Transition to one nap

[hlc662]

How do I transition my 11 month old to one nap?  Right now she wakes around 6:45 to  7 and naps at 10:30.  She usually sleeps until 12:30.  How do I push it back?  Also, when should I fit lunch in?  Should I give her food before her nap to hold her over?

[Florencia]

Fist of all we'd need to see how her day looks like to see if she's ready for the transition. Many lo's don't transition to one nap until long after the 1 year mark. Are you noticing she's being hard to put down for her naps or that ther naps are shortening? that could be hints to see if she needs the transition.

Usually the transition is made slowly by lenghtening the awake periods. That is if your lo is used to go down at the 3 hour mark, then you could try to put her down 15 mins later and if she responds well, after 3-5 days put her down another 15 mins later and hopefully by going down later, she'll nap for longer. You must be really careful cause she can get overtired and hence nap shorter or being really difficult to be put down.

You can introduce snacks/lunch to help you help her stay awake for longer without being cranky.

But is all a guess game until we have her schedule so we can work on it.

[GG]

This was my experience:  My ds was a decent napper once he passed the 6 mo mark so I thought for sure he would be taking 2 naps well past his first birthday (and I was so happy of this fact ). However, he had other plans.  Sometime after his first birthday, when he was almost 13 months, he would go for days w/o taking an afternoon nap. I would put him in his crib because it was part of his daily routine but he wouldn't sleep. He just played. So I continued that for a while but eventually stopped trying to get him to nap.

So, per Florencia's suggestion, tell us what the current routine is and why you think your lo is ready to drop the nap. If she's still grouchy in the afternoons I would say be thankful you still have that extra "You" time (I miss that the most ) and don't try to drop the nap yet.