How long of a night after nap dropped? (just turned 3)

[RebekahDSC]

Hey BW friends! After heading that direction for awhile, J recently 100% dropped his nap. I'm struggling with how long of a night to give him. What were your kids doing at this age/right after dropping the nap?

[cath~]

DD2 just turned 3 and also dropped her nap about a month ago.

Her nights are around 12 hours now.  Sometimes 15-30 minutes less, occasionally a bit more that 12 hrs.

What was he doing before?  I have found her total sleep has gone up a bit (which I think is pretty common), as before she dropped the nap completely she was doing a short CN (~15 mins) but her nights were more like 11 hrs.

ETA - just noticed our tickers - our LOs were born one day apart!

[creations]

What was he doing before?  I have found her total sleep has gone up a bit (which I think is pretty common)

I agree with this although often have seen the night length being only nap plus night equals new night for a little while and then the night lengthen.
and example is my DS who dropped his nap a few months younger:
2hr nap + 9hr night (yes it went as short as that but he couldn't cope without his long nap!) = 11hr sleep in 24hr
no nap + 11hr night = 11hr sleep in 24hr
but then he settled into it and over some time it lengthened to 12hr night - so yes it became more sleep in 24hrs than he was previously on.
And he stayed at 12hrs for 2+ years (bliss!)

[RebekahDSC]

Hey Cath! Fun that our kids are almost birthday buddies! Thank you for sharing your experience. We were doing an hour and 15 nap with an 11 and a half hour night. So I'm confused why he is only doing about a 12 hour night without the nap. He started waking at 5:30 or 5:45 am (now 6:30 with daylight savings) so we have been putting him to bed around 5:45 (now 6:45) I've been trying to figure out if he is overtired... But this is all complicated by giving up the pacifier, moving to a toddler bed, and becoming a big brother!

[RebekahDSC]

Thanks, Creations! It's helpful to hear different experiences. E was on a 12 hour night for a super long time too. Loved it!

[cath~]

sounds like there's lots going on.

Like creations said though, sometimes it can take a little while before they settle into a longer night and he might be waking after a certain amount of time out of habit.  Or maybe 12 hrs is all he actually needs..?  Does he seem tired during the day at all?  How tired is he at BT? 

Also wondering if lighter mornings could be contributing?  I've just had to put up DD2's blackout blind again as we were getting some EWs.  Now it's dark in her room she's sleeping in again.

One other thought - do you use a Gro clock or similar?  that really helps get rid of the EWs I have found.

[Lindsay27]

We got an 11hr night after the nap was dropped, and it never lengthened to anything more.  All these people would say "oh you'll now get 12 or 13hr nights", uh no...that never happened lol   He's been pretty solid 11hrs ever since, the odd night slightly longer or slightly shorter, but he pretty well just stuck to that.

[RebekahDSC]

I do think he is waking mostly out of habit (and possibly increased light... I'll have to see what we can do about that) He has a clock with all but the first number covered and he knows when he is allowed to get up (7am) He has been kind of emotional during the day so I think he probably does need a little more sleep. Although at bedtime he doesn't seem that tired! Could be he has a second wind by then. Thanks, Ladies. It seems there is quite a range of night length after the nap is dropped so we'll just experiment with a little bit longer night and see how it goes.