shortening and dropping one nap

[OliverRowland]

Hi all, I was wondering if anyone knew of a link discussing dropping /shortening the one nap?  I am not sure when to start shortening our naps in order to keep a decent night time sleep.  We are having issues with EW and don't know what else it could be.
Thanks

[becky1969]

I believe the 2-1 transition thread is in the sticky section above.

You could post your routine, and I could give it a look-see!

Typically what happens, when you start getting those EWs, is you start limiting your AM nap to about 30-45 minutes, and then you let your child have a long nap in the PM -- around 1.5-2 hours.  What will happen is as your child's A time increases, you will be pushing that short AM nap forward until you hit about the 11 am point, at which time you just give 1 nap for the day.  Some children take 2-3 months to go thru this phase, some kids are ready in a mater of days!  Every kid is different, so you'll just have to watch her cues.  Of course, when night sleep gets messed up, that usually means it's time to either shorten the AM nap or get rid of it entirely.

Post your routine, and maybe I can give more specific suggestions! And, hang in there! This was one of the more difficult transitions we made, but after it was over life got SO much easier! 

[Layla]

Hi, I am assuming he's on 1 nap already and you want to talk about dropping it or shortening it to get longer night time sleep? Could you post your current routine? There is a support thread for dropping the last nap top of the page...

Layla

[OliverRowland]

Yes, we are only on the one nap.  This is what we do currently:

awake b/w 6am-6:30
nap 12:30-2:30, I used to let him go to 3pm some days but i have recently shortened it to no longer than 2.25hrs.  There are also some days when he does less than 2hrs.
bedtime 7:30 (usually asleep b/w 7:50 and 8pm).

Layla, where are you with naps with your both lo's?

[Ydnic]

Marking, as this is the next nap transition and I want to be a step ahead for once!

Cindy

PS  WHen I wake ds from any nap, no matter how long he's slept, he is a cranky pants!  Curious if that ever happens with others...

[becky1969]

Oops! Sorry! I misread that one.

Did your LO just turn 2? Are you getting the 2 year molars in? Cuz sometimes that's what messes up sleep and causes EWs.

We're 2.5 and he's slowly shortened the nap on his own.  We occasionally get a 2 hour nap, but typically it's around 1.5 hours now.  Also, I never let him sleep more than 2 hours during the day because I wanted to preserve our 7:30 bedtime.  If I let him sleep longer than 2 hours, then it pushed bedtime to 8 or 8:30, and that doesn't work for our family (I work while he sleeps).

That probably doesn't help one wit.  I guess you could try limiting nap to 2 hours max and see if that makes a change.  However, it looks like you're getting around 10.5 hours nighttime sleep, which for us is always a sign of being OT.  When Owen was getting the 2 year molars in, he couldn't handle more than 5 hours A time either before or after nap.  I'm wondering if you've tried an earlier bedtime just to see if OT is a culprit? It might be a temporary measure until any teeth are in, and then he'll go back to longer A times.

Sorry to reply to a post that I suck at! 

[Layla]

Becky, you crack me up!

OliverRowland - Isabella no nap since she was about 2yrs 8-9months when she stopped napping altogether. At 2.5, she stopped napping but clearly needed a nap, so I started sleeping with her to get her to nap. That went on for about 3 months or so. She would nap every other day, and then every 3rd day, etc... until it was more like once a week.

On the days she didn't nap, I would put her down at 6pm to allow for a 12hr night.

I can't tell how old he is (our internet is slowing down cause we're over our limit and the ticker is taking forever to load up), but I would think if he's past age 2, he probably only needs 12hrs of sleep or so in total. I would probably not let a nap any longer than 2hrs at this age. Isabella around age 2 was doing 1.5hrs during the day and 10.5-11hrs at night. I actually think that he's getting the right amount of sleep. The early wakings... is 6-6.30am too early for you? Could you leave him in the cot until 7am (if he wakes at 6.30am) or 6.30am (if he wakes at 6am)?

Jasmine is sleeping 1.5-2hrs during the day and 10.5hrs at night. Her routine is:
6am - wake
12-1.30/2pm - nap (I watch the camera to check when she's up or she comes out of the room on her own, lol)
7pm - bedtime (I have NO idea when she falls asleep). I used to watch her on the camera but I've stopped doing that now. I "think" she falls asleep within 30mins or so of being put down.

How is he during the day? Does he seem to need more sleep?

Layla

[OliverRowland]

Layla, thanks.  I guess i don't need to worry as he is getting 12 hrs most days.  Ds is 25 months.  I am now making sure he does not sleep longer than 2 hrs during the day to see what happens at night.  He is fine during the day and not OT....just some 2 yr old behaviour here and there!

I usually go into his room at 6:30 and not later because of pottying.  If I wait too long i miss the am wee wee and sometimes his diaper will not hold it.