Learning about 1 yo sleep - changing patterns?

[Lilo's mom]

Hi!
My baby is 1 year and 1 month old, and for quite a few months now he's been having a very steady routine:

7,30 - WU and milk
9 - juice
11,00 - milk and nap
11,20 - nap until 12,20
12,30 - lunch (solids)
4,00 - milk
4,20 - nap - 5,20
5,45 - dinner (solids)
8 - bath
8,30 - milk
8,40 - sleep

He goes straight unitl 7,30. During the times he's awake, he's REALLY active, started walking at 11 months so now he's practically running. He's very curious and needs to touch everything he sees - so, by the time he goes to bed for naps or at bedtime, he's really phisically tired. Usually, he goes down really easily in the first nap, and sometimes resists the second nap for at least 20 minutes before he settles and sleeps (he always sleep by himself, in his crib)

I have three doubts:
1. when should I expect him to drop one nap?
2. How to help him drop one nap? Everybody says that the first nap is usually the easist to be dropped, but my lo seems to fight more the second nap...
3. the past week he has woken up during the night (once, at different times in different naps). He wakes up after moving a lot in his crib (as if he was trying to find a good position), crying. The first two nights I woke up, went to his bedroom and didn't take him out of the crib - i stayed with my hand in his back until he settled again. Last night, he cried and I didn't even go in there, as he settled alone after a few minutes. The two nights I went in, ít didn't seem to be any problem (diaper, poop, heat/cold). Any ideas of what this could be?

Thanks!

Mariana

[Lilo's mom]

Again tonight, at 4 am, he started crying... didn't get up, barely lifted his head; it's as if he was sleeping. Cried for 2 minutes, stopped by himself and stayed quiet for about 5 minutes, and then it happened all over again for 3 - 4 times... He has 4 teeth and the 5th is starting to cut through his gum (but he didn't have any trouble with the first 4)... Any clues??

[ZacsMumme]

It could be teeth causing the disruption - it's a prime age for that, and also developmental disturbances (there's a wonder week around this time)

If you feel the morning nap is he best one, then keep it I did with both my boys because they always did 2 short naps otherwise

So I'd try pushing the morning nap out by 15-30 mins and hold there for 5 days. Hopefully you start to get a longer nap. Then you can make the pm nap a CN (cap at 30 mins) and pull bt forward a little. If you get a whopper morning nap then this becomes a 1 nap day.

So your 2 nap day may look like this
Wu 7.30
Nap 12-1.30
CN 4.30/5 for 30 mins
BT ~8 some Los May need less or more time on a CN. My boys usually did 2.5 hrs to bt.

A one nap day would look like this
Wu 7.30
Nap 12-2.30
Bt 7 so your going for an EBT

What do you think

[Lilo's mom]

Thanks for your reply, Sara! Can I ask your suggestion to feeding schedules, if I go for one of the nap schedules you suggest?
Also, how can I tell it's time to change? What is the typical age to convert to one nap? Do you think he shows he is ready by fighting the naps? Or are NW/ early waking related to that?
Tks!

[ZacsMumme]

Here's some links with info but really the 2-1 is a process. You may find you can cut to one nap CT but often for younger LOs you do a mix of 1/2 nap days until they settle into the 1 nap routine based on their WU, nap length etc.

I thank at that age we did WU and breakfast. (We dropped the morning feed first for both boys)
Bt snack or early lunch then milk feed before nap. (To prevent waking hungry)
Late lunch/early arvo snack on WU.
Dinner then milk feed and bed.

With the CN I just offered dinner after the CN as bt was a bit later.

It's a muddly age with feeding and sleep but you will find things settle in a month or so.

From 2 to 1 nap transition (10-12m and older)
10/ 11mo sleep gone wonky? Read this first! (2-1 switch)