2 to 1... how, what, when....

[daniel'smom]

There are so many questions out there about 2 to 1 nap transitions....so I thought I'd poll y'all about when this happened for your little one. I'll make this a sticky so it stays at the top and hopefully consolidates this information.

1. When did you go from 2 naps to 1? Did you drop the morning or afternoon nap?

2. How did the transition affect nighttime sleep? Did you change bedtime?

3. What were the signs that dc was ready to go to 1 nap?

4. How did you go about making the transition?

Thanks!

[Lana]

We transitioned to one nap when ds was 11 months old.  This was perhaps a little early but we kept fighting him for the aft nap and it was getting very stressful for all of us :x .  We didn't gradually change his nap time we just decided to keep him occupied in the am by doing errands etc and that made our transition easier.  His bed time did not change we just moved his nap to the half way point in his wake cycle.  I should also mention that ds sleeps for 12 hours at night and he was not taking very long naps when he was having two so I decided to try for one and it worked, he now sleeps longer and is pretty happy most of the time.  We still  have our rough days though :evil: . 

HTH

[Heather]

1. When did you go from 2 naps to 1? Did you drop the morning or afternoon nap?

We switched at 14 months.  We dropped the morning nap eventually.

2. How did the transition affect nighttime sleep? Did you change bedtime?

The transition didn't affect nighttime sleep.  ds was always a good sleeper, from the very first night he ever slept through the night, he never went back.  We were VERY blessed.  We did not change bedtime.

3. What were the signs that dc was ready to go to 1 nap?

ds did great with his morning nap as usual, but we started to fight and fight for the afternoon nap.  He wasn't upset when we put him down, he would just talk and play in his crib and a lot of times wouldn't end up napping at all.

4. How did you go about making the transition?

ds always napped at 9:30am for his first nap.  We gradually moved it later by 1/2 hour increments.  It was really really hard at first.  He was sooo tired and grumpy.  We would still try to offer the afternoon nap but again, it was hit and miss.  When the morning nap got to around 11:00am, it started to interfere with his lunchtime, so we'd do half his lunch before nap, and the rest after nap.  That got to be a pain so we didn't stay at that stage long.  We moved the nap to right around noon, whenever lunch was over.  I would say this whole process took a few weeks.

[afc]

Gosh, I am trying to remember this ... and it wasn't that long ago!!  :lol:

We got Graham into a nice nap pattern that she kept for quite a while, with a morning nap at 10 or 10:30 and an afternoon nap at 2:00 or so. She never really fought naps, but what happened was that her afternoon nap became later and later (she was at daycare, where they did "nap on demand" so I had less control over the situation). Finally around 14-15 mos it got to the point where her second nap was ending at 5:00 and giving problems for bedtime. So we decided to try one nap days on the weekends (by stretching out the time before her first nap, gradually) and see what happened. It went pretty well, although she'd be really tired by bedtime, so we just put her to bed early. So, we just kept trying to stretch out her morning awake time -- at first she couldn't make it past 11, then 11:30, and so on. Eventually she settled at 12 or 12:30 naps and they've been perfect (around 17 mos). This took a long time, and sometimes she'd get really really tired. We also went back and forth beweetn two naps and one for a few weeks.

I should add that at around the same time she transitioned to the next level at daycare, where everyone is on one nap a day from 12:30 to 3. That has worked so well for her! I feel a bit validated since I had tried to get the nursery to keep a more set schedule with her but they had never been able to manage it (and like I said, the lead teacher's philosophy was nap on demand anyway).

[Tru's Mommy]

DanielsMom!!  As usual, you are reading my mind!  As I type this, Tru has been in his crib almost an hour and has JUST gotten quiet. (ooh, spoke too soon--more babbling).  He is practicing all his words and sounds. Very cute, but he needs to sleep at some point!

