I have been blessed with 2 very good sleepers. For months they have been on a very good schedule: 2 naps (10-12, 3-5), then sleeping at night from about 8 or 9 to about 7 or 8. I talked to the pediatrician at their one year and he said to keep them on 2 naps as long as they would like. They don't always sleep during those times, but often do, and if not are happy playing in their cribs.
This last week or so, their schedule has been changing. When I put them down around 10, they will play for up to 2 hours, then fall asleep. That means they aren't up until 2 or so. I'm wondering if they are moving toward just needing one nap. I'm very much in favor of letting them do what they need and try not to enforce a strict schedule. How do you make the transition to one nap? I've tried letting them stay up until they ask to go to be or get tired, but they get too cranky to stay up all afternoon/evening without another nap so moving things later has just led to them sleeping later in the evening. Any ideas for making this a smooth transition?
I would recommend that you keep the boys up until about 11am at which time you feed them an early lunch then down for a nap around 1130. That is one way to do it. The other way is to just skip the 10am nap and feed them lunch at their regular time and put them down after lunch. I would expect them to be a little cranky with the change no matter what you choose.
Good luck.
Yep... it's time to drop the morning nap. You are lucky that they have been taking two naps as long as they have. My daughter dropped her morning nap at about 15 months. I would suggest putting them down around 12:00 or 1:00 pm. They will probably sleep 2 to 3 hours. Good luck! It's always scary to mess around with schedules when you have such good sleepers. No one ever wants to mess that up!
R.,
It sounds like your boys aren't really ready for a nap until around noon. Have you tried having a quieter time from around 11am feeding them a light lunch and than putting them down for a nap?
With my whole heart, C.
My triplets who are 22 months and the older one did the same thing and I though they needed that down time either way in the morning. I decided to try one nap and thought it would take a week to transition them. It took one day and they are so much happier now. I did it when they were 21 months old. They go down at 1:30 -2:00 and 2 sleep for 1.5 hours and the other 2 sleep for over 2 hours. It works great. Now I can go out without worrying if they will have a breakdown in the morning due to their lack of sleep. Try it. Good luck
it sounds like they transitioned themselves. just instead of putting them to bed at ten am take them outside or turn on the music and have a dance contest. then before you know it is lunch time and they will be worn out and sleep. good luck and god bless
R.,
I also have twins and when we went to one nap it was earlier in the day and longer. It will gradually move until after lunch. I would keep them up and about in the morning until 11ish so that they can play and get used to moving for the better part of the day.
Good luck!
My boy was on the same 2 nap schedule as yours. There was a few months where he couldn't decide whether he wanted 2 naps or 1- it was transitional and kind of a pain, but now he sleeps ~12:30 to 3:30 or so, pretty much like clockwork. Some days if we have a visitor or something, his nap can be pushed back a bit later, but I think that he handles that better now that he is a bit older. During the transition, if he got very cranky, I would put him down for his morning nap as usual + the late afternoon. If he seemed awake and not grouchy, I'd let him stay up, but then it seemed to help to move his lunch up sooner and put him down for a single nap directly after. It wasn't always so smooth, but change never is.
R., it sounds like they are making the transition on their own! Honestly, I'm shocked they have been napping this much as old as they are. My son has been on one nap since he was 13 months old. (It would be nice to have him on 2 naps per day but toddlers don't need that much sleep) He now naps from 12:30-2:30pm, then sleeps a full night from 7pm to 6 or 7am. Just try putting your kids down at 12:00 every day and within a few days, I'm thinking they'll be on the new schedule.
In Dr. Wiessbluth's sleep book he explains that sometimes during this transitional period, 1 nap isn't enough and 2 is impossible. If this is the case, put them down for bed a half hour to one hour earlier so they can get a bit more sleep at night. They shouldn't wake up earlier. You can also do 1 nap on some days and 2 on another. For a month they might do a short nap in the late afternoon which seems weird and doesn't last long. It will be replaced by one afternoon nap.
My 12 month old seems like he's ready for 1 nap, but he's not quite. He's moved from a nap around 10:00 to playing and acting not tired until noon, but he starts getting frustrated and tired so he's really ready to go down around 11. If I stay on top of it I can get 2 in.
When my kids were about that age, they to had gone down to one nap a day. By what you wrote, that you put them down around 10 and they play for a couple of hours before they go to sleep. It sounds as though they are ready to cut out one of those naps. You might try giving them lunch sometime between 11 & 12, then lay them down for a nap. You might find them taking a 2 to 3 hour nap.
You know how a full tummy usually makes you sleepy, they would probably go right to sleep.
Good Luck.
C. G
I remember for a while we did "lunch" at 10:30 or 11:00. That lengthened the nap. Eventually we were able to get a decent lunch time. We just worked that way a few minutes a day. It worked well for both of our kids to do it that way.
At 20 mos, one good nap is more then enough. Since you are even seeing a pattern where they just aren't tired at 10, just give them lunch say around 11 and lay them down at noon. Sleeping too close to dinnertime and bedtime will eventually backfire on you. Both of mine went down to one nap by 18 mos and I did it from noon until 2:30. That way by the time they went to bed they were tired again.
Do not let them stay up until they ask, just get them on a schedule and they will adjust accordingly.
The older they get if you let them sleep too long in the late afternoon you will regret it, they will be bouncing off the walls at 10pm! Just put them down after a good lunch and let them sleep no later then 3:00. It may take a week or two but they will adjust just fine. Move their bedtimes up too, at 20 mos they shouldn't be up until 9pm, you need to set the schedule. If they are showing signs of being cranky, put them to bed by 7:30. My four year old still goes to bed at 7:30 and sleeps until 7:00 am.
That way you and your hubby can have alone and downtime, which is crucial! :) Good luck.
