down to one nap, and it's getting shorter!!!

[katie6579]

So now we are down to one nap and also in the process of learning to go to sleep independently. The first few days the nap was 1.5-2+ hrs- great. Since then it has been an hour, then 50 min, today only 40 min! I am worried than 1 hour of sleep during the day (or less!) is just not enough, considering the long stretch in the am (about 6-12) and pm (about 1-7) On a good night he'll sleep 7-6.

Yesterday I tried for .5 hr to extend his nap but he would have none of it. So what do I do? Here are my thoughts:
*continue trying to extend his nap by staying by the crib, holding his arms down (which is how he goes to sleep)
*watching for him to wake and help him get back to sleep right away (have done this in the past- VERY time consuming, somewhat effective)
*leave him in there after he wakes until it's been 1.5-2 hours (although I am skeptical that would do any good)
*get him up whenever he does wake up and hope one of these days his body will realize he needs to nap longer (doubtful on that too since he has never napped very long)

Something else :?:

I am stuck on this one. Please help.

[Izzy-B's mommy]

Hi Katie...  Not sure if I can help as Isabella is abit younger than Jack.  She is 10mths.   But;  when I lengthend her nap I did what you are skeptical of.  After she woke, I just kept going back in until her nap 'should' be over.   But... she was younger than your ds.  She was about 3-4 months at the time and it took abit but it all worked out. 
I think repitition really works. (well.. in most cases :wink: )
That's all I can offer :oops:   Hopefully someone else has some more helpful idea's for you.   
I know naps can be a bugger!  It's always a work in progress!  Just when you think you've got it down pat ~ your lo is napping 1.5-2 hrs long then they go through a milestone and everything gets messed up :?

[katie6579]

Hi Tracy,
Thanks for your response. Just wondering though exactly what you mean by this:

After she woke, I just kept going back in until her nap 'should' be over.

Do you mind clarifying? (sorry for being dense!) So you would go back in her room to settle her, or leave her until naptime was "over", or...? Thanks.

[elfin]

Hi Katie,

The transition to one nap was hard here as well!  Mostly because we were dealing with early wakings as well.

First off, I would try maybe putting him down earlier, say even 11:30 or so.  It could be that he is overtired.  My ds is almost 19 months, and has his nap anywhere between 11:30 and 12:30.  The other thing I did, especially on those early waking mornings, was go run some errands in the morning and let him have a 10-15 minute catnap in the car.  I found that this really helped to take the edge off, and therefore he wasn't so overtired by the time his nap rolled around.

It took us a few weeks before he eventually settled into his one nap, and now he naps for 2-3 hours everyday, and still goes to bed at 7.

Good luck, and I hope this helps a bit!!

Carrie

[katie6579]

Yes Carrie, thanks for your help. I know it might be a while... for a few days I did put him down earlier, but no I am afraid if I do and he only sleeps for 30-40 min, well that will be an awfully long stretch til bed. Either that or we'll end up back at 2 naps! Grrr. These things are so tough to crack... *sigh*. I will try 1130 tomorrow and see how that goes. Thanks again!

[Lana]

When Ewan first went to one nap it took him a while to lengthen it but he did it on his own.  We would leave him to play in the crib if he was happy when he woke early. 

I think the suggestion of trying for earlier is also good.

Good luck.

[Izzy-B's mommy]

Hi Katie...   Your not dense ~~ I guess I could have explained myself better... :wink: 
What I meant was,  I would put her down for her nap, and once she started to cry I would go in, calm her and then leave the room.  And I would just keep going in everytime she needed me until the nap should be over.   
I don't know if that would even work for your son since he's older than Isabella...
Good luck

[tylersmommy]

We had some ups and downs during the transition to 1 nap. Tyler would take 30 min naps about half the time. When he did, I'd try like crazy to extend them, but it didn't always work. In retrospect, I probably should have let him be. His body got used to the new 1 nap routine after a couple of weeks and his naps lengthened on their own. Sure, we had a few ugly days, but we stuck to it and it fixed itself. Hope the same thing happens for you and Jack...soon!

