day two - here we go! 

It's hard getting dinner prepped now with a preschooler and the baby around at 5:00.  I loved the cat nap for the 1/2 sanity I got at the end of the day!!

[londonlady]

Yup, much as the CN is a pain the a$$ it did give that time to get dinner sorted for my other child and generally get myself together for the evening / BT madness!!

Back to a normal day for us, 2 x 2hr naps and 1 x 45 min cat nap. Guess it's going to be back and forth for a while to come til her A times stretch in the morning a bit more.

[amayzie]

I find to an early waking (or just waking earlier than later) even 6am makes it harder. Works best with waking up closer to 7. but then i think life in general works best waking closer to 7! 

[londonlady]

So true, so true!