10 1/2 Month Old Taking One Nap a Day?

Hi M. Y-

10 months is a little young to give up the morning nap. At this age your child should be getting 14 hours of sleep a day, night & nap.

I recommend to the parents I coach (I'm a parent coach), to set the nap time back 15-20 minutes until you find the right fit. Kids change their nap needs quickly. I've found that if you miss the "nap window" the child gets over tire and cannot fall asleep.

I would expect your son to go to 1 nap around 15-18 months, but not before.

As for night time, again, try to lay him down earlier in the evening. If he wakes early, lay him back down. He may not know how to comfort himself back to sleep if he wakes early. I always suggest parents use a music CD in the child's room. It helps the child learn when it's bedtime and drowns out other noises.

R. Magby

My daughter was a terrible sleeper when she was younger. She also went down to one nap at a really early age. She didn't sleep through the night, the one nap she did take was a short nap. It was just a mess! Then at about 18 months old, it all changed. She turned into a wonderful sleeper! She slept through the night, her one nap a day became a 2-3 hour nap. She was now well rested, so her attitude improved immensly. She was no longer cranky all day from lack of sleep! I don't know what changed at 18 months, but whatever it was I am super grateful. Some babies are just bad sleepers. You have got some great advice already, so just hang in there and know that as they get a little older, it improves!

That sounds very similar to my daughter. My daughter went down to one nap at 8 months old. She was also only getting about 7-9 broken hours of sleep at night. She is now 16 months and she just now started sleeping through the night about 4 weeks ago. Also, since she has been sleeping straight through the night, there are several days she won't nap at all anymore. She probably only naps 2, sometimes 3 when I'm lucky, times a week. While most babies need more sleep, some of us 'lucky' moms have children who just need less. If he isn't sick or constantly cranky, then he is getting plenty of sleep. I would just go with it. Trying to force him to take a second nap is just going to be a losing battle if he doesn't need it.

It isn't easy, but I eventually found ways to distract my daughter and/or work around her for house work. It is certainly a pain and would be a lot easier if she just slept more, but we had to adapt somehow. I know how hard it is and you have probably heard this a million times, but it will get better. When she was 14 months, napping only 30 min a day, and not sleeping through the night, I always hated people who told me that, but a month and a half later, it turns out they were right.

Hang in there mommy, and good luck!

my little boy's been taking just one nap/day for months (he's 19ms.). i'm pretty sure he did at that age too. course he goes to daycare and they kinda determine that. i say if he's acting sleepy, someone on here told me to do the whole bedtime routine you normally would (minus the bath of course), but like read him books, make it quiet etc and just lay him down. maybe he'll whine/cry for about 10 mins but he should eventually fall asleep. however, i've also heard/read, as in my case, they only need one/day. so if that's the case and you're worried about him getting enough sleep (you should be b/c that's when they grow, per my pediatrician), then maybe lay him down earlier in the evening. my bear goes to bed at 7 p.m. which is really early to everyone i know, but i feel the sleep factor's important. you probably already know all of this stuff, but just a little reassurance that i've been where you are and know how you feel. i hope this help and if nothing else, hope you know i'm right there w/you feeling sometimes confused and second guessing myself. good luck! :)

I hear you!! My 9 month old sometimes only takes one nap a day too and it drives me crazy! I think partly his issue is that he's the second child and sadly I haven't been quite as good about his routine as I was his sister's so that's my fault. He sleeps between 8-11 hours at night, you never know what you're going to get, so I understand your frustration. I would say that one nap for your little guy is probably fine. If he isn't going to sleep in the morning, don't force it...he'll just lay there and cry the whole nap time and then no one feels any better about it! I would also agree that you should look at moving it up a little bit, maybe more around lunch time. Get in a good routine with eating and then going up to bed and that should help. Also, he may surprise you and once he gets in a good afternoon nap routine he may take another cat nap nearer to dinner time. I am firm believer that sleep breeds sleep, meaning if they are over tired they don't sleep well at all, but sometimes it's hard to accomplish! Hang in there and try a few different things! As far as getting stuff done around the house, no worries...it will get easier when he's a bit older and can play by himself for a little longer, but I guess you're right, until then it may be tricky!

This is probably just a bump for him. Be wary of taking him down to one nap given that he doesn't sleep more than 8 hours at night. I can not stress this enough-***sleep begets sleep***! A well rested baby will sleep better at night. 10.5 months is too young to give up 2 naps a day.

Learn all you can about baby sleep. Once I did that it made my life so much easier. Babies have to be taught how to sleep and we as parents have to learn how to interpret their signals and move when they give them to us. The Baby Sleep Book by Dr. Sears and The Baby Whisperer are good places to start.

And sometimes babies just don't want to go down for a nap. Then they go back to their normal routine. There were times when I would have to lay down with my son so he would nap and get us back on track.

If he is not sleeping through the night, then yes he needs to get rid of a nap. I would take him down to one nap, but change the time. 3pm is probably too late in the day, which is why he isn't sleeping through the night. Maybe go down to one nap and change the time to 12:30 or 1pm (and keep the nap to 1- 1 1/2 hours).

Hello! You are correct - your little one is not getting enough sleep and this can affect his health and happiness and your's too. There is professional help out there - I have a 100% success rate with my private consultations and would love to help you and your son with the gift of a good night's sleep and to have quality nap(s) during the day.
P.
www.sleepsense.net/kelowna
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Both of my little ones were down to one nap at this age (and not sleeping through the night either), but I agree the one nap needs to be around lunchtime. They started sleeping through the night at 13 and 14 months, and my first turned into an awesome sleeper around 18months (second isn't that age yet). Just to let you know, he stopped naps early - 2.5yrs, but I still try to do "quiet time". It took me about six months of struggles to figure this out, so keep it in mind when you get there!