One nap - how long until it lengthens?

[scruffymax]

I know this has been covered before but I can't find it 

LO is nearly 15MO and is starting daycare in just over a week (Mon/Tues) where they have a set nap of around midday (after 11:30am lunch).  Up until now I have kept DD on short am/long pm nap as it is basically working (and I am still enjoying 2 breaks during the day).  She is taking longer to get to sleep for each nap and skipping naps at least once a week but it has still been manageable.  I have dabbled with a midday-ish nap a few times but she seems to get OT within a few days.

Given the daycare situation I thought I should try to move her onto 1 nap.  Here are our last 3 days:

Thurs
WU 6:30am
Nap 12:00pm-1pm (1hr)
BT 6:45pm

Fri
WU 6am
Nap 11:00am-12:40pm (1hr40min)
BT 6pm

Sat
WU 6:30am
Nap 11:30-12:30 (1hr)
BT 6pm

A "normal" day on 2 naps
WU 6:30am(ish)
Nap 9:30-10 (30 min)
Nap 1:30-3pmish (1hr30)
BT 7pm

I'm totally aware that DD probably won't nap well at daycare and will be absolutely shattered those days.  What I'm not sure about is whether to continue sticking to 1 nap every day, or keep her on 2 naps the days she's at home.  DH is away for 3 weeks and I am just exhausted and today when she woke after an hour I wanted to cry.  Damn pregnancy hormones!  And that's with me going to bed at 8pm every night!

If you tell me within a week or so she will be sleeping at least 2hrs (on days at home) I can probably stick with it.  The 6pm BT is quite nice for me in the evening but my gosh the days are long.  On 2 naps, we just go out in the middle of the day but on 1 nap, I have to take her out in the morning and in the afternoon because it's just too long at home - she gets bored and I get bored.

I would love to hear from others who have BTDT 

[TracyP21]

Hey Scruffymax, well done on keeping 2 naps for so long, you have done well.  Your DD and my DS share the same birthday so happy 15 months on Tuesday!

We have been on one nap for nearly 3 weeks now and naps have lengthened over that time - though differ from day to day - ranging from 1hr 20 to 2hr 55!  I think its still him working through the transition.  Last week we did end up with a 2 nap day as he fell asleep on me at 10am and I let him sleep an hour and then had a hard time getting him to sleep later on - only 25 mins!  So its officially a one nap household now, with EBT of 6pm but usually 6:30pm.

So I guess my answer to your question is it can take time but then depend on your LO. 

Re: daycare - my boy has shorter naps there and its a bit hairy from 4pm-6pm when we get home but then he tends to do a catch up day on Friday and sleep longer (2hr +).

[jenn1975]

We went to one nap right at 15 mos and decided to stick to it and not go back and forth between one and two. It seemed like it would drag the process out longer.

He's now 19 mos and has been on one nap for three months. The first month of one nap was hard! I was on this site regularly for support! We had short naps, long night wakings, grumpiness. But we knew it was time for one. I'm so glad we saw it through. I was thinking it wasn't ever going to get better but it did.

Their bodies adjust to the change and it sounds like your lo is ready, and at the right age.

Short naps lengthened after a month or so. Funny though, we're dealing with them again. Ugh! I think ours needs another routine tweet. It's never ending it seems.

Good luck and stay strong. Soon you'll be helping someone else through it.

[scruffymax]

Thanks for the feedback.  I think that now that I've accepted it and am only expecting a short nap, I'm okay with it :-)  This way when she does eventually do a longer nap it will be a pleasant surprise!  So I've run around and got everything done I need to do today (just up to the hour mark now) and anything extra is a bonus.  She slept for over 12.5hrs overnight again so I just have to remind myself that shorter nap = more time to myself in the evening when she goes to bed early.  I hope I can get back to usual BT soon though as DH will barely see her if she keeps going to bed at 6pm and we won't be able to have dinner together (we had just started this a month or so ago, having dinner at 5:30pm as a family).  I will keep you posted!

[jenn1975]

Bedtime will get later lute by little don't worry. It just starts to happen on its own once they get ysed to longer wake times.

I'd kill for a 12.5 hr night! Lucky you! Our son has done 12hrs a few times but mostly 11-11.15.

Hang in there!

[scruffymax]

Thanks!  Got 1hr 15min nap but my little angel girl is still lying in the cot chatting to herself (nearly 1hr later) so I managed to sweep and mop the floor and do the dishes!  What am I complaining about really.

I'd kill for a 12.5 hr night! Lucky you! Our son has done 12hrs a few times but mostly 11-11.15.

11-11.5 is our normal night too - 12.5 is definitely an unusual occurence here :-) 

[scruffymax]

Well Sunday we had

WU 6:30am
Nap 12-1:15pm (1hr15)
BT 6pm

Monday (today)
WU 6:10am
Nap 12-2pm (2hr!!!)
BT 6:30pm

So day 5 we finally got a 2hr nap!  And of course it was when she was with my sister and I was at work!!!

For sure she will go back to a short nap tomorrow but there is hope 

[jenn1975]

That's great! Hope it keeps up!

[scruffymax]

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday naps were all 1:45- 2hrs long.  Yay!  Yesterday (Wed) we ended up staying with family for dinner so I didn't get her to bed until after 7pm and she woke at 6am (her shortest night since we've been on 1 nap I think).  She was happy so I left her in the cot for a while, then I got up and had breakfast, got dressed, unloaded the dishwasher etc and the whole time she was happy so I just left her in the cot and got chores done.  Then around 7:30am she went back to sleep for over an hour!!! I've no idea whether to call that a nap or something else!  So she only napped around an hour at 12:30pm today and was quite tired by late afternoon so I put her to bed at 6pm and she went to sleep within 5 minutes.

So, we are going well.  Just posting updates for all those others going through 2-1 who may be going through the same thing and having the same questions.

[jenn1975]

Seems to be going along well!
Good to hear!