2-1 has resulted in one hour nap...help!!

[carolines mama]

i have had my 18 month old doing one nap for about a month and a half now. she used to take 2 1.5-2 hour naps, but started not taking either nap well.
now that she is only on one, she only sleeps for one hour and ten minutes...the whole day! i tried putting her down at noon consistently and  moving her bed time back to 7:30 (it has always been 8 ) but that hasn't seemed to help at all. she would sleep from 7:30 or so at night to 8:00 or later in the morning, but her naps still remained 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Starting the last few mornings, though, she has been waking up closer to 7.
 
does anyone have some suggestions?  i have no clue how to fix this....

[* Paula *]

You may find that your lo may be in need of more A time.

We found that when our DD went onto one nap, her nights did get a lot longer, and we have had to adjust her A time accordingly.  Perhaps aim for putting her down closer to 12:30 and see how she does.

We on the otherhand are having similar issue, where DD is refusing to nap even after up to 6 hours A time   We have had 5 days out of 7 where she has not napped

[carolines mama]

thanks for the info. i have even tried putting her down around 1 and it doesn't make a difference. i can't figure out if more consistency is what i need, if i should just go back to her 8pm bed time and hope she sleeps longer...or maybe she is just going to nap for one hour??? it doesn't seem like that is enough.

i can't imagine 5 out of 7 days with no nap at all! that is discouraging. how long has she been on one nap?

[* Paula *]

How does she act when she has woken from her hour and ten minute nap?  Is she happy or is she cranky?

How long has she been on 1 nap?

I know that when DD went to 1 nap for a while her first nap was pretty short, but as she got used to it, it did start to lenghten, and when she does nap, it can be anywhere from 2.5 - 3.5 hours.

My DD has been firmly on 1 nap from when she was 10 months old.  I know she has been on the higher end of the A time since she was a baby, but dropping her nap at 18 months is just ridiculous.  She is not even acting OT or anything, she is just happy playing and singing.  My DS dropped his nap at 2 and even then I thought that was too soon   

Fingers crossed your DD naps longer tomorrow, and we get a nap.

[carolines mama]

18 months seems too young to me, too. i have heard that some just don't nap as long. hopefully, that is not the case for you.

mine has been on one nap for about 2 months now. how long did it take for them to lengthen? i have read it could take several months.
is this true? she usually wakes in a decent mood, but not always. the hard part is getting her all the way to bed time. it's quite a task

let me know how it goes on your end.

[~Karen~]

When my dd went to one nap she was only doing 40 min naps all day at first and at about 18 months or so they started getting longer and were soon up to 2.5 hours a day.  I wouldn't worry about it too much as long as she seems happy and not OT.

Paula - Hi!  Great to "see" you.   on Abi's naps.  Hope she doesn't drop it too soon! 

[carolines mama]

thank you for the advice! super helpful. how long did it take for her to lengthen?

[~Karen~]

I'm not totally sure as I wasn't really paying attention back then as she was always a good night sleeper and didn't get OT from short naps so just ran with it. It was when she went on a proper after lunch nap that it improved. I remember the age as it coincided with ds being born! 

[becky1969]

my son's nap slowly lengthened after going to 1 as well.  He was a predictable 2 hour napper prior to 2-1 switch, but right after the switch was doing more like 1-1h20.  I think for us it took about a month to get to 1.5 hours, and then probably slowly over the next 3-4 months he finally got to 2.  Then he stunned me by moving from 2-3 hours between ages 2 and 3.  I never expected it to get LONGER after age 2.    So, don't give up yet! It's a matter of adjusting to A times and the body only getting 1 nap.

[* Paula *]

*waving* Hi Karen 

I agree with the PP's it did take a few months of the nap extending.  Stick with it, and see how she does.

Thanks Carolines mama, fingers crossed we have a nap today.  I am aiming for a nap at around 1:10pm.  I hope she naps today, as she is pretty cranky.  Pesky teeth!

[speechie]

Hi- we had this happen too! Drove me batty for about 3 weeks, then presto his 1 hour nap converted into a 2-3 hour nap. I did have some earlier bedtimes because of this, and I've found that my DS sometimes STILL will take a catnap in the AM if we're in the car.
Hope your LO lengthens that one nap real soon!