It has gotten me wondering how I will know when he's ready for one nap.  His awake time in the a.m. is about 3 hours, but lately it seems he could stay awake longer.  So, if he's up at 6:30 or 6:45 a.m., it might be better to push is nap to 10 a.m., while I've normally put him down at 9:30 a.m.

Afternoon naps are sometimes better, and he goes down at 2:30 or so. 

I don't see him dropping his a.m. nap anytime soon, I can just see it getting later and later into the morning and eventually I guess I'll have to try to get him to nap after lunch and that's it.

Thanks for starting a great post!
   Tru's Mommy

[GraceKellysmom]

We are currently trying a transition and Grace is 13.5 months old. I'm not ready for it being pregnant and exhausted. She is basically refusing the second nap and waking early in the mornings. So for the last week, I pushed the am nap to 11:30 or so and fed her lunch before the nap. Problem is that she still is only napping 1.5 hours. So I've got her awake from 1pm-8pm bedtime. She's a bear by 6 or so. She is not sleeping any longer at night.

So today I thought I'd try two naps again and see what happens. Even if I only get .5 hour for the second, I could use the break from her, and she needs a rest.

[twiggy]

I will answer these questions for Rachel (unless specified differently), as she's the most recent one that I transitioned to one nap.

1. When did you go from 2 naps to 1? Did you drop the morning or afternoon nap?
Sarah was switched over at around 12 months.  Rachel was at 9 months.  For both girls we got rid of the afternoon nap. 

2. How did the transition affect nighttime sleep? Did you change bedtime?
Nighttime sleep wasn't affected.  Her bedtime did move from around 9pm to 8pm.  But she still sleeps through to 8am.

3. What were the signs that dc was ready to go to 1 nap?
She was incredibly frustrated when I'd put her down for a second nap.  This went on for about 2 weeks where she'd complain in bed for about 30 mins then finally give in and go to sleep.

4. How did you go about making the transition?
With Rachel I switched her on a day that she slept in longer than normal.  Then when it was time for her usual nap, I gave her food.  Thanks to Tracy's schedule of eating after sleep, Rachel gets energy from eating.  So this gave her a second wind.  Then I put her down at around 1pm and she slept 2 hours.  Then same thing with the afternoon shift, we gave her supper when she started to get tired.  It worked.  It took about 3 - 4 days for this to sink in, but it did.

[jaxnp]

Hi danielsmom, sorry I didn't reply earlier to your PM, but we just got back from a week in sunny San Diego! 

1. When did you go from 2 naps to 1? Did you drop the morning or afternoon nap?

Not until 18 months.  David did it on his own, refusing the morning nap.  I started pushing his nap until 11 or 12, and didn't give him an afternoon nap.

2. How did the transition affect nighttime sleep? Did you change bedtime?

Didn't affect nighttime sleep in terms of hours.  He did sometimes go down earlier, and went down for naps and bed instantly since he was so tired.

3. What were the signs that dc was ready to go to 1 nap?

Like I said, he just started staying awake his whole morning nap.  He'd be in there for an hour to hour and a half just playing and babbling, then was a complete mess until he napped in the afternoon.

4. How did you go about making the transition?

Just started delaying his am nap until 11 or 12, and he went down in a second without a fuss.  However, until his body got used to 1 nap, there was a LOT of fussiness all day, and some days he just couldn't make it without 2.  Had to be very careful as well about falling asleep in the car.  As a bonus, he can now be easily transferred into his crib if he falls asleep in the car around naptime--never could before. 

Regarding the short naps you mentioned, I'm sure it's just his body trying to adjust.  Just wait it out--I would try to establish a new naptime and stick to it, but realize that it'll take awhile to make the switch and be flexible if he needs 2 naps some days and 1 nap others.  Good luck!

[Carri]

I am just posting because we are in the midst of transitioning to 1 nap at the moment.  It is so frustrating!  Because this is a fairly old post, I'd just thought I'd post a message to encourage anyone who has been watching this topic and not posted to post!!!  The previous posts are helpful--but we need all the help we can get!!!!!!!

