So my twin girls' normal schedule has been bed time at 8:00 and sleeping until about 6:30-7:15. They would have one nap in the morning around 10:00 and one in the afternoon around 2:30-3:00. For about a month, the naps would range from 30 minutes to possibly 1 hour. I thought maybe it was time to switch to one long afternoon nap and maybe that would help. The first day, they slept almost 3 hours. But after that they are sleeping only 1 1/2 hours for their "Long Nap". They are so tired by 5:00 that they are cranky and fussy. But then when I put them down they go right to sleep and don't budge until 7:30 the next morning. I don't know whether I should try to continue the one nap thing and hope they sleep longer or go back to 2 naps? I am home by myself most nights so 2 fussy babies make for a long evening. What do you think?
Personally, I remember my kids needing two naps a day until they were about 18 months old each. I would try going back to two naps a day because well rested kids are happy kids which makes a happy mommy!
At 11 months, my little man still takes 2-3 naps a day ranging anywhere from 1-2.5 hours. Before that, he was taking 5 naps a day. The amount of time spent napping varies from day to day. Since I stay at home, I try to keep my schedule flexible and nap him whenever he's tired. I find the more naps he gets (especially during the evening fussy period), the less fussy he is.
Here is a link about how much sleep/naps a kid/baby needs:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-much-sleep-does-your-chil...
A child, will cue you, as to when they don't need a nap.
If you don't really have to, then I would keep them on their usual routine.
They seem to sleep fine.
A nap at 10:00 in the morning... and none, until bedtime at night... would make any 1 year old very tired and fussy by evening time.
Or you make their nap time later.
But that may tweak them too... and not work. Or it will screw up their night time sleep time too.
For me, I always just went by my kids cues... for nap times and frequency.
My son for example, took 3 naps... until about a year old. Then from about 1-3 years old, he took 2 naps everyday. Then at about 3 years old, (which he is now) he still takes 1 nap. And everyday. Without battling.
He naps for about 2 hours. 3 sometimes.
And he still sleeps fine and well at night at or by 8:00-8:30.
all the best,
Susan
Why did you change the nap routine? You did not mention having any difficulties with it. I would go back to what worked. Letting our children lead the way is a great way to manage this sort of question.
It will probably be more difficult with two instead of one, but this is how it went for us: When we started going from two naps to one, I would take my cues from her on a day to day basis. If she slept in a bit in the morning, I would try to keep her busy until I felt like she was tired and it was nap time: maybe 12 or 1. If she slept well, great, and she could go to bed at a normal time or a little early (again using her cranky-ness as a gauge). Then there were some days when she really needed two naps either because she didn't sleep in in the morning or she wasn't physically active and engaged enough during the day. I've found that the more I can get her doing in the morning and during the day (play groups, going to the pool or just to the mall) the better she sleeps, no matter when it is. I know it's tough with two short naps because it never feels like there's time to go do anything, so I'd say go for the one nap if you feel like they are ready, but be flexible.
That is about the age babies will which from 2 to 1 nap. It doesn't have to be the same everyday, mine transition into. She skipped her morning nap some days and took longer afternoon nap. Now she gets up 730 am, nap 1 to 3, bed at 8. about.
my son dropped his morning nap at 9 months.. my daughter at 18 months.
so there is a normal age range of dropping the morning nap. It is a difficult transition for many babies... You are on the right track it is just an adjustment. Life is actually easier when they go to one nap..as they are awake and pleasant for longer periods in the morning and sleep longer in the afternoon.. = better break for mom..
When they drop the nap.. bedtime moves earlier. so they will need to go to bed 30 -60 minutes earlier at night. you might have to play with the timing on the nap.. it might be too early or too late.
read the book "healthy sleep habits happy child by weissbluth.. great book.
It takes a couple of weeks for them to adjust to one nap. I would try putting them down a half hour earlier and see if that helps also.
My twins did something similar. They dropped the afternoon nap on their own at about 15 months. They would then be sooooo cranky around 5:00, but refused to sleep. After a month or so, they seemed to return to "normal". We also bumped their bedtime up an hour. This really helped.
My daughter basically has done and is doing the exact same thing. We started putting her down at 7 instead of 8 and she still sleeps until the same time in the morning as she always has... (she wakes up by 6 at the latest though). I'd try putting them down a bit earlier.
