How to navigate baby nap transitions.
My personal experience with nap transitions
With my second baby, Elsie, we recently started to transition to 1 nap this week and it reminded me that they can be tricky to navigate and the importance of being flexible.
I am looking forward to her dropping to 1 nap as it can be easier to arrange your day around and little ones often then take 1 long nap rather than 2 shorter naps... and as you’ve probably guessed by now- I'm all about the long naps and time out for me!!! ❤️
Elsie has done one day with 1 nap, but on the days she has 2 naps it is getting trickier to fit them both in and she is now waking at around 6am. Her normal wake time is generally 7-7.30am which are sure signs that 1 nap will soon be her norm 🙌
Rowan dropped to 1 nap at 14 months and Elsie is now 15 months. Generally, little ones drop from around 12-18 months and when they are ready to transition will depend on their sleep needs and how long they can manage between sleeps (their awake window) 💤
Elsie’s awake window for her age is relatively short. She starts getting tired and grizzly at around 3.5 hours, but recently I am trying to stretch her to 4 hours. This means that if she is wakes at 6 am then her nap time is 10 am, which is too early for a 1 nap day.
When your little one does drop to 1 nap a day it may fall as early as 11am (give snack or lunch before) to avoid them waking early due to hunger. This will then result in an earlier night (generally 6pm), which helps to ensure the day stays balanced and their awake window isn’t too long between each sleep.
As their awake window becomes longer the nap will gradually nudge more towards the middle of the day and bedtime will in turn nudge closer to 7pm.
The transition can be gradual and some days they may take 2 naps and some days they may take 1 nap. It may also take a few months for the nap to move a little late. Just go at your baby’s pace and all will be fine. 👶
This gradual transition is also similar for when little ones are dropping the last nap, and you may find one day they will take it and others they wont, this is why it’s important to be flexible and adjust bedtime accordingly, giving an early bedtime if they skipped the nap and a later one if they took the nap.
When do nap transitions generally happen?
💫7-8months- drop from 3-2 naps
💫12-18months- drop from 2-1 nap
💫2.5years to 4years- drop from 1 nap to no nap
Signs your little one is ready for a nap transition:
💫Taking longer to settle for naps, or unhappy when settling.
💫Refusing the next nap, commonly seen when dropping from 2-1 nap, they may still take their morning nap, then refuse their afternoon nap.
💫Waking early from a nap.
💫Naps are impacting on bedtime; it's getting later and later, or baby is difficult to settle.
💫Needing more input from parents to settle to sleep
💫Split nights- your baby is awake for hours at a time during the night, but happy.
💫Early starts- your baby is suddenly waking earlier than normal for them.
When you take the plunge and drop to 1 nap it may mean you need to stretch the morning awake window longer than you normally would so the nap is closer to 11am. I will likely have to do this will Elsie before long and did the same with Rowan, but as long as they still manage to take a decent nap at that time, then it should all work out and see them through to bedtime without causing any issues.
I hope you found this blog helpful 🤍
If you are in need of some extra support with your little ones sleep, and how to navigate nap transitions then I would LOVE to help you…
The Snooze Nurse sleep plans include an entire section on how to navigate these tricky nap transitions and will guide you through the entire process.
OR
If you’d like some bespoke advice then a troubleshooting call is perfect to chat through how a nap transition may be impacting your little ones sleep and to make a plan of action forward, enabling you to get sleep back on track.
If you’d like to chat more about the support available book a FREE 15minute intro call and let’s get started 💥
Lots of Love
Jade x