[beachmom]

I think we may in the middle of Grace dropping her 2nd nap(I SO HOPE I AM WRONG!!!!!!) But this thread helps alot to read what others have done...like carrie said please if anyone else has ideas please post them!!!

[beachmom]

Gracekelliesmom & Nikki-

I know it has been along time since you both posted this re; naps-I was wondering if you could share what came of your tranistions to one nap and when it all happened.

I have has 2 days of fighting the afternoon nap-my dd is almost 11 months-I am so scared of this happening-her morning nap is getting longer-she wakes from the am nap at 11:15....the 2nd nap was at 1/130-can't do that now she is so not tired. I am confused.

I put her to bed at 630 vs 7/15-so i will be curious to see if she wakes early........any advice?/
_________________
Chris-Mommy of Grace-11/7/03
[img:9aaa541c89]http://lilypie.com/baby1/041107/2/16/0/-5/.png[/img:9aaa541c89]

[Catzsz]

Ok, we're at the 2 to 1 stage. Wish we wernt, i love having two breaks a day :lol: . Ive been fighting it more than dd. 14 months

Right, the last month we've been fighting two colds back to back so ive been stuck with the gradual moving up of the 1st nap. Dd's so misrable right now im not pushing it yet but i think we will be soon cos she's getting to that crunchy faze of her cold.
Her bedtime as a result is between 6-6.30pm. She will sleep to between 5.30 (mainly due to cold) and 7.30 in the morning. 7am is average.
Nap usaully about 3hrs 15mins after wake up, rarely get away with 2nd nap at around 5pm, if we do no matter how long she has she beleives its night time anyway and quite rightly thinks she should go back to bed so unless desperate she wont have it at all since she cant seem to wake up properly after and is a mess.

Aim! One more hour awake in the morning before 1st nap, then we get the 7pm bedtime back!

[le]

I'm finding this soooo confusing.

I don't know if dd is ready to change from 2 naps to 1 or I am letting her get over tired! She is 10mnths.

At the moment She goes to bed aroung 6.15/6.45 as she is so tired by then I can't :evil:  keep her up (although it can be a battle to get her to sleep)

She wakes in the night once anytime around 2am to 5am (I think she is hungry as she goes to bed so early) so she has a 7oz bottle.

She wakes at around 7am

first nap around 10am/10.30 but she is now fighting this - she rubs her eyes/head ywns but refuses to go tosleep it usually takes about 30mins to get her to go off :evil:
She usually sleeps for about an hour.

Second nap we try at 2.30 but is often around 3.30 before she wil go to sleep. She will sleep for 1/1.5

If she sleeps til 5pm she eats them still seems tired by 6pm.

What do you think?

[Zoesmama]

1. When did you go from 2 naps to 1? Did you drop the morning or afternoon nap?
12-13 months my dd was only doing one nap she cut out the 3rd nap on her own then did the same with her morning nap, well acutally what happened is she started sleeping later in morning and didn't need first nap anymore.  She has been doing 1 two hour nap since 13 months

2. How did the transition affect nighttime sleep? Did you change bedtime?
I would say it got better about the same time but it hasn't affected night sleep at all I did move bedtime back a tad but that was a natural occuring thing I just watch for her sleepy cues in evening and it guides me to when I start bath and whatnot.

3. What were the signs that dc was ready to go to 1 nap?
She wouldn't nap for her main nap anymore or slept shorter time.

4. How did you go about making the transition?
Was easy she kinda did it for me.  I just let her body fall into a schedule I also was watching a 20 month old boy at this time and she also learned from him to just go to sleep on her own.  I'd put them in for nap at 1pm and they jibber for awhile back and forth and wahlah they'd both go to sleep on their own.  From that time on she started going to sleep on her own at night.  I was shocked.

[wren]

DS was 18 months