transitioning 2-1 using night sleep, anyone?

[lilac83]

Is anyone or has anyone had success with using night sleep to catch up on lost sleep during the 2-1 transition? DD has always been a good night sleeper, but naps haven't been her strong suit. What happened last night made me think that maybe I'm going about this the wrong way and she'll take longer nights if I put her down earlier for bed.

Here's was happened yesterday:

8:00am - awake (she went to bed at 10:15pm the night before so it was a short night)
10:30am - she was acting super tired but completely refused to sleep
11:00am - gave up trying to get a nap in
12:50pm - fell asleep
2:20pm - awake from nap - the problem I'm having is she won't sleep longer than 1.5hrs
7:30pm - asleep for the night
8:30am - woke up....13hr night!!!

I need to either make her nap longer somehow or her night longer. She did a long night like this once about 2 weeks ago too. I'm just not sure at all how to get these long nights. Anyone have any ideas/experience?

Okay, so her nap today was only 1hr 20min long! It's only 1:45pm, I guess I could put her to bed at 7pm, but I really don't want a wake up of 6am (or earlier). I wish she would take longer naps, but she just won't. 

[Texomamama]

When my 21 mo transitioned from 2-1 naps (around 14 months), her one nap was initially quite short (1 to 1.5 hours), but gradually, it extended to about 2-2.5 hours.  While we were in transition, I did put her to bed for the night about 15-20 minutes earlier and it absolutely did help.  We did this for about 3-4 months until she got herself to the point where she was taking the longer naps, at which time, we pushed her bedtime back to her regular time.

Now, she is 21 mo and taking forever to fall asleep for naps, so I am thinking I need to shorten her nap. 

[~inbalance~]

This sounds like my DS and how we'll probably have to deal with the 2-1 when it comes up, so I'd be interested in hearing what people have to day.  DS sounds like your DD, naps are not his strong point either but nights are getting better and better, and I feel that he prefers to get most of his sleep at night.  He never sleeps past 1.5hrs (in fact, even that is rare, it's usually 1hr 15mins) so I am worried when we drop to one nap he'll still only sleep for 1.5hrs max. 

With us I find that early bedtimes can be a lifesaver for catching up on sleep.  He usually only takes 2hrs total naps these days and is doing 11hr nights, but is the happiest and most energetic he's ever been. 

Keep me posted on how it goes, we're not far behind! 

[Edesanja]

Early bed times are working  for us at the moment, too. My DD has 1 nap about 4 times a week and that nap varies in length from 1hr15 -2hrs 20! I never know what she's going to do! If I put her to bed early at 630 she will generally sleep 12.5-13hrs which is what we need to get at least a 7am wake up and be able to do 1 nap again. About twice a week she will wake at about 6am and then we do 2 naps.
Early bedtimes never worked for us in the past so I was nervous about trying it, but it is working!

[lilac83]

Texomamama - Did you do anything to extend your DD's nap or did she do that all her own? DD was on 1 nap for about 1.5 months and then molars started and I put her back to 1 nap. That entire 1.5 months though her nap was usually only 1.5hrs.

Martina - It does sound like our LO's have similar napping patterns. I was so excited to drop the catnap and get 2 long naps, well DD had other plans! Then I was so excited to drop to 1 nap and get a 2-3hr nap, I really hope I won't be disappointed! Good luck to you when you get to this point!

Edesanja - I think alternating between 1 nap days and early bedtime and 2 nap days is the best way for us at the moment as well. Do you follow your DD's cues or give her 5hr A time? This is the part I'm so confused about because DD will start acting sleepy around 4hr A time but at that point it would be near impossible to fit in another nap but with the short nap bedtime would be at 6pm!

I was planning on trying an early bedtime again tonight but we ended up going for a walk with my bro and SIL. So she wasn't asleep until 8pm. Tomorrow though, if she wakes before 7am she will get 2 naps, if she wakes after 7am she will get 1 nap with an early bedtime!

[Texomamama]

She extended her nap on her own, but it took a few weeks.  At first I was a little panicked and thought I was in for just one short nap.  Everyone told me when she went to 1 nap, it would be much longer than the 2 naps, but I decided that the entire 3 hour nap is probably a myth (at least for us it was).  Also, by way of definition, I consider nap as time she is quiet.  So, if I put her down and she quietly lies there and takes 20 minutes to fall asleep, then quietly lies there another 20 minutes after waking, then I'll count that 40 total minutes as "time napped".  Sometimes, I will walk in at 3:00 and she would looks like she had been up for some time, and other times I will walk in and clearly wake her up as I enter.  They are just like us, I think.  Sometimes they sleep well and other times, they toss and turn. 

[Edesanja]

Do you follow your DD's cues or give her 5hr A time?

Ummm... I tend to go by A time. The earliest I will put her to bed is 1145 otherwise the afternoon is just too long for her (and I am still a bit scared of putting her to bed any earlier than 630!). So far she's always had her one nap starting between 1145-1215. She sometimes does show tired signs a bit earlier and I think "oh no, I'm pushing her too far and she's going to have an awful OT short nap" but that's often when she does her longest sleeps.

[~inbalance~]

She extended her nap on her own, but it took a few weeks.  At first I was a little panicked and thought I was in for just one short nap.

This is reassuring!  I too panic that I will be in for only one short nap, but there is hope he will take a long, proper nap when the time comes! 

[lilac83]

Thanks everyone.

She woke at 6:30am, so that's only 10.5hrs of night sleep. I expected that though since she was up too long before bed. However, after 3.5hr A time this morning she gave some tired cues and she's now just playing around in her crib. I hope to get a 30min nap in this morning for her, I even skipped her playgroup to try to fit it in.

If she refuses her nap then I guess it will try for her afternoon nap at 11:45am and do lunch a bit early.

[lilac83]

Yesterday turned out excellent. She took the 30min nap and then about 3hr 40min later slept for 2hr 15min. Today though she woke up later so I really only had time to give her a 20min AM nap. However, she was showing mild tired cues practically from the time I woke her from that nap. Finally after 2hr 50min she was back to sleep but only slept 1hr 15min. OT? Has anyone done a 20min AM nap?

[Edesanja]

Yip, we do 20min naps on two nap days. I started cutting nap down to 45mins, then 30mins then 20mins. I do 2hrs 40mins after a 20min nap. I don't know if it's the ideal amount of A time but she does generally sleep for 1hr30mins (anywhere between 1hr15 and 2hrs). When we were doing 30min naps we did 3hrs A time, but I figured I needed to move the second nap forward more in order to reach the goal of one nap at midday so reduced A time by more than the 10mins of less sleep she was getting. If that makes sense?

[lilac83]

I miscounted before, she got 2hr 35min A time after her 20min nap. She was acting tired pretty much from the moment I woke her though. I will see what time she wakes tomorrow and perhaps try the 20min nap again with a bit less A time. She was asleep for the night 30min earlier than normal, so hopefully this will counteract some OT and she won't have an EW tomorrow.