[Jess-J&E]

Hey everyone! Sorry to jump in on your thread Katie.  I have been reading your messages to eachother and it made me wonder.....I have been transitioning to one nap too and on days that he takes a short one I have just done a stroller ride or a short car ride so that he can catnap to make it to his bedtime. (only 30min of sleep at the most)  Do you think that by doing this I will make the transition longer?  Does that make sense? Does his body need to adjust to the one nap thing by only ever being allowed one nap? Am I doing more harm than good by giving that catnap when the one nap is short?
If I am not being clear let me know.
Thanks!
Jess

[katie6579]

Hi Jess!! Hmm, have NO IDEA about the catnaps... I've thought about doing it myself but we haven't yet. Somehow he makes it all afternoon... how late is Ethan's catnap? I can't let Jack sleep much past 3 or else it messes up bedtime. I think in theory it may help though because eventually he will consolidate the naps... hopefully... how long and what time is the other nap? I put Jack down earlier yesterday (1120) and it worked, he slept for over an hour! Nights are also 11+ hrs!   That is progress for us. We'll see about today. Thanks Melissa for the thoughts, I think I'll give it a few weeks before I really start freaking out...

[katie6579]

Hi Jess!! Hmm, have NO IDEA about the catnaps... I've thought about doing it myself but we haven't yet. Somehow he makes it all afternoon... how late is Ethan's catnap? I can't let Jack sleep much past 3 or else it messes up bedtime. I think in theory it may help though because eventually he will consolidate the naps... hopefully... how long and what time is the other nap? I put Jack down earlier yesterday (1120) and it worked, he slept for over an hour! Nights are also 11+ hrs!   That is progress for us. We'll see about today. Thanks Melissa for the thoughts, I think I'll give it a few weeks before I really start freaking out...

[cjwagner77]

I am glad I found this thread.  Those of you that have already transitioned, maybe you can help me.  My dd is 11 1/2 months old.  I think she is in a transition period where she could go to one nap in the next couple of months.  If we are home all morning, she will take two long naps (total of 3-4 hours).  But if we are in the car between 9:15-10:00 she will fall sleep.  That five minutes is enough to keep her going until her afternoon nap around 2.  If I put her in her crib for a nap, she often talks the whole time or doesn't fall asleep for over an hour of talking.

She starts a Childrens Day Out program twice a week in September (Wed & Thurs).  In addition, Sunday morning is spent in the nursery and Monday morning will be in the nursery during a Bible study.  So that is four days that she won't get to sleep until noon or so.  I have been contemplating just switching her at one year since there will be 4 days of the week that she will be on one nap anyway.

I like your ideas of taking a car or stroller ride in the morning to give her the catnap.  The days that she has had only one nap she is pretty cranky after her afternoon nap.  Maybe I should actually plan a trip in the afternoon.  She already goes to bed pretty early - between 6:30 and 7:00. 

Do you think it is too early to switch her to one nap at 12 months?  A lot of things say to let them tell you when to switch and then there are daycares that make them switch in order to keep everyone on the same schedule.  Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Crystal

[SuzanneF]

Hi everyone - we have been attempting to switch from 2-1 nap for about 6 weeks now and its been fairly horrendous.  Still is quite often.  my daughter is 16 months and often wakes up crying after 1/2 hour or 50 mins.  I go in and do resettling with her - she never goes back to sleep that day but it reinforces what I want her to do the next day and I have had some sucess with this - she may sleep for 11/2 hours the following day.  If we go out for the day and she has catnaps in the car it always stuffs up the sleeps at home for the next day and we are stuck doing settling again.  At least cutting down to one nap a day has helped lessen her wakefulness at night.  We have new baby due in 7 weeks and I'm freaking out that we haven't even got the first one sorted yet......I'm relieved to read all your stuff and know that I'm not the only one struggling with naps and the resettling is soooooooooooooo frustrating! 

[Lana]

Hey there is a support thread for the 2-1 nap switch in the nap forum , here is a link

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=59266.0