Back to 2 Naps ?

My son was still napping in kindergarten!
He is almost 11 now and loves to sleep, loves his bed and sheets and pillows and the comfort of it all.
Strange that a doc would suggest cutting down to just one nap...
when it's clear the whole family is better with two.
Enjoy those babies!

Aww if those babies are tired let them sleep. When they are ready they will get rid of one nap themselves. That seems weird that their doctor would say that. My daughter is almost 4 and still requires a nap. I can tell everyday when 2pm comes, she gets crabby!

seems strange that the dr would get involed with how many naps...mine took herself down to one nap a day and boy did i miss that extra time!! That one didnt affect her mood like no nap at all has though, sigh. You're the mom, if you feel he needs it, and he's going to do it, get him down for two. I cant imagine any way that would harm him and apparently it was helping.

If it ain't broke don't fix it !!!

You spent 24/7 with your children...the doctor spends what...10 minutes at the MOST?

You can't force a child to be sleepy when he's not...if they weren't sleepy they wouldn't take naps...the increase in crankyness tell me...they are tired!

12 hours sleep at night?

WOW....so THAT's how you can be someone's girlfriend!

I'd say go back to what you were doing, when they are strong enough to last all day, they'll let you know....and then you'll really miss the naps!

Sometimes I wonder why we Mom's doubt ourselves so much!!! Go with your gut...how is sleep going to hurt them?? Now if they were sleeping 20 hours out of 24 I would say you had a problem..or if they are doing thinks like falling asleep at inappropriate times. There is no time schedule for when to go from two naps to one or from one nap to none...each of us need to listen to our own bodies and do what they tell us. Why would you want to intentionally set yourself up to have two crabby babies on your hands??? If they want to sleep....let them...and you go do something relaxing for yourself on that 2nd nap...consider it a reward!!!
Enjoy those precious babies of yours.
R. Ann

You know, I always wonder just exactly where these doctors believe they are getting all their wonderful advice from. Think about what it takes to become a doctor. It's not like they have had a lot of time to spend with kids in a real world situation. How many kids have they been at home with 7/24 for any length of time? Yeah, they talk to moms and see lots of babies. But it's just not the same thing as being in the trenches with kids everyday.

I know that most people believe that we should blindly follow a doctors advice. But I'm not buying it. There are so many times as my kids were growing up that doctors were wrong. My daughter was losing hair for weeks before one doctor finally figured it out. Another one of my daughters had a finger that was lanced and cleaned and scraped out, but they put her through that for nothing. It was a fungus and there was no pus to clean out. One doctor kept telling me there was nothing wrong with my daughter outside of a virus. It turned out to be an infected spider bite causing fever. Doctors make mistakes and they don't know everything.

I was personally told I'd never have kids. I have been pregnant 7 times with 3 miscarriages and 4 live births. I was told I would lose my bladder control. Quite the opposite happened. It's a long story, but suffice it to say the doctors were so wrong.

The BIGGEST reason that health care costs so much is because doctors get sued so often. So no matter what they say, we have to take it with a grain of salt and use our own brains.

It sounds to me like you already know your answer! Give your boys all the naps they want and whatever works for you and them.

Suzi

It sounds like you already know the answer. Follow your gut and your child's lead. My youngest took two naps a day unti 2 1/2-he just needed the sleep. He's almost 5 and still takes a 1 1/2-2 hour nap each afternoon. At his 4 year check-up, my pediatrician told me to limit his nap to 1 hour. I tried that for a week, and he was just a disaster!! He actually started sleeping less at night and was sooo crabby. I went back to just letting him sleep as long as he wanted, and now, he's back to my happy, fun-loving little boy again. Since you're able to be at home with them, just let them follow whatever schedule they need.

Good Morning J.. Congrats on your life changes. What a blessing. I personally do not see any harm in 2 naps a day since they seem to get along better when they did this before. Even if they do not sleep give them a quiet time, with a book each, tell them they must lay down for at least an hour to rest.

I do this with our 3 1/2 yr old gr son. Before the hour is up he is snoozing, for about 30 minutes to an hour. Sure helps the day go better. Then he has his reg afternoon nap also. Down at 1 up by 3:30 or 4. His baby brother was one on Thursday and he takes two naps per day also.

If you have twins you need that extra nap, but they sound adorable.

God Bless you and yours
K. Nana of 5

Haven't read the other responses, so sorry if I repeat anything. All babies/kids are different. YOU as the parent know YOUR children the best. If 2 naps per day was working for you well, and one isn't working for you well, absolutely change them back. You will figure out when they start needing only one nap per day. Follow their cues. This is not a matter of letting them call the shots, it's a matter of recognizing the unique needs of your children. In my opinion, this is not much of a "medical" issue, so I'm not sure why your doctor would decide you need to alter their sleep schedule. Go with your instincts on this one and enjoy your happy kiddos!

I'd say do what works best for you. Nothing is going to "hurt" them from taking naps...eventually they will outgrow them but if you have a 7 & 7 schedule you are indeed a lucky woman! At least when they get to preschool age you will have the luxury of determining whether they are better morning or afternoon kids or spliting the two up...

The only disadvantage to taking lots of naps is if they won't go to sleep at night, are waking up through the night, or are waking up insanely early (like my daughter at 5 am...ugh). That's when you need to start cutting the naps. Ultimately, you know what works best for yourself, your family, and your kids...go with your gut.

