2 To 1 Nap a Day Now

Updated on January 11, 2007
M.W. asks from Fresno, CA
13 answers

I would just like a bit of other moms experience for changing from 2 naps to 1 nap a day. I have a 13 month old son and he is really not taking an afternoon nap and his morning nap is moving later then usuall. This just seems really early for him to do this. My Dr. says he needs 12 hours of sleep a day and he is getting about 12 to 13. I was just wondering when other children moved naps around.

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So What Happened?

Thank you everyone for all the personal experience. It has made me feel so much better about letting Nathan stop the afternoon nap. It is a frusterating process because it seems there is either too many hours in the day or just a few too many right now. We are doing a late morning nap until about 1 and then a afternoon readding quiet time and an earlier bed time.
Thank you again. This was the first post for me and I really got some great advice.

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K.E.

answers from Fresno on

I also have a 13 month old son doing the same thing. He use to take two short naps, one around 10:30am and the second around 3:00pm. He's recently starting merging the two together. He now (usually) takes one long nap a day starting at 1:00pm. Everyone I've talked to said this is normal for his age, plus it makes my life easier since I only have to work around one nap a day instead of two. Hope this helps!

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A.W.

answers from Portland on

I have two boys, one is 7 months and the other is 1 1/2 years old. My oldest used to take two naps too and they would be for about 1 to 2 hours and he was still able to go down between 8 and 9 for bedtime, but not anymore. The morning nap which was around 10 in the morning is gone and now he goes down around noon to 2 depends on how late he woke up that morning. I wouldn't worry too much about him starting early because each child is different and everyone is going to tell you different things. You need to do what's best for you and your schedule, but I will agree you need to wear him out so he at least gets one nap. It benefits you too because us moms need rest too!!

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D.N.

answers from Medford on

My son is 14 months old and is also going from 2 naps to 1 a day. What works well for me: rather than allow his morning nap to happen later I keep him awake, give him lunch between 11-11:30 and he goes right to sleep around noon. This also helps with bedtime too because he naps until around 2pm, so by 8 (his bedtime) he's ready. Good luck!

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D.C.

answers from Seattle on

I also have a 13 onth old, who sometimes doesn't want to take both naps. I started reading a book when he was about 8 months old, that helped me understand sleep and sleep habits so much better. It is Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Child, by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. I think it was like 10 bucks on Ebay. I wanted to get my son to go to sleep on his own, because i couldn't put him down or he would wake up and wouldn't go back to sleep. wel the book helped me and my son has been going to sleep without me rocking him since he was about 8 months old. But now he has started to fight his one of the two napps he takes a day. The book told me that this can be normal for that age, and that you should still put him in the bed to take the nap and keep them there for an hour even if they are just in there playing. He (dr weissbluth) refers to this as a quite playtime. It is good because it still allows the baby to go to sleep if they need to but it will allow some time to recharge even if they are just quite and playing. I think the book is the most helpful think i have used since i had my son. But as long as your child if sleeping the right amount and is not appearing to become overly tired then it should be ok. That is one thing that the book focuses on is not allowing your child to become overtired, and also making sure you give them enought time to fall asleep(in most cases it is about an hour) Well I hope i have been helpful

I am a 24 year old stay at home mother of a one year old boy.

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H.M.

answers from San Diego on

My daughter changed to 1 nap aloooong time ago.. And personally I think shes more active now taking a nap around noon..

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C.W.

answers from Sacramento on

Hi there, my son is 2 1/2 now. He started walking at 9 months and it was around that time that he started transitioning from 2 naps to 1 nap a day. I guess he was too busy walking to sleep! He usually takes a nap right after lunch, for a few hours. I think as long as your son isn't cranky during the day, like he is lacking in sleep, everything is fine.

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S.V.

answers from Stockton on

Honestly I have 6 kids of my own and I found that the nap time should be start somewhere around 12 and last no longer than 3 hrs or so. My kindergardner gets out at 1150 and when we get home its about 1153. I lay my 3 yr old down by 1210 and my 6yr old down at the same time, Then my third grader gets home about 230 and she lays down to "rest" which means she falls asleep..
My three yr old has been on that schedule for almost two yrs and it works great! Give it a try, but I think more than one nap a day is just a waste cause they wake up from the first one with mass amount of energy and then still has most of that energy come time for second nap.
So just stick with one nap and wear that baby out just in time for that nap and all should go well.

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M.A.

answers from San Diego on

My daughter gave up her afternoon nap around 14 months, then a few months later gave up naps altogether....I think it was around 18 months that she no longer napped. But she was getting a full 12-13 hours sleep at night so she was fine most days. every kid is different. some kids love naps, some don't need them. as long as he is getting enough sleep at night and seems fine during the afternoon, I don't see a need to worry. I think it's harder for us to lose the nap times than it is for them.....I use nap times to get chores done!

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G.K.

answers from Fresno on

Dear M., Usually between the ages of two and four naptime will be outgrown. You might want to try moving his bedtime earlier so he can get his needed rest at night. good luck, and try reading supper nany how to get the best from your children , it's helped us a great deal regarding bed time. G.

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K.O.

answers from Portland on

Well, not only do I have 6 children of my own, but I also do daycare in my home. All of the 3-4 year olds I tend to take naps. Some of the 4 year olds don't, but I make them lay down and rest anyway. I wouldn't worry about switching to one nap a day until about 18 months, UNLESS, you and your baby are not sleeping at night. Only adjust if it is necessary at such an early age. I agree with Jaci D. You should adjust his first nap to be shorter and then you need to WEAR HIM OUT!!!! Go for walks, to the mall, shopping, playing, etc. He will sleep better in the afternoon. Just make sure to not make either of the naps too long so he can go to bed early and wake up early. This will keep your schedule regular...for a while. :)

Good luck!

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J.D.

answers from Spokane on

He is starting a little early, but it is common, and your doc will tell you it is not HOW they sleep or how MANY naps they get, but the AMOUNT they get. Try cutting the morning nap and enfouring the afternoon nap. He should do better that way.

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H.J.

answers from Los Angeles on

My olderst son gave up his nap all together at 13 months!!!!!
My daughter moved from two naps to one at 11 months, she is 2 1/2 and still loves her nap. I think every child is different. But most of the moms I know move to one napjust after 1 year.

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B.D.

answers from Portland on

Doctors tend to give you textbook answers for common questions and that is most often helpful as a guideline. Remember that your child is not like anyone else they all develope at different rates in different areas. Textbook answers are what is found to be common but there are always exceptions. This may be the one thing that doesn't follow the book while all the rest of his behaviors do. No worries mama, he is doing what is normal for him ,for now. If you see problems that start because of this then ask the doc, but for now I think you should just take that nap right along side him cause you are going to need it being a mommy! B.

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