Help .... Nap Times Getting Shorter 😱

[Scoobydoo07]

Hi

I have girl / boy twins who are 16 months now. My little boy is a great sleep and sleeps 11+ hours a night (if not woken) and will nap up to 2 hours during the day. However my little girl will sleep less during the night and will generally wake between 5 & 6am  and will nap generally between 20 mins to 40-45 minutes, sometimes we do get 1.5 hours which is very rare.

I do believe that if she napped better she would therefore sleep longer and this has been proved on the days she sleeps better. But how do I get her to nap for longer? I don't rush in when she wakes and leave her for about 10 minutes to moan / whine / whinge. They do self settle as they are awake / drowsy on an evening when I put them to bed. They don't have a dummy just a comforter which stays in their cots. They do share a Bedroom and my older son is next door!!!

I am wondering if I should be pushing their nap times back as my son was sleeping 12-2 or 1-3 at this age.

510 - 6am Wake Up & Milk
8am Breakfast
Playtime
Nap time depending on how tired is anytime from 945 - 1045
12 - Lunch
Playtime
1545 possibly second short nap in car if out as still tired
1630-1700 Tea
1800 Bath
Asleep by 1900

Many thanks for reading and any advice xxx

[Buttonbobs]

Hi there. It does seen like a very short first A time for children of that age and also then leaves the afternoon as very long. This seems to be ok for your son, but perhaps your daughter would be much happier with a later first nap. Also, with a wake up that early the day is quite long. You might find she would sleep a little longer in the morning if the nap was later. Actually the same might be true for both of them.

Have they always had a nap at this time?

You could try moving that first nap later in the morning, perhaps try shifting it by half an hour or so and holding for a few days before moving it again. You might want to aim towards a lunchtime nap at 12 or 12.30. This would be normal for toddlers of 16 months with a WU of 7am approx. you might find as you slowly shift the naps later in the day, you start getting a longer night.

What do you think?