Hi J.! I'm a mother of 4 children, ages 11, 9 1/2, 6 1/2 and 3. I've always been pretty flexible when it came to them taking naps. From my experience, some children cut naps out of their day all on their own simply because they're not tired enough to take a nap. And some children need more sleep. Your sons are still young and if it works better for them and for you, I don't think it would "hurt" them to take their two naps. If they get through the day and are happier, then I would think the two naps are beneficial.

Although I've always tried to do what my pediatrician tells me to as far as the childrens development and physical needs are concerned, if my children are (or were, since mine are older) benefiting from taking a nap (or two) during the day, I prefer it. When our children are cranky or unhappy, it's hard to be a more productive parent and it can make us sad because they're not happy.

Sounds to me like you're doing a great job and as long as your boys are healthy otherwise, a couple of naps each day to avoid the "crankies" doesn't sound like it would hurt at all. You never know, as they get older, they may phase out one of those naps all on their own. :-)

Hope this helped!
A.

Listen to your instincts and your children. If they are cranky they need more sleep. Some children just do. As much as we love our pediatrician they are not always right about what are children need. My pediatrician tells me that if my daughter is extra cranky that more sleep is the first thing to try. Good luck.

Hi J.,
My twins are 16 months old and take one nap a day. So far it has worked out ok. We have to keep them on a fedding/eating/sleeping schedule or we would never make it! Good luck!

My son is 21 months and still takes two 2hour naps everyday. He too is cranky if he misses a nap so, in my opinion, I would do what works best for them and you. Sometimes they have to make the transition to 1 nap due to daycare schedules, but if YOU can work around 2 naps, I say do it!! I know mine is much happier with 2, although all kids are different!
If only we could get so much sleep!!

I just want to echo that you should do what you think is the right thing for your sons and your family. Every kid is different, and it sounds like your sons do better with 2 naps per day at this point. I'm sure they'll eventually outgrow that and work their way down to one nap and then none, but there is no need to rush it. Most of the advice out there is for the "average" kid. No kid is average. I've actually stopped reading about what they "should" be doing at certain milestones because kids are so different it was just causing me unnecessary stress. I'm letting my daughter do what she does and loving every second of it (I'm a first time mom of a beautiful 17 mo girl)

I would definitely give them two naps again if they seem to need them both. Babies' brains are working wonders while they sleep and they need that sleep to be able to learn. If they are crabby when tired from not getting enough sleep, then think about how much learning they are missing out on by being too crabby. I don't know why your ped. would say they need only one nap. Do what's best for them. They will let you know when they are ready for only one nap, and it seems they are not ready.

It would be different if they were at child care and had to take a nap with everyone else at "nap time" but since you are home with them, you don't have to worry about that. Let em sleep : )

I'm not sure how many months old your boys are, but my babies were 2 a day nappers until they were about a year and a half. Then, they switched themselves.

My son is 22 months and he still takes 2 naps. We tried to cut him down to one, and he was miserable. He sleeps at night from 7 to 6:30 and always goes down easy. My doctor told me that some kids just need a lot of sleep. When he is awake, he goes 100 miles per hour! Good luck!

We changed our twin girls from two naps to one when they wouldn't fall asleep at night. It took about 6 months for them to adjust but they did and began falling asleep at night easier.
If they are sleeping well at night with two naps a day, I see no reason to change it. Why fix something that isn't broken? If however, they won't sleep at night, that's when I would consider the change. Or, 6 months before you start sending them to pre-school.
It's HARD to go against what the doctor says no matter what it is regarding. But, your their mom. Trust yourself! You'll do what's right if you listen to yourself.

You are the mom. I don't know why the pediatrician would want the kids to only have 1 nap. I was lucky if I could get my kids to nap! I say enjoy it while they will nap.

I say follow your instincts. What harm is there in two naps? Your kids will let you know when two naps are too much.

two naps won't hurt them. put them to bed. :) never wake a sleeping baby. good luck!

since you stay home with the boys you have the luxury of trial and error. i would first try keeping them up longer in the morning - maybe then they'd sleep longer when you put them down for their naps. my son goes down for his nap around 12:30 or so, after his lunch, then sleeps sometimes for two to three hours. you didn't mention when they go down for naps but if their nap is over too early it could be what's making them grouchy, if it's in the afternoon or evening. i don't think you should take your doctor's advice no matter what the cost, but he does have a point - most toddlers this age don't need two naps anymore. there are exceptions, i'm sure! maybe because they're twins your boys wear each other out twice as much, needing more sleep! (sounds like a good theory to me!)

if adjusting the naptimes doesn't work, then as a last resort, i'd say go for two naps. it makes it a lot harder to do anything outside of the house, but it might make your life at home a lot easier. you'd have to be the judge on what works for you or not. but don't feel like you're going to do them damage by letting them have two naps. whatever makes for happy healthy babies, is what they need! good luck!

I'm sure you've already gotten some great responses but all I wanted to say was if you aren't sure why he's telling you to knock them beck to one nap a day then ask him his reasons for recommending that. As their mother you have a right to know why & also to put in your opinion if you disagree with something. You are the one that knows your children the best. your Dr. may be a good one but he is going off of standards & statistics not the individual kid's needs. 2 might be the standard time to bring a kid down to 1 nap a day but is that enough for YOUR kid? Good luck with it.

I would love to know why the dr said one nap per day. I can't think of a reason why one nap is better than two naps unless they were not sleeping at night. I know I would do better with two naps a day instead on one!

If two naps work for them, then I wouldn't take the docs advice.