4 Yo Sleep Pattern Changes

Growth spurt.

Whenever my son, was hitting a growth spurt or developmental change... he did that too.
I never woke him. I let him sleep.
I never took away his naps. He was a regular napper. Everyday he napped and needed it until he was 5 going on 6 years old.

Don't mess with his sleep routine or his nap routine.
Or you will mess it up.

It is either a growth spurt, or maybe he is coming down with a cold.

When my son was sleeping JUST like that and napping JUST like that... he was growing TONS.
Some days, he'd even sleep for like 14 hours straight until the next day.
And I let him sleep.
And in the blink of an eye, he GREW.

Kids keep on changing, it's called growth!
Remember how he slept as a newborn, an infant? A lot different than now I'm sure.
His sleep patterns will change throughout childhood, into the teen years and beyond.
Just keep trying to make the routines as consistent as possible, there's not much more you can do.
And be happy he still naps at four, my kids were ALL done napping by two and a half :-(

My kiddo did that.
He's probably going through a growth spurt.
I say just leave them things as they are w/a later bedtime when he has a
nap if he's not sleepy at 9:30pm.

Lucky! My DD dropped her nap at 2! Lol. She just started laying in bed, talking to herself for two hours. So I started giving her books to look at in bed, instead of expecting her to sleep. (Which she still does... Every day at nap time, I give her 3 picture books and she looks at them in her bed.)

Last month, she started sleeping during quiet time again. (She is 3.5) she also started sleeping in more, along with going to bed earlier.

She grew 4 (FOUR!!!) inches between then and today. I know, because I noticed she was getting close to outgrowing her car seat and measured her... And over this weekend noticed her head was sticking just over it. (So now she is enjoying her new 'big girl' booster seat... Even though she is still harnessed. This one has cup holders! Lol.)

I agree that it is most likely a growth spurt. :)

The first 6 months when they give up the nap are just hell. No other way to describe it. Try to substitute a quiet time and not real sleep.

My sense is that's unusual for a 4 year old to nap 1.5 hours, let alone 3 hours. I think he might need more sleep at night. 9:30 is a very late bedtime and it's okay in the summer but it doesn't work during the school year. If he goes to bed at 5 PM in the transition, that's okay.

His rhythms may be all messed up and he may need to switch to a more school-oriented schedule, with no nap, a bedtime around 7:30, and a wake-up time around 7 (give or take). He may need a full night's sleep with no naps.

My 4.5 yr old has a similar schedule minus the bed time. She wakes at 7, naps for about an hour to hour and half but goes to bed at 7:30/8. 9:30 seems really late for a 4yr bed time. Might want to try that and see if it helps. My daughter still needs her nap as well.

Obviously he still needs his nap, if he's in pre-K they'll make them lay down so he needs to keep it for now. I'd say once he's in school he'll be on a different level of activity and need more sleep in the evenings.

Poor kiddo. Seems like they all go through stages like this and when they settle back down into a new biorhythm it's a bit different but good.