2-1 nap 16 month old..what if they wake up early?

[Lovejoy]

hi i've successfully managed to get down to 1 nap for dd, started last week.  I manage to put her down at 11.30am and she sometimes sleeps until 1.30pm and then I put her to sleep for 7pm.

What do I do if she wakes up from nap after 1 hour only and will not go back to sleep as she is wide awake, give her a pm nap or just put her to bed earlier in the evening?

currently i'm giving her lunch when she wakes up at 1.30/2pm.  Will she get to a stage when she will be able to cope with staying up until after 12 and therefore I can give her lunch before her nap?

thanks

[imsmum]

Sometimes the short nap means they've gone down too late and they wake after 1 sleep cycle.  You can try to re settle but if that doesn't work by all means, offer a late afternoon "cat nap"--just long enough to carry her through to her normal/early bedtime.  If she won't do the late afternoon catnap or if you find it interferes with her normal bedtime you can move bedtime SUPER early, no later than 6 pm.  Most lo's can't do more than 5 hours between nap wakeup and bedtime when they first transition to one nap.

If she keeps up with the early nap wakeup you might want to try both a slightly earlier nap and bedtime so that she doesn't get overtired.  If her napping improves you can slowly push both the nap and bedtime back.

[Layla]

Isabella would NEVER take a catnap in the evening to get through till bedtime so we were stuck on 11.30nap and bedtime at 5pm for ages. It seemed crazy at the time but it really helped with nightwakings and she still managed to sleep until her usual 6-6.30am. Eventually her 11.30nap was moved to 12 & bedtime moved to 6-6.30pm

[Gippie]

HI there.    We have a nearly 15 month old who has completed the transition.  She is up at 6am, down 11:30-2 for her nap - give or take a little and bed at 7pm.   If she DID wake early, I'd get her in bed about 6:30 - but read her cues.

We actually give lunch before bed and it has worked out well....Our day looks like this

6am wake and milk
7:30 breakfast
little snack
11:00 (or so) lunch
11:30-2 nap (usually 2.5 hours)
Snack when she wakes (more than just crackers or something - yougurt and cheese....)
5:30 Dinner
7pm Bottle and bed

Her snacks can be a bit of this or that......she signs when she is hungry, so the times work out really well for us.   

I guess your question about lunch sort of depends on when she wakes...I dont think lunch has to be served at noon.  Post back

Stacey

[*Natasha*]

Try giving half of lunch before Nap until it is close to 12pm. Perhaps she is waking early as she is hungry?

[AZMOM]

Hi ladies.  We made the transition mainly because of the move across country (AZ-GA).  Before the move DS(15months) took a nap for about 45 minutes-1 hour at around 10 and then an afternoon nap around 2.  Since the move if we go for a walk(we do this almost daily depending on the weather) or are in the car around 10:30 DS snoozes for about 15 - 20 minutes.  I then feed lunch and he takes a nap around 12:30/12:45(usually sleeps for 2 1/2 hours). If he doesn't get the A.M.snooze in the nap is earlier.  I would definitely try for an earlier nap with lunch before.  I always give DS lunch before because I'm afraid he'll get hungry and wake up.  We just have a good size snack wehn he wakes.  I never tried the super early bedtime but I know it works for many.  My close friend has twins who are 19 months and they are early risers so they start off early and go to bed early.  I'm sure your little one will get to the point when she can stay up longer.  Try something that works for you and it does take time.  Best of Luck!!!!

Lisa