If you’re not sure how many naps your baby should have at his particular age, you’re not alone: it’s a question I receive frequently! This post is all about when and how to move from 2 naps to 1.
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When to Drop to One Nap
Of all the nap transitions, I would say this is the one people are most likely to drop a nap prematurely. Parents who don’t know how to handle this transition (and most normal parents don’t know this!) start seeing sleep issues crop up, and almost immediately they make the jump to one nap. However, as with all nap transitions, I recommend holding off as long as you can! The longer you can keep your child on more naps, the easier it will be to transition to fewer naps (and I’ll tell you how in a minute!).
The timeframe for this transition is typically between 14 and 18 months, with some kids transitioning as early as 12 months and others as late as 20 months. Personally, I recommend shooting for 16-18+ months if at all possible!
Causes of the premature nap transition
Around 11-13 months old, babies often start having issues with one or both naps. They may take a long time to actually fall asleep, they may take a short nap or even no nap, and they’ll likely be crankier than usual since sleep is off. Moms in Facebook groups everywhere will rush to tell you it’s time to drop a nap, but premature nap dropping can cause more issues than it solves, since it typically results in overtiredness. Overtired babies fight sleep, while well-rested babies embrace sleep. Read on to find out how to hold onto two naps!
How to Navigate this Transition
The 2-1 transition can be quite tricky because you have to balance awake time with circadian rhythms. On two naps, I recommend starting the naps at 9am and 1pm (yes, the whole time they’re on two naps!). On one nap, I recommend starting the nap around 12/1pm. That means that when you transition from 2 naps to 1, you go from asking Baby to tolerate 2-3 hours of awake time (6/7am-9am) to 5-6 hours of awake time (6/7am-12/1pm). That’s a huge jump!
Hold on to 2 naps
I recommend holding onto two naps for as longgggggg as possible so you can switch over directly from the 2-nap circadian schedule to the 1-nap circadian schedule. Here’s how it works —
Begin by limiting the first nap. If Baby usually sleeps for 2 hours for nap 1 and then skips nap 2, cut nap 1 off (i.e., wake Baby up) after 1-1.5 hours instead. If you cut the nap off after 1.5 hours and Baby still skips nap 2 or takes an extra long time to fall asleep for nap 2, cut the nap back further — 1.25 hours or 1 hour. This should buy you a few more weeks or months of a nice 2-nap schedule.
Anytime Baby starts fighting naps again, you’ll have to cut back on that first nap again. You can even cap the nap as short as 30-45 minutes, giving Baby a morning “bridge nap” to help her make it to that afternoon nap.
If Baby is taking 40-50 minutes to fall asleep for nap 1 or skipping it completely, continue to put her down for nap 1 for a solid month. If she typically falls asleep in the last few minutes of Crib 60, get her up before she actually makes it to sleep; if she can go an entire 60 minutes without falling asleep, get her up at the end of Crib 60. Then put her down for nap 2 at 12/1pm. Giving her this one-hour of rest will help her make it to her 12:30/1pm nap without having meltdowns the whole time — the break from stimulation is very beneficial!
After a month of sleepless Crib 60, go ahead and try the solid one-nap schedule (without a rest) for a few days. If you find that she’s having trouble making it, you can re-implement a morning rest (30-60 minutes, starting around 9am) for a few more weeks. With my first daughter, I used a morning rest a few times a week even when she was 24 months old!
Making the move to One Nap
If you’re able to hold onto two naps until 16+ months, you’ll usually find that transitioning to one nap beginning around noon will work out nicely. By 24 months, that nap will likely need to start closer to 12:30, and within a few more months, you’ll shift to 1pm (where the nap will stay until it’s time to drop it completely).
If you transition to one nap younger than 16 months, the nap may need to start as early as 11am. However, be careful with an early nap, as that can get you in a cycle of early bedtimes/early wakeups/early nap. Ideally we want to see a nap closer to 3 hours in length for kids who transition earlier (and 2-3 hours for kids who transition later). If the nap is only 1.5 hours at 11am, move the nap later.
Tricky parts of the 2-1 Transition
When you do move to one nap, tread carefully! The most important thing is to make sure that Baby is still getting enough sleep overall, otherwise several sleep issues can emerge. It’s important to pay attention to your child’s sleep patterns and try various adjustments until you find something that works. When making changes, try them out for 3-5 days before making another change.
Common issues & possible fixes
Short naps: When Baby used to take a combined 2.5-3 hours of sleep in her two naps, but only takes 1.5 hours (or even shorter!) after transitioning to one nap. Try: Adjusting the start time of the nap. See previous section (Making the Move to One Nap) for ideas on how the nap might need to be adjusted in your particular case.
Latency: When Baby takes a long time (20+ minutes) to fall asleep at bedtime. Try: Adjusting the waketime before bed in 15 minute intervals. Typical waketime before bed in the beginning of this transition is 4-5 hours.
Split Nights: When Baby stays awake in the middle of the night for 1-2 hours, typically calm/happy. Try: Adjusting waketimes to add more awake time into the day. This may mean adding 15 more minutes before bed, or it may mean pushing the nap 15 minutes later and leaving the WT before bed the same.
Early Morning Wakings: When Baby used to sleep in later on two naps, but now wakes up significantly earlier (whether it’s an actual EMW [before 6am] or an appropriately early wake). Try: Adjusting the waketime before bed in 15 minute intervals. Typical waketime before bed in the beginning of this transition is 4-5 hours.
As you can see, most of the fixes for these issues involve making adjustments to the timing, and seeing which change works out the best! This transition (along with the 1-0) can honestly be quite frustrating because of these confusing issues.
Hopefully now you feel better equipped to handle this nap transition, but if you still have questions, I’d love to help! Leave a comment or send me a message and we’ll connect soon!