NOT Napping

At 15 months she may be ready for 1 nap a day...maybe let her stay up a little past her morning nap and do a fun outdoor activity and try putting her down for 1 nap around 12:30 or 1

My kids both could only take one nap a day. My oldest was done with them compleatly by age two. It's frustrating sometimes because I think naps are for both children and parents too. We need the break. But sometimes it is easier to not deal with the nap fight and just try to put them to bed a bit earlier.

I have two 14 month olds and they are pretty close to transitioning to one long nap a day instead of two 2 hour naps. Some days they take one nap (3 hours) and other days it's two. It all depends on how long their morning nap is, I just adjust it from there. I hope things get easier for you soon:)

My 2nd son started taking just one nap at 1 years old. He did not seem to need 2 anymore. I think it is different for every child though. My first son took 2 naps up until he was about 18 months old. I would go with what your child seems to need. I would give at least one nap though. My son takes his from about 1pm to 3pm or so.

D. P

This may work for you. Talk to her about a rest time. She does not have to sleep but stay in bed for the set amount of time. Use an alarm clock that will tell her when it is time to get up. Start with 20 min. If she is still awake let her get up. If she goes to sleep reset the clock so she won't be awakened. It could be that she doesn't need a nap but some quite time will do for her. good luck

my charlie takes an hour nap in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. sometimes when i put him down, he doesnt go to sleep right away but i make sure there are not toys or distractions, the lights off and soft music in the room. he jsut sits there for a few minutes then goes to sleep. there are times when he deosnt want to go to sleep and cries out but i jsut ignore him and he eventually goes to sleep because he knows im not going in there.

Hi,
Each child is unique. I have a 6 and 8 year old. My 8 year old at that age and younger never took naps. He did go to bed and slept thru the night but it took us awhile to realize the only time he took naps is if we were in the car. So we would drive him around the block in the vehicle if he seemed like he absolutely needed some rest. (not very good with gas mileage but it is what worked for him) My youngest on the other hand had a internal nap clock at exactly 11 a.m. no matter where he was he would fall asleep and sometimes a light nap around 3 and then he sleep thru the night. My recommendation to you find what works for your daughter and go with it. You are the best monitor for your child. Maybe she just needs a quiet time with a book in her room whatever works. Sometimes all the information we get tells us to do things that may not be best for our unique child. You love your babies and your instinct is the best thing for your child. Hope this helps. Have a great day.
M.
I am very proud mom of two beautiful loving boys. My pride and joy too. :)

You say she does initially fall asleep, but then wakes up..so she does show signs of needing the normal naps. It's just a matter of finding what provides her with the comfort to REMAIN asleep.
I am pro-attachment parent, and do not believe crying it out or even "controlled crying" is helpful in the long run. It may "work" in that babies and toddlers give up crying when comfort does not arrive, but is learned helplessness really what we want to teach?
Little kids are programed to eventually shut down to preserve energy and not produce too much cortisol. It's like blowing a fuse. Yes, the system was preserved with the auto shut off but why was it allowed to get over-stressed in the first place?
I would think that things that ease separation anxiety (No Cry Sleep Solution),familiar smells (your clothes) textures, white noise, temp (keep feet warm), motion (baby swing) transitional object, would be much better than ignoring your child's distress, although I sure some people will recommend just that.

My girls are 17 months and they're just now in the transition going from two naps to one. Every baby is different. Our pediatrician said kids tend to transition between 12 and 24 months.
Since she is falling asleep that tells me that she wants to sleep. Maybe try giving her a bottle of water/juice? I found that to help sometimes. Make sure it's not too noisy and the temperature is comfortable too. Good luck!

Hi C.,

I made my kids take an afternoon nap until they turned five. With the first one it was very easy, the second wasn't so easy. I would tell them they had to stay in their room, lights off except a night light, and stay in bed. I also told them it didn't matter to me if they actually slept or just layed there to rest. I think that they felt it wasn't so bad because they knew if they layed there quietly they wouldn't have to sleep. Well, five minutes into laying there my first would always fall asleep. With my second I had to sometimes hold her for a few minutes and scratch her back, then off to sleep she went. Each child is different and you just have to find what works best with yours. Good luck.

By one my son was taking one 2-3 hour nap a day. What time of the day are you laying her down? It might be a simple matter of her just not being tired.

Babies napping schedules change constantly. If she is not sleeping when you lay her down, maybe you should try putting her to sleep in a carrier, and she'll nap that way. Just a thought. There are lots of different kinds of carriers out there, contact me if you want suggestions for different types.
As far as one or two naps a day, it depends on how long she is sleeping at night, and how long her naps are. Right now, I know you said they are non-existent at the moment. My daughter has changed her nap schedule a lot over time, I just go with it, and let her determine her sleeping schedule. It has always worked for all of us to just let her determine her sleeping patterns. It's finally at a really nice stage right now, where she is (usually) sleeping 8 hours at night, then coming into our bed (where she will usually sleep for another 1-2 hours), then she'll take a 90 min-2 hour nap in the middle of the day. Very nice. She is 21 months now. 4 months ago, she was waking up every 2 hours to nurse, then only taking 2 30 minute naps during the day. So, yeah, I'm blabbering right now. Change is inevitable. If you want to try having her nap in a carrier, I'm happy to help with suggestions. :)

Hi C.-
Probably, she's down to just one nap a day. Be sure you keep that on schedule, though. She's going to get very tired just before her nap. Also- make sure that she doesn't try to go to sleep hungry. She'll need frequent small meals. S.

I would say she is ready for one nap. If you are trying in the morning time that she used to take a nap, wait a few hours and try again. My son on his own by not napping in the mornings switched himself to one long nap in the afternoons. What works for my son is that if he wakes up I wait 5 minutes before I go get him because what I found out with him that he was falling asleep and when he started to cry he was actually asleep because it took him awhile to recognize me and this started around his first birthday. Trust your instincts. Good luck.

Sounds like she might be ready to cut down to one nap a day--make it later in the day if she is fighting it too bad and can handle it. They start to transition sometime after turning one from two naps to one. Good luck!

Hi C.,
My 15 month old is down to one nap. A couple of months ago I found it was getting harder to get her to go down, and it was because she wasn't really sleepy enough. She needed to be up for at least 3-1/2 or 4 hours before she was ready for a nap (now it's 5 hours). So try waiting another hour. Once I did this, she actually took a longer nap and that ended up being her only nap of the day. Good luck! Just follow her cues and your instincts.

Some kids will transition to one nap a day at this age. It is a tricky age because they are enjoying their world and don't want to give in to "missing something" by napping, but they really need it. She is falling asleep, so is going to need to figure out how to get back to sleep. There is nothing wrong with her crying a bit. She will understand that it is still nap time. If you teacher her what she needs you will provide (in this case a nap opportunity) she will trust you and eventually get the rest she needs. At some point, she will not need a nap (around 3-5) but it is still a great opportunity for her to get some rest even if she doesn't sleep. Stick with it, you'll get there.